The Tattoo shop has moved from its old site at 123 Ock Street.
and moved into what was the letting office of a well known Abingdon estate agent – empty for a while at 5 High Street.
Next door at 7-9 High Street, the 9TP / pound shop+ are closing down now their lease is up.
There is a planning application to change the use of that large fronted premises from retail to finance and professional Services. The property owner say they are finding it difficult to find a retailer in that location and they don’t want to have an empty property.
what is happening to our dear old town……
when a tattoo parlour can be profitable in the town centre and a shop cant…….so sad
why cant the council help to regenerate and turn abingdon around like they have done with didcot…..
didcot have next, pc world, currys etc
abingdon has tattoo parlours and tescos in empty pubs…..
Dare I say ‘Poundshop’??, I suspect the 9TP shop is not a large scale enterprise and it is a rather large shop space.
When it was Haken & Bell, it was bigger…upper floors were converted into flats/apartments…
Not another Estate Agent/Insurance, or even a Betting Shop??
There is nothing wrong with a Tattoo shop! I don’t understand why people are always so negative about these shops. Its not just Chavs that have tattoos!! Most Tattooists are very talented artists and any small business in a miserable looking town centre should be embraced and not slagged off!!!
I’m with Tim. Having a tattoo shop is in no way a slight on the town. Didcot has a Currys…..so what….it’s still Didcot
At least Abingdon has individual shops. Didcot only has chains.
tim…… excuse me but i do have an ahem, tattoo and of which i am very proud of and my family have used acreedo aswell and their hygiene is second to none, absolutely spotless. what i am getting at is a tattoo parlour will do well where ever they are situated because its a place that people wanting tats etc will search for. all very well having these “independent” shops in the town but it doesnt exactly make abingdon appear to heaving with shoppers on a saturday afternoon. when in didcot it always so busy…. and to be honest its the main stream shops that people mostly want to use. check out witney too, always busy with trade…..
i am abingdon born and bred and feel extremely sad at the way it is now!!!!!
I would hazard a guess that the reason Didcot is so busy is that shoppers go to Sainsbury and then take a wander through the shopping centre. Would they still go if Sainsbury wasn’t there?
Its not just Abingdon that is quiet – its Saturday afternoon and we are just back from Botley Rd. Currys and Comet were even more deserted than Abingdon. Nobody buying at all.
All small towns are suffering at the moment but Abingdon is probably doing better than most.
Sainsbury’s and the new parade of shops in Didcot do OK, but the Broadway is pretty poor.
Add up all the people using Tesco, Fairacres, Waitrose and the town centre and Abingdon is a lot busier overall.
And when events are on – which is most Saturdays through the spring and summer, Abingdon is buzzing.
I have no problem with a Tattoo parlour – the more variety the better.
I walk past everyday and would say its probably the busiest shop on the high street and looks really good. Any business bringing so many people to town surely cant be a bad thing?