Two central Oxford bookshops are set to close this year,
because of ever increasing rent rises from the “utterly
ruthless” colleges which own the premises. Other shops in
the city talk of the struggle to keep up with property prices and
the difficulties imposed by transport restrictions. Unsworths bookshop in Turl Street is to close down in July
after six years. The establishment, which specialises in selling
scholarly and antiquarian books on the humanities, cannot afford
to pay increased rent rates for the premises. The rent increases
are a part of a rent review by Lincoln College which lets out a
number of properties on Turl Street. John Kinnane, senior
assistant at the bookshop, explained, “There is not a
massive profit margin on books, and when you put together a rent
increase with business rates and other overheads it means that
business here is no longer sustainable.” Charles Unsworth, manager of the Unsworths chain, said that he
had spent 15 months negotiating, but that Lincoln were
“intransigent in discussions” about the issue. Neighbouring store, the Classics Bookshop is also set to close
this year. Proprietor Anne Powell-Jones said that they feared
rent rises this autumn would be as much as 20%, rendering the
business no longer profitable. She has run the bookshop on Turl
Street for 15 years, and another bookshop had previously traded
on the premises. The Bursar at Lincoln College was contacted by Cherwell
regarding the rent increases but said that he was “unable to
make any comment”. Powell-Jones did point out that “up
to now Lincoln have been good landlords and it’s not just a
question of blaming them. Transport has also been a
problem.” Many central businesses say that have been
permanently damaged by the transport limitations introduced in
the city in 1999. Small shops in Jericho are also struggling as a result of the
high rents imposed by Oxford colleges. Walton Street Cycles
manager John Wilson said, “All the colleges are totally
ruthless and local businesses never know where they stand.”
St John’s owns much of the property in Jericho and North
Oxford. Wilson said that the college has been “completely
and utterly unhelpful – they just hoick prices up when they
want.” Staff at Jericho Books expressed disappointment that
more local businesses were facing difficulties. The closure of the bookshops is a disappointment to many
tutors and students who have bought books from the shop.
Christopher Guyver, a D.Phil. student at Keble opined, “It
is a real shame that Unsworths are closing: it was a good place
to get quality academic books at a low price and the staff were
always friendly.”ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004
Colleges force final chapter
