Waitrose eyes up Botley Road Halfords site (From thisisoxfordshire)
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Waitrose eyes up Botley Road Halfords site
11:00am Friday 4th January 2013 in News
The site on Botley Road
WAITROSE has confirmed it is looking at opening a store in Oxford’s Botley Road.
The supermarket is considering taking over the Halfords and former MFI site and has been in talks with Oxford City Council.
A Waitrose spokesman said the site was among a number of locations in the city. He added: “It’s no secret that we are keen to build on our presence in Oxford in the future and are continuing to explore opportunities that would allow us to achieve that.”
The Botley Road site is becoming vacant because Halfords is poised to move to a new unit in nearby Lamarsh Road.
Furniture retailer MFI closed its store on the site at the end of 2008 after going into administration.
There is already a branch of low-cost food retailer Aldi further along Botley Road, and a Co-op, Tesco Express and Iceland in the West Way shopping centre in Botley, but a new Waitrose would be the first large supermarket in the area. It opened its first store in Oxford in 2009, when it took over the Somerfield store in Headington.
It also has branches in Wallingford, Witney, Thame, Wantage and Abingdon.
West Oxford residents welcomed the news, but expressed concerns over traffic and the impact on local shops.
Labour ward councillor Susanna Pressel said: “People are torn between their concern about another supermarket on poor Botley Road and their desire to have a Waitrose. One other worry is our much-loved shop Eggs Eggsetera.”
Comments(9)
WitneyGreen
says...
11:55am Fri 4 Jan 13
EMBOX2 wrote:Absolutely right - with the exception of very busy shopping Saturdays before Xmas when everyone is heading for Toys R Us, the congestion on Botley Rd is entirely due to Frideswide Square. A supermarket won't make a difference to that. A Waitrose would be welcome in this area by those of us who walk or cycle to Seacourt P&R, giving us a good-quality place to stop off on the way to or from work. As for Eggs Eggsetera - well, it's a lovely little shop, but it's just that - little. Local people will still use it for top-up and one-off shopping.
I doubt traffic will be any worse than it already is. Botley Rd is a nightmare at the best of times, and mostly down to the crazy light patterns at Frideswides Square.
Replace those lights with a few roundabouts (or just get rid of them and let drivers decide) and that should free up the traffic.
Wanchai
says...
12:15pm Fri 4 Jan 13
WitneyGreen wrote:Not so good for sandwiches or fancy ready meals but for fresh fruit and veg I recommend Aldi on the Botley road. You can even take an old Waitrose or M&S plastic bag with you so you can pretend you've shopped elsewhere.
EMBOX2 wrote:Absolutely right - with the exception of very busy shopping Saturdays before Xmas when everyone is heading for Toys R Us, the congestion on Botley Rd is entirely due to Frideswide Square. A supermarket won't make a difference to that. A Waitrose would be welcome in this area by those of us who walk or cycle to Seacourt P&R, giving us a good-quality place to stop off on the way to or from work. As for Eggs Eggsetera - well, it's a lovely little shop, but it's just that - little. Local people will still use it for top-up and one-off shopping.
I doubt traffic will be any worse than it already is. Botley Rd is a nightmare at the best of times, and mostly down to the crazy light patterns at Frideswides Square.
Replace those lights with a few roundabouts (or just get rid of them and let drivers decide) and that should free up the traffic.
Benjami
says...
1:25pm Fri 4 Jan 13
Hopefully they will incorporate changes to access to Frideswides Square when they get around to upgrading the railway station, that should lower the traffic congestion considerably.
WitneyGreen
says...
1:48pm Fri 4 Jan 13
Wanchai wrote:Ha! I've no qualms about shopping in Aldi and I agree the fresh food is excellent - it's just that little bit too far out of my way of my direct walk from the town centre to the Park and Ride (yes, I am too lazy to cross the road and walk across the car park!)
WitneyGreen wrote:Not so good for sandwiches or fancy ready meals but for fresh fruit and veg I recommend Aldi on the Botley road. You can even take an old Waitrose or M&S plastic bag with you so you can pretend you've shopped elsewhere.
EMBOX2 wrote:Absolutely right - with the exception of very busy shopping Saturdays before Xmas when everyone is heading for Toys R Us, the congestion on Botley Rd is entirely due to Frideswide Square. A supermarket won't make a difference to that. A Waitrose would be welcome in this area by those of us who walk or cycle to Seacourt P&R, giving us a good-quality place to stop off on the way to or from work. As for Eggs Eggsetera - well, it's a lovely little shop, but it's just that - little. Local people will still use it for top-up and one-off shopping.
I doubt traffic will be any worse than it already is. Botley Rd is a nightmare at the best of times, and mostly down to the crazy light patterns at Frideswides Square.
Replace those lights with a few roundabouts (or just get rid of them and let drivers decide) and that should free up the traffic.
Sophia
says...
4:52pm Fri 4 Jan 13
carfax cabby ox1
says...
8:52pm Fri 4 Jan 13
carfax cabby ox1
says...
8:52pm Fri 4 Jan 13
mytaxes
says...
10:23pm Fri 4 Jan 13
EMBOX2 says...
11:24am Fri 4 Jan 13
Replace those lights with a few roundabouts (or just get rid of them and let drivers decide) and that should free up the traffic.