Future of Retail in Charlbury

Sat 11 Aug 2007, 10:45

I must say i've never contibuted to a forum like this before but i am thoroughly enjoying the debate! Long may it last.

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. Mr Carpenter is correct to say Burford's retail revolution would never have happened if the shops had all been converted for residential use. However, Burford has never suffered a full-scale "retreat from retail" like Charlbury. To be frank I think the future of Charlbury lies in good quality office space - not retail. The demand for shops just does not exist.

Burford is in an entirely different situation to Charlbury. There are three major cities within 70 miles of Burford (London, Birmingham and Bristol). As a result there is more passing trade than you can shake a coach load of Italian tourists at. Maybe I am missing something, but I have never in my life seen a coach full of visitors pull up in Charlbury. There is also a school with 1,500 pupils, a large market of individuals to exploit. Demand for shops and services in Burford is high. So high, in fact, that despite the improved situation in the town a "not in my back yard culture" still exists to certain proposals.

For years attempts were made to open a fish and chip shop in the town but these were thwarted. Burford could have had a nice "Olde Cotswolde Fishe and Chipe" shop but instead it has a man selling kebabs from the back of a Bedford van parked in a lay-by. A definite own goal by the people of Burford methinks. My apologies, I digress.

I don't want anyone to take my comments out of context, but the reality is that Charlbury is a commuter town. Charlbury has a direct rail link to London and Oxford - something Burford does not have. With no tourist or passing trade the base of people that shop there is limited to this cash-rich, time-poor population of commuters who want to go to one shop on a Saturday where they can buy everything in one place. It's very nice to think of Charlbury as a quaint market town but those days died with pounds, shillings and pence.

As regards the Co-op, I listened to the arguments put forward by the owners of News and Things and was never entirely convinced by the concerns they expressed. A larger Co op could have bought more people to Charlbury but, alas, this does not seem to be the case and the smaller shops are suffering. Imagine the impact on Mr Carpenter's business if Waterstones opened up Charlbury. That's effectively what's happened with News and Things.

That said, I salute Mr Carpenter for running a profitable retail outlet in the town. I certainly wouldn't want to, espescially in the niche market he is serving.

I will be interested to see what happens in future. I predict this debate could take a swing in an entirely different direction in the years to come. If the CO-op develops a real monopoly on retail in Charlbury then things will reach a point where locals demand more competition and another supermarket will open its doors. Can you imagine Tesco opening its next out of town store on the outskirts of Charlbury??

And don't think such a thing couldn't happen in this patch of the Cotswolds because it already has. Cast your mind back and you might remember that Waitrose had a monopoloy in Witney for many years. It was only with the opening of Sainsburys that prices fell and service levels improved.

As a final thought, does anyone else out there share my opinion that the UK should adopt the Euro?