People welcome new shops (From Witney Gazette)

People welcome new shops

9:00am Wednesday 1st November 2006 in Witney By Ruth Keeling

PLANS to expand a shopping centre and bring more fashion stores to Witney have been welcomed by shoppers.

Visitors to the town centre were able to inspect proposals to demolish part of the Woolgate centre and build six more shops during an exhibition on Friday and Saturday.

Under the plans - which are being considered by West Oxfordshire District Council - the premises housing Cargo would be demolished, and the clock tower and pedestrianised part of the car park would be moved.

Universities Super- annuation Scheme (USS), the owners, plan to offer the homewares store a new site.

Built in Cotswold stone, the new stores would be situated where the cycle racks are.

A re-landscaped car park would mean eight more spaces, including three disabled spaces, and double the space for cycles.

Celia Spraggon, a 64-year-old from Carterton, thought it was a good idea. She said: "There are not enough shops in Witney.

"What they are doing with the shrubs is good too, they are a waste of space, and they need more car parking spaces for the disabled."

Witney district councillor Harriet Ryley said an expanded Woolgate would compliment the proposed Marriotts development, which includes 13 shops, 185 homes, a cinema, and a five-storey car park off Welch Way. She said: "Marriotts will be such a big development, this is going to balance it out."

A number of shoppers were disappointed that a larger Waitrose was not part of the plans, and others thought more shops would make Witney's traffic problem worse.

David Knight, a 38-year-old from Witney, said: "I don't think there are going to be enough parking spaces."

Rachel Hurley, 39, from Witney, said: "The main problem with Witney is the transport.

"It is gridlocked at the moment. We can't get through most times of the day, so if you bring more people into Witney, it would be awful."

But others disagreed. Joan Grose, from Burford, said: "We don't find it difficult, and we come here a lot."

Trader Tony Dawson, who owns Kodak Express, was also upbeat about the plans.

He said: "It is positive as far as I am concerned.

"It is just bringing more trade into the centre.

"They seem to be increasing the parking, so I wouldn't have thought it would have a huge impact."

Neil Hardiman, development manager for USS, said only the county council had the power to make road improvements, and added: "It is not as if we are going to encourage hundreds of shoppers.

"We hope that the people who are already coming in will increase the time and the spending they do here, because they don't need to go to Banbury, Swindon, or Oxford."

Mr Hardiman said there was a demand for a greater diversity of shops in Witney both from shoppers and retailers.

He said: "The drive behind this move is the interest we've had from retailers in fashion and clothing. They are looking for slightly bigger units than Witney can provide at the moment, because of the nature of its traditional properties."