Shops planned for pub site

From the Oxford Mail, first published Friday 18th Jan 2008.

The site of a disused Oxford pub could soon become a bustling hub for a local community.

Oxford restaurateur Clinton Pugh, who bought The Friar, in Marston Road, Marston, last May, wants to redevelop the site.

Mr Pugh, who owns Cafe Coco and Kazbar, in Cowley Road, wants to create new shops, a cafe and a small number of flats on the plot.

He said: "I want to build some shops that will be of benefit to the local community, with a greengrocer's, a delicatessen and a cafe/wine bar.

"I want the cafe to be a place where people living in the area can come and meet with friends and relax, and it will offer them something that they don't already have."

The pub has been empty for more than a year and Mr Pugh said he had not taken the decision to apply for planning permission to develop the site lightly.

He said: "The area is already well served with pubs and I don't think it needs another one. I feel a lot of pubs are going to be closing around Oxford and it is the council's fault.

"They didn't think it through when they started enticing larger pub chains into the city centre, and it has had an impact on pubs in the outlying areas."

Speaking about the design of the buildings he intends to build on the site, Mr Pugh said: "I envisage something that has a 1930s feel to it, with polished stone and glass - not garishly modern, but something that has that linear quality you associate with Art Deco."

Peter Dunn, 38, who lives in Old Marston Road, said: "I think it's a fantastic idea to create more local shops. It will really help build up the area and give it a community feel.

"It's nice, that in the age of the supermarkets, that someone realises that people want to be able to shop locally."

Sonia Durwood, 69, of Ambleside Drive, said: "I'm a widowed pensioner that can't drive and I rely on the local shops to get my food.

"I hope these shops will get the go-ahead as it will give me more choice. I'll also have somewhere to stop and get a cuppa when I'm done."

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