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M&S new foodhall opening date for Abingdon is announced

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Work is now taking place at the former Homebase unit at Fairacres Retail Park to prepare for opening next week.

The retail site spans more than 18,000 sq ft and the foodhall comes as part of the ongoing M&S “rotation and renewal programme”.

READ MORE: M&S foodhall update

The new store is creating 75 jobs and recruitment has been taking place.

Today M&S announced Wednesday, April 22 as the opening date.

Staff at M&S (Image: M&S)

Paddy Sunderland, store manager at M&S Abingdon, has worked at M&S for six years.

He said: “We cannot wait to open our brand-new store in the heart of Oxfordshire.

“The team and I are so excited to welcome customers through the doors and showcase the very best of M&S Food and the quality and trusted value we’re known for.

“With the full range of M&S Food products, we have everything for customers’ weekly shop but also something for everyone, whether grabbing lunch on the go or wanting to try our latest seasonal launches. Follow our store social page here for all the latest updates.”

The store will offer the full M&S Food range, from everyday essentials to household must-haves and the latest new product launches.

 Customers can look forward to an in-store bakery and coffee counter, offering a selection of freshly baked breads and pastries, as well as a range of barista-made takeaway drinks and a hot chicken counter, serving BBQ and butter-basted flavour British rotisserie chicken.

Fairacres Retail Park in Abingdon (Image: Andy Ffrench)

The store will also offer fresh produce from M&S’ Select Farm partners – over 60 of which are based in Oxfordshire – and M&S’ Remarkable Value and family-friendly Bigger Pack Better Value ranges will be available across the foodhall.

A dedicated Click & Collect point will also make collecting online fashion, home and beauty orders easy.

The opening has created 75 new jobs, including specialist in-store bakery and hot food counter roles and across customer service and operations.

M&S Abingdon is one of 12 former Homebase sites across the UK developed by M&S into new ‘market-style’ foodhalls.

Opening hours for the new store are between 8am and 9pm Monday to Saturday and between 10am and 4pm on Sundays.

Lidl and Costa Coffee are neighbouring businesses at the retail park off Marcham Road.

Local shoppers have welcomed the arrival of the new foodhall, as it will save them a journey to Didcot or Oxford.

In September, Sunny Day Gentian Abingdon, the company which took over the running of Bury Street precinct in 2021, objected to the M&S plans but it did not deter Vale of White Horse District Council from giving the new foodhall the go-ahead.

Planning consultants argued that the new foodhall going ahead at the retail park could jeopardise improvement plans for the precinct.





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Crime & Safety

Banbury – Police issue update after taxi crashed into house

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As previously reported, a car was smashed into the side of a parked white Peugeot taxi in Woodgreen Avenue.

It then caused the taxi to collide with the house it was parked outside of, leading to significant damage to the bricks.

READ MORE: Abingdon – Man sentenced for breaking window at ex-partner’s home

Nobody was injured in the crash, but the road was taped off for most of Monday, August 18 last year while officers investigated.

Two people were arrested shortly after the crash, with two more shortly afterwards.

All four of those arrested were released on conditional police bail pending further enquiries by investigating officers.

However, Thames Valley Police have now confirmed that no further action will be taken.

A spokeswoman said: “All those arrested have been released from police custody with no further action to be taken.

“Following a thorough review of all the lines of enquiry available to us in this case, this investigation has now been filed.”





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Police drugs raid at home near to major Oxfordshire school

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Thames Valley Police has revealed that it carried out a drugs warrant today (Friday, April 17) on Leach Road in Bicester.

This is only a road away from The Bicester School which educates over 1,000 pupils from 11 to 18.

READ MORE: Citroen Picasso seized by police on A41 near to Oxfordshire town

The police added that investigations in the case are ongoing and encouraged anyone with any information to get in touch with them as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for the Cherwell unit said: “Earlier today, the Bicester and Kidlington Neighbourhood Policing Team carried out a drugs warrant at an address in Leach Road, supported by colleagues from West Oxfordshire and Banbury Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Police conducting the raid in Bicester (Image: TVP)

“Investigations remain ongoing. We continue to encourage our community to report any information or concerns about drug activity.

“Your reports help us target our activity, protect vulnerable people, and reduce drug offences across the area.

READ MORE: Named ‘delivery rider’ pleads guilty after cocaine arrest in Oxfordshire town

“You can either do this online or by telephoning 101. If you don’t wish to speak to police directly, you can also report to Crimestoppers, anonymously and free of charge by calling 0800 555 111.”

This drugs raid follows several recent drugs-related arrests in another Oxfordshire town Wantage.

Earlier this week a man pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A, namely cocaine, having been arrested in the town.





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Cotswolds rival to Jeremy Clarkson pub targets June opening

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Nigel Bailey, who is close to becoming the new owner of the former Horse and Radish in Burford Road, Minster Lovell, has said he wants to have the watering hole opened in the summer during the upcoming Football World Cup.

Mr Bailey and his wife, who live in Brize Norton, had an offer accepted for the pub earlier this year and hope to finalise the deal with Stonegate soon.

READ MORE: Cotswolds rival to Jeremy Clarkson pub could reopen soon

The Minster Lovell tavern was on the market for £850,000 last summer although that fell to £650,000 late in 2025.

Mr Bailey confirmed that they would give the pub a new name and said it would be based on English literature.

He said: “We’re eyeing English writers as a source for the name, people who have taken inspiration from the Cotswolds. That’s the concept.”

Horse and Radish in Burford Road, Minster Lovell (Image: Savills)

He added that the food would be traditional British but with a twist and that he is hopeful it will be open for the busy summer season.

“A good thing is that we have got the World Cup coming up,” he said, adding: “I mean it’s going to be all hands-on deck when we get the keys.

“I’ve got contractors lined up and we’re already looking for stuff but not really going into high gear until we have got the keys.”

Boasting 2.092 acres of Cotswolds views, the pub is less than two miles away from Jeremey Clarkson’s boozer The Farmer’s Dog in Asthall.

However Mr Bailey said he expects the upgraded Horse and Radish to complement the former Top Gear man’s boozer as well as The White Hart in Burford.

Horse and Radish in Burford Road, Minster Lovell (Image: Savills)

He said that it will be a pub stitched into the community and that they hope to hold plenty of community events there.

It dates back more than 100 years to 1871 when it was first mentioned in The Census with the name New Inn.

Over the years the New Inn had several transfers of ownership with tenancies lasting on average two years.

READ MORE: Historic Oxfordshire high street hotel up for £2.5m sale

It continued to be called the New Inn into the 21st century and then it reopened in May 2006 after a major refurbishment which included an extra single storey being built to the pub at the rear and side. 

In 2013 the Inn was renamed The Dovecote before being rebranded again as The Horse and Radish.

The pub comes with planning permission for eight shepherd’s huts in the adjacent wild paddock, granted in 2022 and – according to the Land Registry – it was last sold for £465,000 in September 2017. 

Inside the pub is a three-section trading area with multiple entrances, a raised bar section with 22 seats leading to three sets of customer toilets, a central bar-servery section split either side of a feature fireplace and a larger dining area suitable for 46 people at the back.





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