The changing face of retail in a major road on the outskirts of the city centre has started with the demolition of two former shops.

The former DFS and Carpetright units in Botley Road are being flattened to make way for a multi-million pound scheme for new offices.

The new development will be used for a wide variety of research and development work, from life sciences to tech and manufacturing.

Demolition company Colemans told the Oxford Mail that the demolition works would last for 15 weeks, having started on November 11. 

This is a separate scheme to the development currently with Oxford City Council's planning officers for a swathe of new offices and labs on the site of Currys PC World, ScrewFix, Bensons for Beds, Pets at Home and Wren Kitchens.

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People are worried that these developments could spell disaster for retail outside the city centre and could put lots of jobs at risk. 

Graham Jones, a former city councillor and co-ordinator for ROX, Promoting Oxford Business, said: “A lot of us are bemused by this. It's confusing because the retail park has been regularly used by people for goods that you can't get in the city centre. Products like carpets and pet products for example. 

“This will diminish the offer for people and force them to go elsewhere. 

“The new labs will be good for new high-tech jobs, but they will cause the existing businesses to close. We've lost lots of destination shops in the city centre. Lots of market towns have better offers for shops which distract from the city centre. 

“There will be less of a draw into Oxford which can't be a good thing. There is so much going on around Oxford at the moment.”

Of the shops which have closed already, the nearest DFS is in Banbury and the nearest Carpetright is in Newbury. 

On the retail park which still has its shops open, the nearest Currys PC World is in Didcot, the nearest ScrewFix is in Cowley, the nearest Bensons for Beds is in Witney, the nearest Pets at Home is in Cowley and the nearest Wren Kitchens is in Banbury.

Councillor Susanna Pressel, who represents the Osney and St Thomas ward, said: "These poor residents already have to cope with all the disruption by the railway station, and now they have this new upheaval. 

"They are of course worried about the noise and the dust, but one good thing is that the company doing the demolition delivered a letter to the nearby homes before they started work and promised more information later. There are contact details in case of any problems. 

"Another good thing is that most of the materials of the old buildings will be reused. That will reduce construction traffic. The new, much taller, building will be called Fabrica. It will have much more landscaping and much less parking than the current site."

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About the author  

Toby is a senior reporter who has a particular interest in covering planning and local government. 

He joined in September 2024 having been a reporter at the Hampshire Chronicle for three years. 

Toby studied at the University of Brighton and can be found on X through the handle @JournoToby