AN INNOVATIVE charity Internet cafe and bookshop is to close and reopen as a ‘retro’ shop.

Age Concern@183, in Cowley Road, East Oxford was believed to be the first charity Internet cafe in the country when it opened in October 2007, with computers alongside the secondhand books it had on sale.

But Age Concern head of personnel Simon Bolton said the concept had not worked as well as the charity had hoped.

He said: “We gave it our best shot but it didn’t work.

“The problem with innovations is sometimes they will work and sometimes things won’t go to plan, and that’s what happened here.”

Four computers bought for the shop will be transferred to Age Concern Oxfordshire’s centre in St Edmund’s House, Abingdon, for elderly people to use for training sessions and other activities.

The charity now hopes to take advantage of the large number of retro items given to its other Oxford shop, in St Clement’s Street.

Mr Bolton said: “It’s everything from games through to clothes through to tragic 1970s ceramics which we think is a bit of fun and should be good.

“This will be another first for Oxfordshire which makes us nervous and excited – but we think people will be as excited as we are about what we are trying to do.”

Daniel Hemming, manager of the St Clement’s shop, will be taking over the running of the store when it opens next month.

He said: “I collect Dr Who stuff myself and my best friend who has also been involved in setting it up is a collector of lots of retro stuff.

“It will be a niche market but there isn’t another shop like it in Oxford, so hopefully that will help make it a success.”