For the third Saturday in a row Abingdon Market Place was full of activity. Not only was there a Craft Market, there was also a stall with British Canoeing, and a stall with the Abingdon Peace Group (more tomorrow about their news).
Local craftmakers were selling handmade crafts just in time for Christmas.
British Canoeing were also there in force to support the Kingfisher Canoe Club who need a place to store their canoes near the river. They were asking people to sign a petition supporting their proposal “The only suitable site available is Rye Meadow, for which planning has been approved. However there are some legal restrictions on the site. We are advised by our legal team these can be resolved, but require the council to recognise that there is a commonly used legal solution.”
The petition can also be signed online.
Mmmmm. All for sympathy with Kingfisher Canoe Club, but do the people of Abingdon really want building on Rye Farm meadow? Once you allow one exception to the legal restriction it becomes easier for other developers and potential users to argue in favour of THEIR project … and before you know it, the common land is gone. It has happened many times in other areas.
The structure is moveable and extremelu small.There is a world of difference between this and the argument for a large permanent development which would obviously restrict access too.Our plan would not impede public access.It would allow access to the river for all including generations present and future for positive recreation.A pragmatic and legally sound solution is possible.826 signatures in 6 hours from people is a pretty clear indication that the people of Abingdon and the Vale value the work of Kingfisher with both young people and adults.and want this solution. Kingfisher have been evicted from the Vale land they have been operating from for 25+years and alll other riverside sites have been explored at length and are neither suitable nor possible.
.
The genesis of this problem goes back years.The story is too long and complex to go into here. Suffice it to say that this could ,and should, have been avoided had there been the will to commit to some security of tenure for a local community club like Kingfisher.Sadly this was not so and the eviction from Vale Land by the leaseholders was allowed to happen.
A great deal of effort and expense by volunteers has been put into planning for the new and only available site so that the work can continueThe emphasis all along has been to work with people for the benefit of both present and future generations of the Vale.. The plans involve an extremely small store which is moveable, it does not impede access to the meadow or river ,in fact it increases the chances of public enjoyment for people of all ages ,but particularly for the work done with young people, “Building on Rye Meadow” would be a substantially different proposition.No one, including myself ,would support any such attempt. Furthermore 5 separate legally qualified opinions have stated that there are commonlu used and legal ways of overcoming this specific problem.The council acknowledge that these methods exist but refuse to take them on board quoting lack of time. Bearing in mind the front page of the Herald a week or two ago concerning the time and money spent by the council on another matter, the canoe club appear to have been regarded as expendable. All very sad. There are good people in the council who do want to do the right thing but we need the decision makers to commit to it. Do they really want to see a community activity club of 40 year standing extinguished? Because that is what is at stake. Exhaustive searches for alternative sites have proven fruitless. I hope you can support this very worthwhile cause. Than you for taking the time to read this.
I just think it’s great to see the market place being well used and vibrant, whether it be to enlist public support for an important local issue, or buy lovely gifts from the craft stores.