A shop in the centre of Headington, Oxford, has been saved after traders collected hundreds of signatures.

An application for a change of use for the empty Cotswold Collection furniture shop in London Road was turned down amid concerns the character of the area was being changed.

Shopkeepers, already concerned about the number of charity shops in the area, organised a petition to protest against plans to change the site from a retail space to one offering financial or professional services.

Jill Cummings, of Time and Elegance jewellers in Windmill Road, said they had collected a page of signatures in just one day.

She said: "Once a retail unit goes it is lost.

"There is nowhere in Headington where anybody can build new ones. When you count the restaurants, banks, estate agents and charity shops, there are not many of us left."

Fewer shops meant fewer visitors and affected the businesses left behind, she added.

Headington's city councillor Stephen Tall, right, said the council's policy was to try and maintain shopping districts where they already existed.

He added: "This most recent application, which would doubtless have resulted in yet another estate agent in Headington, was refused because it fell foul of that policy."

Since Andrew's estate agents opened a branch in Headington, there have been eight estate agents on or near the crossroads.

In July this year West's Garden Centre, in Windmill Road, a family business which had been trading in Headington for 100 years, closed down.

The site is to be redeveloped and planning permission has been given to build four houses and four flats.