A FAMILY-run car dealership which has operated in the Witney area for 15 years could be knocked down to make way for a large DIY store.

Mick Partlett Car Sales and neighbouring gun store Adenbourne Fieldsports, in Station Lane, could both be demolished to redevelop the site.

A planning application for a new DIY-type store has just been submitted by developer Leda Properties.

Mick Partlett said: “It’s suddenly come out of the blue, and it’s a bit of a shock. I’ve got about 80 cars on site, and it’s going to create a problem finding somewhere else to go.

“This is one of the best sites in Oxfordshire, and to find somewhere else — I don’t know how we’re going to do it.”

He said he hoped to relocate the business.

Mr Partlett formed the business 15 years ago, first selling cars in East End, near North Leigh, and then moving the firm to its current site three years later. He also runs KJ’s, a workshop in Two Rivers Industrial Estate, and employs nine people across the two sites.

He said, if the application was approved, he would hope to relocate the dealership to Two Rivers, where he recently bought McLeans bus garage.

Leda Properties submitted the planning application for a new building on the site early last week, but did not consult Adenbourne Fieldsports before doing so.

The Witney Gazette broke the news to the gun store on Friday.

Leda director, Nick Hardcastle, said: “We hadn’t anticipated the application being registered by the council within a day of receiving it.

“It normally takes a couple of weeks.”

He said Leda would help the two businesses to find alternative sites if necessary. Adenbourne Fieldsports declined to comment. If the planning application is accepted, the site will be converted from three units — one of which is empty — into one large premises, with about 600 square metres of floor space.

There will also be an outdoor retail area at the back of the property, and a 70-space car park fronting Station Lane.

It is not known which DIY store could fill the premises.

Mr Hardcastle said: “The existing buildings are coming to the end of their useful economic life, and over the past few years, we have received a number of tentative inquiries from occupiers who could be interested in the site.

”It will create an opportunity for a DIY/bulky goods type operator to enter Witney.”

He said the venture could create the equivalent to about 50 full-time jobs in a sector Witney that had a “demonstrable gap” in.

He added: “It will reduce the need for Witney residents to travel to other towns for such goods, and will then retain such spending in Witney.”

There are two large DIY stores in Witney — Focus DIY, in Thorney Leys, and Screwfix, in Station Lane.

The town is also home to smaller DIY stores, including Robert Dyas, in Market Square, and several builders merchants, including Builder Centre, in Station Lane.

Lesley Semaine, chairman of Witney Chamber of Trade, said: “If it’s going to be something like a DIY store, then that could be really good for Witney — it’s out of the town, so it won’t affect residents, and it will create jobs.”

Mr Hardcastle said the earliest work could start on the site would be late 2011. Mr Partlett’s lease runs until May 2012.

Mr Hardcastle said Leda could seek a “mutually accepted early termination” with Mr Partlett if needed. He said: “Until there’s a positive outcome [with the planning application], we won’t start planning to get to base three, four or five until we’ve got to base one.”

A decision is due to be made by West Oxfordshire District Council next month.