Retailers claim they are facing an double whammy, with falling trade due to the Oxford Transport Strategy and rising rent, writes Rebecca Smith.

Martin Blant, who runs Magna Gallery in High Street, said December's takings were half what they were last year.

And, to add to his financial trouble, Queen's College, which owns the land his shop is on, has increased his rent by 48 per cent. Mr Blant, whose shop sells antique maps and prints, blames the OTS for putting people off shopping in Oxford and making it difficult for customers to reach him.

He said: "It is a bit of a nightmare really. I am down about 35 per cent over the year. I had a customer who bought a large framed map and to collect it he had to drive from the multi-storey car park all the way round and over Magdalen Bridge - it's ridiculous. "I think the strategy has isolated this end of the town.

"A lot of my friends say they now shop in Cheltenham." He added that if the council was going to pedestrianise the centre, they needed to look after those on foot by gritting pavements.

"I have had two customers fall this morning. Most people walk down in the gutter where it is safer. It doesn't make any sense," he said.

Story date: Thursday 30 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.