Grove traders say their full-up precinct is putting neighbouring towns in shade (From Herald Series)

Grove traders say their full-up precinct is putting neighbouring towns in shade

8:50am Friday 3rd July 2009

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TRADERS in Grove are bucking the trend of other Oxfordshire towns after the shopping precinct’s last empty shop was taken.

Millbrook Square precinct has 15 shops, including a Tesco supermarket, Supa-fruits, Smiths DIY, The Mayfield Coffee Lounge and McColls newsagent.

The remaining empty unit, formerly the Co-op supermarket, has been taken by Mehmet and Lisa Izer, who have opened Mem’s Kitchen takeaway.

Shopkeepers said the self-sufficient precinct was bucking the trend of towns like Abingdon and nearby Wantage, which have empty shops.

Mr and Mrs Izer, of Wantage, also run the town’s Silvana takeaway, in Mill Street.

Mrs Izer, 36, said: “Millbrook Square is complete now. If you look at other precincts like Abingdon and Wantage, they are not full. They have always got at least one empty shop.

“People can visit the square and not have to shop anywhere else. It has such a variety, from a greengrocer’s right through to a funeral director.

“I think that's an achievement in itself.”

She added: “I also think that Millbrook Square has a lot more going for it than Wantage town centre.”

Steve Missen, of Smiths DIY, which has been in the precinct for 20 years, said: “The last time the precinct was full was about four years ago.”

He added: “I think it’s great that the shopping centre is now full again.

“How many other places have got an old fashioned butcher’s, greengrocer’s and ironmonger’s in the same high street?

“More shoppers are coming to shop here.

“Every time I look out to the car park, it is always full.

The precinct also has A R Hanley’s butchers, Bretts Pharmacy, Wine Palace off-licence, Grove Cleaners, Elaichi Tandoori Restaurant, the Co-operative funeral service, a dentist, Millbrook Opticians, Action For Children in Conflict charity shop and a Lloyds TSB branch.

A doctor’s surgery is opposite the precinct.

Frances Broadbent, an optical dispenser for Millbrook Opticians, said: “It’s so much better now the final shop has been taken over. It has finished the square off.

“A lot of people come to the square, especially the elderly. It’s their way of meeting other people.”

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