The arrival of Waitrose in Headington is a key development for our area. There are a lot of benefits it could bring, helping revitalise the district centre, but there also possible difficulties. So Ruth and I have been keeping a careful eye on how things develop. I met with a regional manager from Waitrose this week and he outlined their plans for the store. They formally took ownership of the store on Thursday — if you’d been there on the previous days, you’ll have seen the clear-out sale which left Somerfield looking like a Soviet-era supermarket. The shop is now closed for a re-fit, with the plan being to open on Thursday 7 May. No great fanfare is planned: they intend to start trading quietly and iron out any teething problems they have (pardon the mixed metaphors!).

They are up-beat about the prospects for this store. If it does go well, they have plans for a small extension. There have been rumours about their taking over the former Threshers store and they are indeed looking to lease that site. They would also be interested in re-locating the sub-station next door — which would remove a real eye-sore — but it is unlikely Southern Electric would agree to that. If Waitrose did take over the Threshers site, they would apply to knock it down and replace it, but that is some way off. In the short term, they would lease out that site.

There have also been rumours about their closing the Old High Street entrance: I’m told that this is highly unlikely. In fact, they seem to see that entrance as very significant as it’s the closest they have to main road frontage.

They are also interested in discussing the future management of the car-park off Old High Street. I’ve made it clear that this car park is used by a range of local people and must remain public. But if Waitrose are willing to work with the Council to improve the look of the car park, I’m sure we would all see that as positive.

The issue of parking relates, of course, to the big question: the traffic impact of Waitrose. There are understandable worries about this in the area and potential problems for residents of Old Headington if the village is used as a back route to the store. At this stage, we need to know what Waitrose’s own calculations have been about the catchment area of the store and the traffic generation they would expect. I have been promised this information. Only then can we work out how to work with our new neighbours to ensure that the impact for Headington is a plus, rather than a headache.