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Traders hit by 'Charity Alley'

From the archive, first published Monday 27th May 2002.

Traders have renamed Headington "Charity Alley" because they claim it is overrun with secondhand shops.

Business leaders have criticised the influx of charity shops. There are now eight in a short stretch of London Road after a new Marie Curie Cancer Care shop opened last week.

Gill Cummings, of Headington Business Association, claims charity shops have an unfair advantage because they do not pay VAT, have low business rates and are staffed by volunteers.

Mrs Cummings, co-owner of jeweller's Time and Elegance, said: "People have actually started calling Headington 'Charity Village'. It's dreadful. One or two makes the area benevolent, but seven or eight make us look down-trodden.

"I'm not uncharitable, but it's not a fair playing field for other shops. "We're trying to make a living and they have few overheads. Some of them are even selling new goods. We need more variety.

"We don't have a butcher any more and there's only one greengrocer. People will start to bypass Headington altogether."

Fergus Doyle, the owner of gift shop West of Java, said charity shops did not even pay for their stock.

He said: "They are all raising money for important causes. My grievance isn't with charity shops per se, but they are greatly degrading Headington and turning it into Charity Alley.

"The area is no longer somewhere you can buy things you would expect from local shops. People don't come to look for shoes or food or records, but secondhand clothes. It looks so drab. It's not good for traders or shoppers." However, charity shop managers fought back, saying the amount of second-hand stores in Headington often encouraged bargain hunters to visit the area.

Sue Alder, senior shop manager for Sobell House, defended the charity's right to be in Headington because the hospice is based at the Churchill Hospital.

"Having so many in one place really doesn't hurt because charity shop shoppers love to do the rounds and several stores in one area draws people in," she said.

"Sobell House does have a certain right to be in Headington. In fact, we particularly wanted a shop there and treat it as our flagship branch," she said. Other locally based charities with shops in London Road are Clic, which carries out work with children treated at the John Radcliffe Hospital, and Cancer Research UK which carries out vital research at both hospitals.

Cancer Research UK has two shops in London Road, since the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and Cancer Research Campaign merged earlier this year.

Neville Wood, head of retail for Cancer Research UK, said: "We wouldn't have gone out of our way to have two shops in the same area, but they are both successful, well supported by local people and raise a large amount of income for research. "Charity shops provide a real service to the community. We recycle clothing and other goods, and shoppers get a bargain. The alternative is often empty stores with bills plastered over the windows and that's worse."

The other charity shops in London Road include outlets run by the British Heart Foundation and Oxfam.

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