A NUMBER of smaller shops could be created to fill the gaps left by fashion giants Next and River Island after they vacated Cornmarket Street to move to the Westgate Centre.

The opening of the new £440m shopping centre has had a knock-on effect on Cornmarket and there are now large neighbouring vacant shops in the street, with former soap store Lush also empty after it too relocated to Westgate.

Shoppers some they were concerned Cornmarket was already looking ‘shabby’ following the relocations and urged private landlords to fill the empty units as soon as possible.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said Jesus College, owners of the block which contained Next and River Island, were considering plans which involved creating smaller units.

He added: “It early days but Jesus College, the landlord, is considering demolishing the existing block and building a new one, with smaller shop units, student rooms and facilities.

“The scheme could significantly improve Cornmarket as the existing block was built in the 1960s.”

Mr Price said there had been a 30 per cent increase in footfall in the city centre in the week after the Westgate Centre opened.

He added: “That figure will have been slightly inflated because it was half-term so we need to look at how footfall figures pan out over the next 12 months.”

Nicholas Newman a 55 year-old journalist from Headington who was out on Cornmarket yesterday, said: “If Cornmarket starts to look even more shabby then more shops could leave.

“You have to proactive and this could have been better planned. London-style rents in Oxford are a fantasy for some businesses and the council should lobby the landlords to get these units filled.”

Retail expert Keith Slater, a member of Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network, said the opening of Trinity shopping centre in Leeds in 2013 had boosted footfall by at least a million people in the first year.

He added: “The opening of the Westgate Centre will definitely increase footfall in Oxford - the centre is expected to make £360m a year.

“The city council will have to look at footfall counts in places like Cornmarket to analyse how it is being affected by the opening of Westgate and whether new shoppers coming in are visiting other parts of the city as well as the Westgate.

“About 500,000 a week go through Cornmarket and I think it is important to get those large empty units filled as soon as possible.

“Cornmarket has always been able to command high rents. Now, after Westgate has opened, you have to question whether units in Cornmarket will still be able to command such high rents.”

Mr Slater said he wanted to monitor how parts of the city are affected by Westgate's opening.

What do you think should be done to solve the problem of empty city centre units? Email your ideas to news@nqo.com