LARGE rent increases may force small Oxford retailers to close, leaving the city centre a clone town populated only by large chain stores.

Chainstores in Cornmarket Street

Just a week after the New Economics Foundation described Oxford as a "border town", on the verge of losing its character, several independent traders have said that rent increases of up to 60 per cent will force them to shut.

A total of 183 commercial properties owned by Oxford County Council face rent reviews, and a number of the small businesses affected say they cannot foot the bill.

But council officers have said that shopkeepers were aware the review was due and should have prepared for it.

Avid Records and the bespoke clothes store Annabelinda, both in Gloucester Street, were warned of a 50 per cent increase last November.

The owners were also told they must make backdated payments totalling thousands of pounds because the authority was late with the review. Both businesses are disputing the size of the increase.

The rent for Annabelinda is set to go up by 52 per cent, from £25,000 to £38,000 a year. The extra £1,083 a month will be backdated to September 2003, leaving owner Belinda O'Hanlon with a bill for £22,000.

Mrs O'Hanlon said: "I feel that they just want to get rid of us and get another fast food joint.

"I think the council just thinks 'expensive clothes' and doesn't realise that they're all hand-made and that we don't earn very much."

Paul Rouillier, owner of Avid Records, has also been told his rent will increase by 50 per cent, from £2,000 to £3,000 a month.

His review should have happened three-and-a-half years ago, and he is expected to pay £42,000 in backdated rent.

He said: "Once it's settled, it seems likely to be somewhere in the middle, so we're still talking about £20,000. That's still a hell of a lot of money, and it's still going to put me out of business."

Mr Rouillier has already put the shop lease up for sale, but both traders say they feel trapped because they have only a few years left on their leases.

A council spokesman said that of the 183 properties concerned, about 80 per cent were community buildings and charities, which would not see any rent rise.

Only five per cent of the authority's commercial tenants were facing large increases. He added: "Businesses are aware when their rent reviews are due, and it's reasonable that they should make provision for increases."

Terry Laithwaite, owner of the two Gaff clothing stores, in Broad Street, said that he would have to close one of his shops by the end of the year because of rent increases.

The rent on the men's shop, owned by Boswells, rose "in the region of 50 to 60 per cent" three years ago.

Mr Laithwaite has now received a letter from the council informing him that he will face a 50 per cent rise on the ladies' store.

He said: "Because we're in a recession now, and the rent is going up, we cannot sustain the two shops."

All councils are is obliged to charge rents at commercial rates and can be penalised by the district auditor if they fail to do so.