I READ with great interest the story Driven away by price rise, in Saturday’s Oxford Mail.
I am amazed that anyone might be surprised at this, as the powers that be have made Oxford a place to be avoided over recent years.
Apart from the increasing parking charges, there is the matter of the shops.
It is said that people prefer Swindon, Reading, Cheltenham, Banbury or Witney to shop, and this is hardly surprising when one considers the shops available in these towns – such as larger retailers such as John Lewis and House of Fraser, alongside many other individual brand names.
Our lone large retailer is Debenhams. Like Reading we have Marks & Spencer, Next and BHS, but our only real draw is the Covered Market – and one suspects someone somewhere has their eye on closing that.
Given the recent hike in parking charges, and this lack of choice, is it not obvious people will turn away?
One only has to look around to see the many shops we have lost. I would have thought that it would be in the city’s interest to do anything to encourage people back once more. (Maybe even by cleaning the streets a little more often).
If it costs less to drive somewhere and park for free, why would people choose to pay these high charges?
Liz Darley, Oxford
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