Town Council Meeting – 25 March 2015

(Hope this makes sense. The meeting ran late and I need to go to bed so here goes…)

At the Town Council meeting there were presentations by The Abingdon Music Centre, detailing what work they were doing for the community, from their base under the Guildhall, and how they wanted to work with the Town Council in developments at the Guildhall. Then the Friends of the Pool said they were getting their message across and people realised that the Pool’s future is at risk, and so were happy for the consultation to continue.
Town Council Meeting
There was a discussion about the council’s previous position on Residents parking. Town Centre Councillors, Julie Mayhew Archer, and Leslie Legge put their own proposal that the Town Council negotiate with the County Council for improvements to the scheme and the possibility of employing new staff in future when the remaining full time warden retires. The Council then agreed this new position. The council then joined in saying what an excellent service wardens had given over the years. I took the picture in 2007 when there was a Save our Traffic Wardens Petition.

There was some lengthy debate about changes to the council’s committee structures. The main change is that there will be a new committee for Community Services which takes over grants, and community events.
Town Council Meeting
We learned that tenders had been received by the Guildhall Committee, from Cinema Operators, which are under consideration, but all of that is confidential, and an announcement may not be possible during an election period.
Town Council Meeting
Councillors then discussed some motions proposed by individual councillors…

One, about the Guildhall, had the intention to make sure the council did not spend more than it could afford on the redevelopment project. But it also tried to state its own Plan B, which was not the same as the Guildhall Committees Plan B and so was sent back to the Guildhall Committee to decide.

Another concerned the way the Abbey Meadows Consultation had been undertaken. As a result the Council voted by 10-7 to ask the Town Clerk to write to the District Council asking for the current consultation to be halted, and a more open, transparent consultation be started in Summer 2015.

Lastly I believe that Councillor Helen Pighills will be the new Mayor so long as she can get re-elected.

28 thoughts on “Town Council Meeting – 25 March 2015

  1. newcomer

    Heavens backstreeter … you felt the need for sleep surrounded by so much hi-octane excitement ….

    Nevertheless, well done. It sounds like a BBC sit-com.

    Reply
  2. Neil Fawcett

    I think it is a good thing that Town Councillors were debating two of the big issues that a lot of residents have concerns about – the affordability of the Guildhall project and the ‘consultation’ into Abbey Meadow.

    Reply
  3. daniel

    So, do we know who the 7 councillors are that consider the current Abbey Meadow consultation to be “OK” as-is?

    Reply
  4. Angela

    The motion about the Abbey Meadow consultation was rather undermined by Peter Harbour’s statement to council at the beginnining of the meeting.
    Peter, who is a member of the Friends of the Pool, stated, in effect, that the Friends’ own efforts to publicise the consultion which included, among other things, distributing leaflets widely, meant that there had been sufficient publicity and response to the consultation and he suggested that the motion was not now necesary.
    So at least some of the seven councillors who voted against the motion may well have intended, at the outset, to support it.
    Im only guessing. My point is that it is important not to jump to conclusions about people’s reasons for voting one way or another when you havent heard the debate.

    Reply
  5. daniel

    Thanks Angela. You are right. Although, as you are only guessing…I hope you haven’t jumped with me!

    Having not had a leaflet, and only hearing about the pool on this wonderful blog, and also in the dire local paper, I guess I concede that the message may well be “out there”.

    The fact there’s a message out there is one thing. The failings of the adequacy of the consultation are another.

    Were people voting because their constituents didn’t have a leaflet, or was the vote about whether or not the consultation as a whole is a farce?

    Reply
  6. ppjs

    Whenever I see the word ‘consultation’, I start to become suspicious. Too often, a consultation is used to provide evidence for or against a previously decided matter.

    True consultation – like true debate – should allow for a different outcome than originally anticipated; otherwise, why bother?

    A typical consultation question is “How many bedrooms should there be in the new hotel?” The real question is “Should there be a hotel?” The choice offered is spurious because the underlying choice (to build a hotel anyway) has already been taken.

    The problem is compounded by us when we demand to be consulted. We raise unrealistic expectations and then complain when things don’t turn out as anticipated.

    Reply
  7. Angela

    Daniel, the main argument put forward for the motion was that the whole of the consultation process was inedaquate, the content as well as the publicity.

    Reply
  8. Iain

    Just to support Angela as one of the councillors who voted against the motion. the Friends of Abingdon Pool, in their presentation made it very clear that they felt the consultation had been successful in getting lots of residents to express their opinion, primarily in support of the pool, and they urged us not to support the motion.

