Charlbury's Bookshop and the future
As you may know unless a new tenant is found for the bookshop in the next few weeks Jon Carpenter will be closing down in the early New Year. This is very sad, but all bookshops are finding retail conditions difficult unless there is a back-up or supporting business. The availability of a book shop here has been an important feature in many people's lives and internet purchases, though extremely important, do not enter into the fabric of Charlbury life in the same way.
I made clear in a recent public meeting that I was willing to accept, at the current low rent, any individual or group of people who wanted to continue running a bookshop although both Jon and I recognise that a supporting activity is almost essential to any shop in the town. If nothing changes within the next month I am willing to consider reasonable offers to take on the tenancy of the shop, with or without a supporting business, provided that the shop is likely to be of benefit to the locality.
If no suitable offer comes along, alternative non-residential uses linked my involvement in DustScan Ltd will be pursued since this is thriving business and we need more space.
Geoffrey Walton
sue radbourne · Tue 29 Oct 2013, 15:07 · Link