THE owner of a women’s boutique in Oxford has urged landlords to fill vacant units in Frideswide Square to stop the area looking ‘shabby and tired’.

Despite a £6.7m revamp in 2015, the square in the city centre has begun to look run down, with several shops and restaurants empty.

Amanda Suliman-Bell, who runs Rainbow and Spoon Boutique, wants Nuffield College to make efforts to find a new tenant to fill the former Oriental Condor restaurant.

The premises has been closed for several years and Ms Suliman-Bell said the empty units made the area look rundown.

READ AGAIN: Work carried out on battered pavements in Frideswide Square

She added: “The Oriental Condor closed a few years ago and the premises has deteriorated - the window is boarded up and it just looks terrible.

“The former La Croissanterie cafe also closed a couple of years ago and Frideswide Square looks shabby and tired.

Oxford Mail:

“It’s one of the main gateways into the city and tourists arriving on the train must get such a bad first impression of Oxford.”

READ MORE: Rainbow & Spoon struggles to compete with Westgate

Ms Suliman-Bell praised Dosa Park restaurant for trying to introduce a cafe culture by putting tables and chairs outside in the summer.

She said: “It’s the perfect location for some outdoors cafes and that would give footfall a real boost.”

Oxford Mail:

Gwilym Hughes, bursar of Nuffield College, said it recently started to market the premises of the former Oriental Condor Chinese restaurant.

READ AGAIN: Contractors move back in as paving stones in £6.7m revamp of Frideswide Square start to break up

He added: “We are looking to ensure the frontage stays active until a development proposal for the area comes forward.

“The Jam Factory is being refurbished and once that is completed we will look at proposals for the rest of the street.”

Oxford Mail:

In 2016 the college announced it would step in to help buy land in the Oxpens area and formed a partnership with Oxford City Council.

The £200m Oxpens scheme is the next phase of the regeneration of the West End, and follows the reopening of the £440m new Westgate Centre.

READ MORE: Oxpens development partner announcement is expected

The Oxpens area will feature a mixed housing and commercial quarter, including office space and about 500 homes.

Oxford Mail:

Nuffield College controls the Grade II listed Jam Factory, which houses a restaurant, arts centre and office space.

Following renovation work on the outside of the building, internal refurbishment will now take place.

The empty restaurant on the ground floor of the Royal Oxford Hotel is now ‘under offer’, according to property consultants VSL.