The Last of the Shelves

The Last of the Shelves
The last of the shelves are piled in a Sims Metal Management container. Everything else has goes into the Chilton Waste container.
The Last of the Shelves
In just a few days the Bury Street store has been emptied of shelves and cabinets. The speed makes me wonder whether there is somebody already lined up willing to pay a higher rent – another supermarket.

I remember Aldi did want to open at Fairacres, but because of the Fairacres covenant were not allowed.

In their place there is a B&M who sell, among all their other household goods, a limited range of groceries – crisps, cereal, confectionery, and tins. Nothing fresh chilled or frozen.

21 thoughts on “The Last of the Shelves

  1. Ishtar

    Either Aldi, Iceland or Lidl would be good. Many people are travelling away from Abingdon in order to shop at these places. Sad, but true, people need this type of shop, not necessarily the ‘niche’ shops we have in Abingdon. A good mix of shops would generate more footfall into the town centre. It’s disappointing to sit in traffic for 20 minutes only to find you can’t buy what you need in town. Sometimes really basic items prove elusive. I was after a bumbag for when I’m running, but after trying three shops I gave up. Quick trip to Botley and I got what I needed.

    Better to spend that 20 minutes travelling somewhere that you know you can get what you need.

    Reply
  2. Badger

    Aldi, Lidl or Iceland or even Sainsburys Local would be good, nothing like a bit of competition to stir everyone up, when the B&M opened it was excellent to see Tesco staff in there noting down the prices so they could match or beat them. Another small Tesco is not what the town needs as amongst other things their Metro stores operate a different pricing structure to their larger outlets.

    Reply
  3. Rachel

    I drive to Oxford to go to Lidl for most of my shopping then do bits in town. Lidl in the centre of town would be an amazing benefit to me and many others

    Reply
  4. Geoff Bailey

    A lot of speculation.Surely someone connected to The Council planning Committee must know.Why no local press announcement? Or is everyone sworn to secrecy?

    Reply
  5. Angela

    There’s no reason why anyone on the planning committee might know. Planing permission would only be required if There was to be a change of use – a change from one retail outlet to another is not a change of use.

    Reply
  6. Dave

    The reason they should know is that they are on the planning committee. If they don’t know, they should find out, maybe that would help in their planning activities.

    Reply
  7. Rachel

    Angela is right – if there are no changes in use or anything different in the signage than what was there already, this is just a commercial decision that the council has no part in.

    Reply
  8. 2707

    Hopefully not a Lidl or Aldi. Please! We’d like Abingdon to be somewhere nice to shop! We want footfall to increase for the right reasons. There is plenty of opportunity to buy ‘value’ products in and around Abingdon already.

    Reply
  9. Joe

    ‘We’d like Abingdon to be somewhere nice to shop’ – is that code for ‘we don’t want to see poor people’ by any chance?

    (If it is, you might take note that many people from all income brackets shop at Lidl/Aldi these days; the prices are excellent but they also tend to have interesting stuff)

    Reply
  10. SIMON

    2707, just wwhat is your objection to Lidl and Aldi?
    Since Aldi opened in Didcot that is now my supermarket of choice. Their range may be smaller but the quality is far superior to their nearest rivals, alot is UK sourced ( yes the labels are different but if you look closely the majority is produced for Aldi form UK providers)

    Reply
  11. 2707

    Simon, where one shops is their prerogative. I personally don’t like these shops…….only in Lidle can you find tea bags next to gardening socks!, however my argument isn’t with the shop, just the need of having yet another supermarket in Abingdon.

    Reply
  12. Ishtar

    Absolutely agree. Where one shops is up to them.

    However, wouldn’t it be nice to able to shop where we liked in Abingdon without having to travel?

    Reply
  13. Angela

    Oh come on, Ishtar, almost everyone who has the means to travels to other towns, farm shops, shopping centres because they can’t find what they are looking for in their own town, village, suburb , or whatever conurbation they live in.. Abingdon may be no better, but it’s certainly no worse.

    Reply
  14. The Other Colin

    Apparently there is a pigeon inside the building. The members of the adult care centre, have noticed it wondering around.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Geoff Bailey Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.