Age UK are moving their Oxfordshire HQ from St Edmund’s House. The owners have permission to change the building from offices to dwellings.
St Edmund’s House will become six flats with four parking places. The parking area still has a sign from the days of John Spratley & Partners, the architects.
Age Uk are moving to Abingdon Science Park down Barton Lane.
I will miss the annual Age UK jumble sale, and walking past their window and browsing what they had on offer: internet classes; spreading the cost of funerals; advise about care and support; and the generation games activity programme.
The proliferation of office to residential use has got beyond being sustainable now, checking the Vales planning portal there has been over 100 conversations to residential in the last year alone and almost all of them have no parking spaces and this impacts on the town in many ways.
1, it is the demise of the retail heart and capability of Abingdon.
2, more and more on street parking for shoppers is being given up for residential parking.
3, why, as keepers of roads and traffic, is OCC not objecting to these no parking provided conversions when they insist on a parking space for each bedroom on any other type of build, be that a new build or extension?
4, Abingdon is now suffering from a distinct lack of parking and that’s not just impacting on day time business. Salvatore of Limoncello was telling me of his ever growing problem of customers making reservations only to ring on there mobiles having to cancel because they’ve driven around town and cant find anywhere to park! The multi story closes at 7 pm, the car parks are full of new conversation residents with no parking of their own and any//all other spaces are taken up by the ubiquitous Abingdon taxi!
Why is the Spratley and Partner sign still in place. Presumably they put it up; shouldn’t they take it down? Or if they no longer exist, can’t a planning officer with nothing better to do take a screwdriver to the sign and remove it? 😉
Mind you, an entire day’s parking for £10 is probably a bargain.
Same old Kafkaesque, CK2. The country isn’t run by the brainless ‘party inept’s’ aka ‘the cholesterol in the system’ but by business and, in this case, developers … the lowest of the low.
We’re soon to be offered the choice of voting for the same bunch of ‘party accredited Yes People’ whose main qualification appears to be to spout ‘commercial confidentiality’ and similar when anyone questions their competence.
I was disappointed with Peter Del when he went on about the ‘whingers’ who don’t stand for election as he shows little understanding of how difficult that is without the backing of a party infrastructure.
I know Angela is now an Independent, but that, in part, was possible as she’d entered the ‘Councillors Club’ via membership of a political party.
The most effective way left to an independently minded person is to point out, however possible, what a motley bunch we’ve got ruining our affairs.
Thank you, backstreeter, for this platform. Thank you, Abingdon First, for your efforts.
Question: Does Abingdon really deserve someone as disinterested as Nicola Blackwood to represent its interests?
newcomer, how can say that about our Nicola !!
I’m sure she’ll manage to make her way up here in the next few weeks, pull her ‘concerned frown face’ photo op in front of the A34 and then mention that there was a meeting, yes, an actual meeting, to discus it just a few weeks ago..
Of course the meeting was really about the A34 in general, not little old Abingdon’s problems, but its a start apparently.
And I’m sure the outcome was, ‘something must be done’, , ‘gosh these biscuits are nice’, and ‘anyway, in the meantime we’ve got to distract them by building yet more houses right up to the A34 border so we cant do anything about the road anyway’, and I must practice my ‘frowned face’ look for when the developers don’t cough up for the promised infrastructure, and oh yes, lets hope no one notices the ‘donations’ to my party funds by some of those same developers…
I’m sure Nicola isnt disinterested at all, its just she knows she’s safe, so why bother when there are important committees and events to attend that will further her career..
ps, I propose everyone could park at the new Lodge Hill park and ride, and then get a monorail into town..
Problem solved.
CK2, I completely agree with you regarding the amount of commercial to residential change in town, and its subsequent impact on the town centre. I’m not sure about a “distinct lack of parking” though, especially in the evenings. By my reckoning there are public car parks on St Helens Street, in front of the council building, the Cattle Market, Abbey Meadow, Thames View and two car parks just over the bridge, all either in the centre or a very short walk away. Surely not all full in the evenings? I rarely drive into town of an evening, on the odd occasions I do I’ve never had a problem.
1 less property that will be paying business rates & the Bid levy
My concern is that Age UK is no longer easily accessible as it is no longer in the centre of the town or even a visible presence there.
Hear hear Lesley.
Very good point Lesley, but looking at the bigger picture moving out of the town centre seems to be a bit of a trend now, and you can see why?
Parking is at a premium, traffic is dreadful, especially impacted by that issue are those businesses who pop in and out of their office throughout the day, estate agents etc.
Such a shame that an organisation that should be at the heart of the community is allowed, by its directors, to move out of that community to above all things a blimin trading estate!
Noted in Shanghai business magazine:
‘Very fine estate of mixed purpose dwellings and business premises available in southern region of United Kingdom Tax Haven (in province of Oxenfordshirish). Ideal investment opportunity for multi-billionaire Chinese gentleman to park temporarily illegally ill gotten gains via purchase of mixed-use property portfolio managed by secretive local team currently ensuring business district will soon be deserted by merchants imposed with punitive local taxation. Local inhabitants are mainly dispirited and expected to shortly evacuate to DIT DIT DIT DAH DAH DAH DIT DIT DITcot. They will soon move on.
Once flattened, this land can be developed as an airport and reservoir. Planning permission, (pre-drawings) has already been granted under the project name of ‘Abingdon Heritage/West Heathrow Airport and Water Play Park’. Tax deductions and allowances will be available to offshore investors.
The local councils have a list of contacts who can help interested parties.’