A COFFEE giant will perk up a riverside property that has sat empty for more than a year.

Costa coffee has opened at a unit at the Old Gaol in Abingdon - a spot that is just metres from its current store in Bury Street.

Sandy Lovatt, chairman of the town council's amenities and recreation committee, has been vocal about the need to fill three empty units in Bridge Street, previously referring to them as "the gateway to the town".

He said: "This is good news. The sooner the building gets filled the better. It seems to be taking forever to put some life into the Old Gaol."

But local people expressed disappointment that the chain did not bring anything new to the town.

Alistear Fear, author of the Abingdon Blog, said: "I'm happy someone's moving in but it would be nice to see something a bit different. We've got lots of coffee houses. But you can't always fight against the market forces.

"It's good something is opening up – at least it will bring life to the area."

Brian Eastoe, from Drayton, said an additional cafe was planned for the revamped Guildhall.

The 82-year-old said: "They are going to allocate one cafe to each resident soon. There isn't enough variety. This will bring us up to about 26 cafes within 200 metres of the museum."

Richard Mackay, owner of Throwing Buns in Market Place, said: "I'd like to see a good restaurant at the Old Gaol, something that's a bit of a crowd pleaser. We have got barbers and coffee shops coming out of our ears – we need a bit more of a mix."

He was confident that the the coffee giant would not hit his business, adding: "I don't think it's going to faze me. The independent customers are totally different from the Costa customers. We work in different markets."

Andrew Bowen, owner of Java and Co in Market Place, said: "There is obviously a need otherwise Costa wouldn't open it. But I'm not worried at all."

Fleurets, which is letting out the units, confirmed that Costa had taken up a long lease.

Its division director Chris Irving said: "I am very pleased to have sold unit one to established successful operators, which underlines confidence in the scheme.

"Units two and three are receiving interest and we hope to be able to conclude deals in the near future."

The restaurants were put on the market in summer 2015 after developer Cranbourne transformed the Old Gaol into luxury flats, having bought the former prison from Vale of White Horse District Council in 2007.