4.7 Market towns

Oxfordshire's towns can play a huge part in achieving the County's wider economic objectives, such as encouraging entrepreneurship, protecting the environment, spreading innovation and best practice, and developing skills.

The issues confronting Oxfordshire's market towns include:

• Commuters leaving towns before local shops are open, and returning after they are closed.
• Availability and cost of car parking.
• Proliferation of signage, creating visual clutter.
• Loss of independent shops which had been the backbone of Chambers of Commerce.
• Conflict between retaining the traditional, historical, market town feel, and the need to do business in a modern, changing, international business world.
• Loss of facilities such as tourist information centres and cinemas.
• Decline of local input from the banks.
• Impact of major supermarkets, whether in town or out of town.
• Low level of sign-up to broadband.
• High house prices, and the need for affordable homes for staff.
• Competition from other major towns outside the County
• Traffic congestion, and potential erosion of rail and public transport services.
• Finding time to release staff to undertake training and skills.