OXFORDSHIRE is bracing itself for more bad news today when the latest unemployment figures are released.

The figures will reveal for the first time the full impact of the 850+ job losses at the BMW car factory in Cowley, Oxford, which were announced in February.

Almost 8,500 people are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in Oxfordshire, but that figure is expected to take another leap.

Meanwhile, a special investigation has revealed traders in the county’s market towns are being upbeat about beating the recession.

Firms in the market towns said they were weathering the financial storm, with business leaders praising their resilience.

But there are fears Chancellor Alistair Darling’s Budget will offer little to help those struggling to make ends meet as the Government struggles to come up with more cash to prop up the economy after borrowing billions to bail out the banks.

Iain Nicholson, of the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network, said: “What’s striking is how resilient our market towns are proving to be and the very positive messages we are getting from a number of businesses.

“Yes, it is challenging. Yes, a number of sectors are having a tough time, and there are questions about where the economy goes from here.

“But we are finding a range of independent traders in our towns talking about recently having had some of their best trading days, weeks and months.

“Confidence is key now — and another message we are hearing strongly is about the big part the local media can play by looking beyond the national headlines and painting the more balanced picture of how the economy is doing here.”

There are fears the latest unemployment figures, published today, will take another major leap.

Last month’s statistics showed the biggest jump in the number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in Oxfordshire since our records began 20 years ago.

The numbers showed 1,538 more people were claiming benefit in February than in the month before, bringing the total number of claimants in the county to 8,444, up 22 per cent in a single month.

The number of people out of work in Oxfordshire is now higher than at any time since February 1997, when 8,649 people were on the dole.


WITNEY: Robert Sears, who has just opened his own commercial property consultancy, is hoping the new Marriotts Close development will help ensure Witney’s future prosperity.

But he said: “I am worried that seven or eight of the shops at Marriots Close have still not been let. On the whole, I am just pleased the development went ahead and did not get shelved as was the case with the Westgate Centre in Oxford.

“The town clearly has been affected by the recession and there are a number of empty shops, but they are not as noticeable as might have been the case.”

He said Witney benefited enormously from free parking and many people living in Oxford were coming to shop there.

He added: “You need to remember many people who have jobs and own their houses now have more disposable money than they had this time last year — not less — because they are paying out less on their variable mortgages.

“So I think, at least in the short term, Witney will ride this recession out.”

Leslie Semaine, landlady of the town centre Royal Oak pub, said: “I am worried about savers. I have noticed that fewer older people, who perhaps rely on savings more than others, are visiting my pub less.”


ABINGDON: Peter Wiblin, owner of West End Newsagents in Bury Street, Abingdon, and president of the Abingdon Chamber of Commerce, said: “Despite everything, people are still spending money. There are jobs out there for anyone prepared to bite the bullet, work hard, roll up their sleeves and not expect too much money.”

But he said: “Boarded-up shops are very noticeable here.

“Every day I pass Stead & Simpson, the former shoe shop. A year after it went into administration it is still empty and in the hands of the administrators. And, of course, while they have the keys, no-one has to pay business rates. The boarded-up premises of Woolworths are very noticeable.”

He blamed much of the town’s problems on high business rates and traffic problems.

He said: “I pay £12,000 a year in rates for my little shop and still the traffic is horrendous, parking a nightmare and the streets not cleaned properly.”

Many of Abingdon’s residents are professional people working in Oxford and some are finding their jobs at risk. Mr Wiblin said: “Many have never been near a job centre in their lives.”

James Choularton, of outdoor and sports town centre equipment shop Outdoor Traders, said: “We had a strong winter for the ski-ing gear. But now we are finding that consumers are becoming increasingly worried about the future.

“There is really no help, in the form of business rate relief, for instance, on the horizon, even though we keep hearing how much the Government cares about small traders.”


BICESTER: Publisher Ben Jackson is keeping a stiff upper lip about the recession. He said: “There are only two boarded-up shops in Sheep Street, the main shopping street. And even our Woolworths is being re-fitted for Iceland. “Then there is the town centre redevelopment scheme, complete with a Sainsbury’s and a six-screen cinema, which is scheduled to open in two years time.” Bicester Village, now trading well above its predicted budget, is good for employment, with 1,400 people working there. Bob Langton, chairman of Bicester Vision — a partnership funded by local councils and the private sector — said: “Bicester Village brings trade to the town and is not in competition with it. “But I think the town could still gain more from the traffic visiting the Village.” On the jobs front he said: “We shall open a job club here in May, then we shall know better how to help people being made redundant.”


DIDCOT: Glyn Hall, who employs six people at print management company CFC Print, said there were several boarded-up premises in The Broadway, Didcot's main shopping street. The Orchard Centre is a major shopping complex, with Sainsbury’s as its star attraction. It is fully let, except for the former Woolworths. Mr Hall said: “Another 6,000 homes are supposed to be going to be built at Great Western Park and other developments — and when they are built it will be important the second phase of the Orchard Centre goes ahead too.” On the jobs front, he said the new Asda warehouse at the Milton Interchange was a hopeful sign, but could not rule out more redundancies as the recession continued to bite. Ricardo Camara, originally from Portugal, who started Camara’s Cafe in the town centre three years ago, said: “Business is about the same as three years ago. But I must work harder now. “First I was open five days a week, then six, now I am open seven days. Some weeks business is up, others down. It is very uncertain. It’s dodgy for everyone at the moment and it’s difficult to look into the future, but we simply try our best and work harder.”