Thomson & Partners are advertising the ex Stroll In Premises “To Let”, and describe it as “ prominent lock – up shop with frontage on to the Market Place together with return frontage on to Stert Street.
I thought the rebuild plans, with flats above, intended to divide the shop in two with two shop fronts. But the owners may have decided against and kept it as one.
A bright spot light, from Stert Street at night, gives the shop a dramatic aspect with the old office chair.
I see the builders/shop fitters have been doing some work in the old Q S shop in the High St? When I spoke with the agent a few months back (on another subject) they told me they were on the point of signing up a new tenant, they wouldn’t tell me who,but said two companies were after it, one we would like very much and one not so ?
I walked round my old home town last Friday (a town in the Midlands) – first thought was this place is buzzing, hardly any empty shop units..
Then I looked around me – as well as the ubiquitous charity shops (most of which I’d never heard of) there were shops wanting to buy my gold, buy my clothes, buy my gadgets – or just lend me money.
Sometimes I think I prefer Abingdon’s empty units!
Here we go again ! according to the Vales planning portal an outfit called Savers have submitted an application for signage etc here. Looking at their web site they appear to be a super cheapo type store, a Pound-land, but not for a pound !
Here you go,
http://www.savers.co.uk/
So what’s happening with the “new” vodaphone shop? Any one know? Can’t they get a good signal in the precinct or something? 🙂
Aparently they are having some sort of problem getting one of their utilities sorted – dont have any details i’m afraid
Ah, I may be able to throw some light on that? I “friend” at BT told me that when SW built/knocked the shops into two (New Look etc) they built part of the front structure pillars over the BT maintenance chamber ! He joked at the time if anyone wanted a new line/number it would be a monumental task to find a way around the fact the cables have a new shop front built over them !
Re: Vodafone, yes I heard its to do with the wayleaves, which are about rights to access private land to install cables. It’s regarding the back of the store, as no digging can be done at the front in the precinct after all the recent renovations
Savers? isnt b&m moving into the town as well?
I believe that Savers are owned by Superdrug but are a more “budget friendly” outlet
Yes – b&m moving into the empty unit in fairacres next to subway. Not their pound shop brand but their diy/homeware brand
Hey Simon, I haven’t checked that connection out, but if you’re right then I suspect it will be bye bye Superdrug and hello to another empty precinct shop ?
I was told that Marks and Spencer (Simply Food), and also Aldi and/or Lidl had expressed interest in the unit on Fairacres which is now to be occupied by B&M. I suppose the decision about choice of tenants in Precincts and Retail Parks is in the hands of the companies owning the lease to the land?
A great pity for it means that the shoppers have no choice on the shops available to them and whether units are let or empty I suppose. (I speak from a point of ignorance here!!).
However, I think that a Marks and Spencer would be a great asset to the town. It seems as if we are going to be overloaded with ‘bargain shops’.
I agree Cassandra, we are just going to become another Didcot.
Cassandra – you are right that the decision on who to let the properties to lies with the landlord but I very much doubt if the shopping centre landlords would turn away a serious offer from any of the companies you mention. They have as great an incentive as anyone to fill the empty units and I dont imagine they are turning away offers from these sort of companies in favour of downmarket ones! (the former Stroll-in property is privately owned, not part of the shopping centre).
Fairacres is a bit different – I am sure someone will correct me if I have this wrong, but my understanding is that one of the conditions attached to the development of the site was that there should be no food retailers there, Part of the thinking behind this would have been protect the interests of the town centre – if we are to get an Aldi/Lidl/M&S surely we want them in town, not there?
Hester, I understand that The Vale is changing the covenants on Fairacres to allow virtually anyone in there so that what we’d like in the Town Centre will go to Fairacres. Makes a lot of sense for retailers as a Fairacres site, with proximity to the A34, makes the site a ‘Vale site’ rather than a ‘traffic locked’ Abingdon site.
There’s no point in getting angry as The Vale doesn’t care a stuff about Abingdon except for looting the place to spend on plans elsewhere.
The covenent on one store has been slightly amended. This allows the new store to sell a small proportion of foodstuffs – impulse purchases eg mars bar at chevkout. The landlords want furniture/home stores on the site – not supermarkets and foodstores.
Cassandra, about 6 years ago I visited my GP at the Malthouse surgery and he commented on the amount of (Vale owned) empty office space above, so much so that the manager showed me around, row after row of empty offices ! Hearing the Vale were considering re-vamping that entire area prompted me to do this.
I wrote to M&S acquisitions dept asking why were they not in Abingdon, they relied, they would love to be, but can’t find a spot, with that in mind I had a meeting with the then leader of the Vale, Tony-DeVere and suggested if I could find a major retailer to redevelop the Charter area, would the Vale, in principle agree, he said yes, So I met with the Acquisitions guy from M&S on level 6 of the multi story and walked him around the car park, surgery, library and social centre saying that in principle the council could make this available for developement, he was very excited at the prospect stating they could build (and fund it themselves) a full blow department store there. I then brokered a meeting between the vales property dept and M&S and the rest is filed in “secret bins” of all the other failings our town has had to endure !
Well done Steve for the efforts. As a relative newcomer I always wondered why a town like Abingdon did not have an M&S. Likewise, when the Charter plans were being discussed, I wondered why M&S weren’t being suggested for development.
Incidentally, I think that the new B&M may be Intending to sell more than the small ‘impulse’ foodstuffs. Unless I am mistaken, there is a ‘small’ notice attached to a post outside the proposed store, giving intention to apply for an alcohol licence. Accept my apologies if I am mistaken.!!!!
Incidentally, I am a keen supporter of the town centre shops, particularly the Independents. However, I am regularly drawn into Oxford to visit Marks and Spencer!!!!
Thank goodness for Steve King! It seems to me that Steve is proactive in all things Abingdon and I admire his efforts to enhance our town.
I would love a M&S in town, Witney has a small one and it’s just the right size. I was in Oxford on Monday just so I could go to Marks to buy good quality school uniforms and plimsolls and a leather handbag. If I wanted to buy these items in Abingdon I would have to go to Tescos where I know for sure that they don’t sell leather handbags and their uniforms are ok but not what I want!
The current leader of the Vale council is Matthew Barber. He doesn’t live in Abingdon – nor do any of the “Cabinet”.
I don’t know why that is – I think the leader can have who ever he wants in his cabinet.
Sasha/Casandra (and iain) have a look at the vales planning portal, I think its September 2013 and there you can see the application regarding the covenants?
I’m sure there are plenty of ‘spots’ if M&S really wanted to be in Abingdon!!
Surely m&s could go next to new look? That’s a decent size unit and is still empty!