    Reply
  9. Angela

    I can see why you might be confused, Daniel. The motion was about the consultation process, not about the rights or wrongs of keeping/getting rid of the pool, and, although members of the council were mindful of that, the fact that The Friends were content with the consultation because they felt that enough people were voting for the save-the -pool option, that sort of confused the issue.
    If that makes sense.

    Reply
  10. Kelly Simpson

    So could that mean that all the votes that have been cast online for options A, B or C will be disregarded and it will all start again? I am still confused.

    Reply
  11. Iain

    Kelly – dont worry, the upshot of the vote is that the town council will write a letter to the vale council. It has no legal bearing and i assume the vale will proceed with the consultation.

    Reply
  12. Loch Ness Monster

    Iain –

    What did I find when burrowing in the silt? An insider from the Veil who thinks you’re right.

    But all the more to eat if the pool is closed. Ha Ha!

    Nessy

    Reply
  13. Peter Harbour

    Iain said ” … the Friends of Abingdon Pool, in their presentation made it very clear that they felt the consultation had been successful in getting lots of residents to express their opinion, primarily in support of the pool, and they urged us not to support the motion.”

    I think you know that I didn’t say that, Iain, even though we urged Town Councillors not to support the motion. Friends argued:
    “… that there has been much to complain of in the way that the consultation was presented, in that many were initially unaware that voting for either of the “Scenarios B or C” meant voting for the Outdoor Pool to be destroyed, gone for ever; also there have been justifiable complaints that not many people knew about the consultation.”

    We argued that both of these have changed –

    by working our socks off with a media campaign, both social and traditional;

    by distributing 10,000 flyers;

    by revising the entry page to our website with a clear and fair snappy description of each option including the risks to the pool under Options B and C, which the Vale council failed to do;

    and by talking to at least 1000 people.

    We did the Council’s publicity, whereas (for a couple of days) the council set up displays in a dark shop without a window display – and this to change Abingdon and make more people come shopping here!

    Reply
  14. Loch Ness Monster

    Iain – I am supporting your idea that “It has no legal bearing and i assume the vale will proceed with the consultation.”

    But I never identifies sources, so you will just have to read what I wrote.

    Nessie

    Reply
  15. chopperman

    Remember that the subtext here could be after the election “there is no money” as George Osborne’s further draconian cuts to the mythical deficit kick in.
    Also, all politicians and wannabe politicians will say whatever they think you want to hear! Nicola signed the Equitable pledge and then spent the last four years spouting the ‘Treasury line’ of obfuscation and downright lies over the Equitable Life scandal! The political class would stab their own grandmothers if they thought it would get them further up the political/corporate greasy pole.

    Reply
  16. chopperman

    It just occurred to me – why are we still discussing a cinema for the Guildhall when there is a perfectly good venue for a cinema/bowling alley still empty in the Bury Precinct?
    Can’t the Vale sweeten the deal for Scottish Widows or is the “Abingdon cash cow” only able to support the pet projects of the West of the Vale Cabinet Cllrs? As I said, just a thought! PS:
    I’m surprised that Cranbourne homes haven’t been invited to the potential party!

    Reply
  17. Elizabeth

    I agree with Peter at18. The Friends Of Abbey Meadow Outdoor Pool (FOAMOP) did the Council’s publicity for them by distributing our flyers together with the Council’s booklet, talking to people, contacting schools and local businesses and getting the consultation into the newspapers and on the radio. If we hadn’t done this the consultation would have been very limited, as was the collection of opinions before the ‘Interested Parties’ meeting on November 4th. If the District Council seriously wants people’s opinion about the Abbey Meadow improvements they have to publicise their intentions. However, it is done now and the townspeople know about it. if the pool is improved it will add to the footfall in the Town and make us more of a tourist attraction. Is not this the intention behind the project — as well as providing an amenity and a town to be proud of for its inhabitants.

    Reply
  18. naomi richardson

    The consultation is just very bad quality, no needs analysis, no future proofing, no budgeting, no strategy for funding, I could go on. However, if there is to be a new consultation I hope that it starts from the position that the pool be kept and refurbished to a standard appropriate for the 21st century. I think the residents of Abingdon have made it clear that the pool should be remain a key feature of Abbey Meadows and these views should be respected going forward.

    Reply
  19. Loch Ness Monster

    If any councillor or election candidate were to come out against the pool now, the electorate would eat them for breakfast.

    Come to think of it, I’m feeling a bit peckish after a good swim earlier this evening. Politicians beware!

    Nessie

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.