There was a Town Council Meeting this evening in Abingdon-on-Thames. It could be the last one that Councillor Jan Morter will chair as Mayor. Her successor Councillor Margaret Crick will become Mayor at a ceremony on May 9th.
The meeting began with prayers mentioning St Mark (as it is the Feast of St Mark today), then some statements from town people.
Levy payers to the BID (Business Improvement District) came again with their worries about the BID. Their spokesman, was stuck in traffic after a major holdup on the A34 and so others spoke instead. Some businesses are refusing to pay the BID levy this time and have been told there are court proceedings against them from the BID company.
An audit has appeared on the BID website, carried out by VWHDC. The audit is procedural rather than financial, and shows that after resignations by members of the board nobody is clear who is on the BID board anymore. The audit says some meetings were not quorate as a result, and meetings have also not been properly minuted. It also appears that accounts have not been properly signed off by meetings.
102 member companies have petitioned for the BID to be closed down. So despite the sterling efforts of an interim team to turn it round the BID is likely to be closed.
The Abingdon Carbon Cutters gave a statement about cutting down on plastic, and ended the presentation with the suggestion that the Town Council could help by reducing waste in two events it is responsible for: Abingdon Market and The Michaelmas Fair.
Later in the meeting the council chose to support a motion proposed by Councillor Sam Bowring to sign up to the national refill scheme and provide a place for refilling of water bottles, and not provide single use plastics in the Guildhall. This was unanimously agreed.
There was then a presentation by Thames Water about their future plan for providing enough water for the growing population of London and the South East. They are currently consulting on the plan which includes Abingdon Reservoir mk 3 or 4. This time they appear to have made more of an effort to screen the high 20 meter mounds that will enclose the reservoir. If allowed, the reservoir could provide water from the 2040s.
County Councillor Emily Smith presented a comprehensive report on what is happening at the County Council but drew attention to three things. Each County Councillor now has £15K for their division and groups can apply at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/councillorpriorityfund. People can now become super users on www.fixmystreet.com to actually monitor and book in repairs in their area. The third was a consultation about Dunmore Road is happening.
Then we got into the main body of the council meeting and looked at the minutes from the last Town Council. The meeting discussed the BID again and how it could be wound up, and the wisdom of doing this. Mike Badcock, the leader of the council, said he had been assured that letters demanding payment of the levy will not be pursued through the court.
The Ock Bridge has re-opened.
A new town bus service financed by the Town Council is on its way from December.
There was a question from Monica Lovatt asking why 5 of the last 10 grant applications had been declined. Was it because the committee was running out of money for the year, or did the grants not meet the criteria. It was the latter.
On the museum committee we hear that, sadly, Matt, the museum manager, has left. So he will be a great loss to the council.
Building work continues in the Guildhall and is scheduled for completion from 1st September.
Then back to the BID and we heard the VWHDC is reviewing legislation into winding up a BID.
It was agreed filming of council meetings could happen.
St Nicolas Clock, for which the Town Council is responsible, is working again. The Town Council will also take on responsibility for St Nicolas’ closed churchyard.
The council then came to the decision whether to agree to the cinema operating in the Guildhall, and the town council leader proposed an amendment which seemed to move the decision back to the finance and general purposes committee, subject to certain things being agreed between the parties beforehand. Everybody agreed with the amendment. The discussion was very difficult to follow and so I may have missed the final outcome.
The feedback from the Community Led Plan discussions was given and it appears to have generated various other volunteers taking on actions to keep Abingdon litter free etc. So well done to them.
There followed a proposal to have a Mobiloo at Fun in the Parks at a cost of £490. This will allow some people to attend who could not otherwise, and shows that the council will go the extra mile to make its events accessible to all.
Then came the discussion on plastics and how they are ruining the planet. All were agreed that it was a big problem and we could do our little bit.
Because London wants more water we have to have an enormous reservoir with all the disruption of lorries in our area. I travel to London and there are many places, some are old disused gravel pits more suitable for a reservoir nearer London itself. I would have thought that the cost would not have been so much to site the reservoir nearer the area where the water is to be used.
I sincerely hope that Thames Water are better at maintaining the mounds around this proposed new reservoir then they are at fixing leaks at the moment.
Oh goodness! Are we going to have a Save Abingdon’s Rain campaign?.Perhaps the people of Steventon won’t want to share their rain with Abingdon and Drayton or with East and West Hanney.
Whether the proposed site is the best is a separate matter, but let’s get something clear.
• We don’t own the rain that falls.
If others have a need, we should to share what we have in common.
Manchester’s water supply is supplemented by reservoirs in Wales. We store the rain where it falls most and send it to where it’s needed.
Perhaps we should ration fresh air…. Why should I breathe in what someone else has just breathed out? It’s not fair – after all, I need good clean oxygen not stale carbon dioxide. Me, me, me!
IF Thames water were to fix their leaks, instead of wasting millions of gallons of water a day, there would probably be no real need for a reservoir! But then no-one makes a profit from fixing leaks and pot-holes!
Besides, now that Didcot’s cooling towers are no longer in use, our annual rainfall here has dropped from 600mm back to the previous level of 400mm. I hope the powers that be have factored that in.
Regarding the BID:
How can they keep on demanding money, and threatening court action, if they aren’t delivering what they proposed?
Surely those misled businesses which paid for a pig in a poke should be expecting a refund, not a fine.