IT USED to be a magical place with toys in their millions all under one roof.

Now practically all that is left is the roof.

This is Oxford's former Toys R Us store on Botley Road, left empty after the national chain went bust in 2017.

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Now the site is being transformed into a Home Bargains store – one of the first new shops that will open in the city following the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Home Bargains normally sells discount toys, home furnishings, kitchenware and garden accessories, but when the company applied for planning permission to open its new Botley Road branch it also won permission to serve food at the site.

Oxford Mail:

Oxfordshire County Council and the Environment Agency both originally lodged concerns about the flooding risk at the site, but withdrew them after amendments to the plans.

Oxford City Council's west area planning committee gave the go-ahead on November 12.

Home Bargains said it would spend £5m on the new store, and said it could create 90 jobs.

This will be the first Home Bargains store in Oxford, with the nearest currently in Wantage.

The last day of trading at Oxford’s Toys R Us store was on April 21, 2018.

Oxford Mail:

The company filed for bankruptcy in 2017 after performing poorly against competitors in the USA.

Its UK stores began closing in 2018 after Toys R Us entered administration.

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Home Bargains has struck a deal to take on many vacant Toys R Us units across the country, with plans revealed to open in locations including Liverpool, Coventry and Peterborough.

Argos on Botley Road has also closed recently, with the its last day of trading on September 21 last year.