Radio clip from BBC Oxford at 2022-06-09 08:20:17.000
News Date
09/06/2022
Outlet:
BBC Radio Oxford
The overall controlling of it has become incredibly simple. It's quite an amazing sight to look around. But not everyone is convinced he's needed as we heard last month. And I don't see the point, make more development of shops when there's loads of empty one how's that going to translate to the rest of town especially the old town. I don't feel like there's any connection between the two site I put those points to CEO James Morris. Personally, I think it's going to be amazing for Banbury. We've designed this to fit in with what's already here. So, for example, got 29, just over the other side of it. Now you know they are doing live music we don't have that. It's adding to the vibrant of Castle Keane Castle key is a core part of Ambury show matter taking a look inside Castle key to so with many big shop closures in the Banbury. Over the past two years and elsewhere. It's not just a Banbury problem but is this going to bring much needed life money to the town centre Jonathan Reynolds is an associate professor in retail marketing studies these things that are Y Bryn outside Business School of the University of Oxford, was a formless bricks and mortar retailers come back more strongly, there will be less of a need for physical retail space so want to reinvent our tennis, he said. You've got to understand what new uses. Consumers will find attractive one experiment. We've got two for example I think about novel cinema spaces, the hospitality, the live music and so on to try and bring people into those locations. But even with this sort of entertainment bowling is it's been around for a decades but it could it can go out of fashion, very quickly. Can't I was only looking the other day at the popularity of other things are coming online at the moment like the crazy indoor golf sudden is a big thing. Yeah, a lot. It has all sorts of new things coming all the time I try to see what creates the physical spaces that can be reinvented and reimagined as as needs change. I think if you if you go went back to sort of 10 15 years will be building A very fixed for physical retail space, nothing else. And that was, they're totally unsuitable to what we need in the last couple of years. So you got a building some flexibility and because we heard mentioned is now the your lot 29 independent retail space and that's again a great example of how you can we can build a you know a lot more variety in a lot a lot more interest for people and you can ring the changes on that kind of space as well, but reason there is a political dimension to this because it's not private investment, it's public money is it value for money. Do you think there's 37 million I think we have to say to ourselves what what we want to see now in our regenerated town and city centres. We have two in some senses have a public private investment in these kinds of spaces because it belongs to all of us and they'll be relying on private funding. You know, may be sufficient. We have to have a vested interest at stake in this, as a citizens in a sense if we want to regenerate our town and city centres effectively So they got a 7 screens cinema 3 can outside restaurants. The big change 10 Lane bowling alley Retro Arcade in the Premier Inn there 10 years from now, what you think it looks like there's a big question. This is the more mature, like to think I'm sure there will be activities that don't work out, as well as people expected but we already know that I can tell you, he tells doing quite well perhaps British weather isn't isn't very conducive to sort of an outside dining all year all year round. While inevitably You know business as consumers are going to tend to gravitate to the News team in the first instance what it will do, of course, this may well mean falling rents, the location, which would make it more accessible that for new kinds of activities, so I think we might well, see, you know, a shift in the focus of the the town centre, but also opportunities for for others to take space they would otherwise be able to retail expert Jonathan Reynolds Castle key is owned by Cherwell district Council councillor in Cork is the deputy leader. Good morning to you and you must speak. You must be relieved a lot and finally a new Good morning, Yes, we all are. To see it to see it come to fruition so well it's been a. It's been an ambitious project and carried out really in the teeth of the pandemic for for least half of its time. So Yeah, very relieved to see it now, it's the whole complex opening tomorrow there's still restaurants going in. What can people expect to see, So there's a the majority it is opening the official of the soft launch for the the cinemas this Friday and then the official opening is on the second of July and there's a big what's billed as the experiential launch lots going on in the town centre on the second of July. How are you going to monitor the success and I mean obviously there's foot 4 and people spending money it's it's more than that though isn't it there's a general sense of wellbeing that people will hopefully get from this place where Helen you gonna give it before you can really take a view is a year two years, 3 years longer What's the what's the vision here
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