Buy the high street

Fri 24 Jul, 21:50

Glad someone else has highlighted the changes of use that have occurred, in particular to residential.  Local planning policies are much stricter in preventing such changes in the major town centres – but even those applicable to Charlbury could have been used at least to create higher hurdles if not to prevent them. 

Instead, WODC have allowed several (eg News ‘n Things) over the years – or have failed to take enforcement action in time so that changes have become immune and thus lawful. Not the only reason for the decline of course – if even the wonderful Gill & Co can’t survive in Chippy – don’t it always seem to go....

 I could say much the same about WODC for the number of large detached houses they have allowed, which their own research (for the current WOLP) showed only attracts people (like me!) from outside the area rather than meeting the needs of local people.  IMHO their planners have been feeble in both respects – if without hearing the case for the defence. 

Added to which – given the price being asked by the former owner of the Old Bank House (albeit with the upstairs flat included), I think it highly unlikely we’d be able to put together a collective purchase of much more than a table outside the R & C!  Nowt wrong with that but aren’t we supposed to be fixing the roads as well??

 I haven’t said anything about this on the forum before but it’s seriously disappointing that the OBH is still ‘dark’ almost 9 months after the Deli & Café vacated.  We’d have much preferred to move in February but were told that didn’t fit their business plans.  Seems their attention lies elsewhere…. 

Fri 24 Jul, 19:48

What about no5 Market Street?

Fri 24 Jul, 11:44

too late for Charlbury, most former retail sites now converted to residential homes.

Fri 24 Jul, 11:26

An interesting & positive extension of communities buying the local pub to keep it open

Wed 22 Jul, 12:11

Spotted on the Oxford Clarion this morning:

The townspeople of Watlington are banding together to buy shops on their High Street, so they can “let them at fair rents to tenants who benefit the town” and keep them out of the hands of “landlords who want to maximise their yield”. They are raising £600,000 and have targeted three properties.

Watlington Community Property has been set up as a Community Benefit Society to buy the properties, and keep them in community ownership through an asset lock. They plan to launch a share offer, acquire the first property, then use rental income to fund further acquisitions.

Their aim is “a High Street that owns itself… where the buildings are owned by the people who live and work here, managed for viability rather than maximum return”. Founders include a former CEO of the Building Societies Association and local business owners.

Website at watlingtoncpt.org.uk. What a brilliant idea – if only we could do the same for Charlbury.