PEOPLE power has brought down plans to turn two empty shops into takeaways or restaurants in Heading- ton.

Residents objected strongly to proposals for the site at the corner of New High Street and London Road, which has been empty since 1990, when the Not the Moulin Rouge cinema was demolished.

They want site owners Helical Bar (Oxford) to find tenants who will run the units as shops, and argue that Headington has already lost to many shops and has too many takeaways and other food outlets.

Cllr Gill Sanders told Oxford City Council's planning committee: "Residents are very opposed to this development, it would further undermine Headington's vitality. What is needed is more retail units to encourage shoppers to visit the area."

Mrs Sanders added that there were already fish and chip shops, and takeaways selling pizza, Chinese and Indian food and kebabs in Headington, as well as a mobile kebab van.

She warned that itagreeing to the loss of two possible shops in the area could set a precedent for Oxford's other suburban shopping centres, for example Summertown and Cowley Road. But Helical Bar's planning consultant Nik Lyzba , the planning consultant acting for Helical Bar, said every effort had been made to find people to run the units as shops but with no success. There was however interest in opening food and drink outlets on the site.

"They have been vacant for eight years and you have a choice between there being no development on the site and there being some development - albeit that that development won't fall fair and square within what the council expects in terms of its policies," he added.

Oxford's local plan sets out that three-quarters of the ground floor commercial premises in the centre of Headington should be shops. At the moment the figure is only 65 per cent.

Maureen Christian, chairman of the planning committee, said granting the planning permission would be 'contrary to too many of the council's policies to contemplate'. She said: "I hope to see a return to viable, lively, mixed use on this particular site," she added.

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