In January 2010 the district council consulted on options for the Abbey Shopping Centre.
It was announced today that an agreement has been signed for a £53M redevelopment of the favoured option. According to the district council’s press release…
Proposals for the Charter area (starting around 2013) include:
* a new large supermarket
* a new decked car park of about 400 spaces
* other retail floor space
* a replacement library, day centre and medical centre potentially at first floor level.
Proposals for the Abbey Shopping Centre (starting around Jan 2012) include:
* improving the choice and range of shop unit sizes by converting and combining some of the existing units into larger stores
* creating a new unit of 4,500 sq.ft. and another one of 2,000 sq.ft, both with first floor sales areas
* creating a more attractive street area by alternating roof heights and removing the existing canopies
* repaving and replacing street furniture, lighting and signage in the shopping centre.
This comes hot on the heals of an agreement to double the size of the Orchard Centre in Didcot at a cost of £125M. The two district councils involved (Vale of White Horse for Abingdon and South Oxfordshire for Didcot) have shared executive staff so they must have been busy.
I’ll be the first to post here and say ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’. VWHDC has missed so many opportunities in Abingdon over the years and continues to do so.
I have little or no confidence in them, in fact when I wrote to them a few years ago it took EIGHT months for a reply (despite repeated letter/e-mails) and I was told by the Chief Executive that I need not worry about the new Orchard Centre in Didcot “as it offered no threat to Abingdon shopping”. We’ll see I thought. The shopping experience may be different but is is competition just the same.
Let’s hope this is not another false dawn and that VWHDC actually deliver this time.
Proposals for the Charter area (starting around 2013) include:
* a new large supermarket WE ALREADY HAVE PLENTY And they have killed the Bakeries, fruit and veg and other stores.
* a replacement library, day centre and medical centre potentially at first floor level. FIRST FLOOR MEDICAL? What if you have put your back out, or broken a leg? What about the elderly? It’s not rocket science, medical and elderley care should always be ground floor. THINK IT THROUGH!!
Other than that, not a bad plan 🙂
Just so happens theres a local election in May
Will believe it when i see it.
Which supermarket??, relocation of Coop from the precinct??
The surgery have just spent a small fortune reloacting their surgery/treatment rooms to the ground floor. not to mention the Charter “day centres” (for Mind??)
The planned 1st floor relocation above the Pound Shop!!!!!!
As usual telling us what we need without listening to us. I am less likely to vote for ‘them’ in the up and coming local elections.
All that I can say is that we don’t need another supermarket!
Why is everyone so relentlessly negative about what is a great scheme for Abingdon town centre? Whatever has happened in the past this time the council and the developers have teamed up to create a vibrant new shopping heart to the town. Supermarkets are the new department stores, without one you’ll struggle to get a scheme like this off the ground. So wake up Abingdonians stop moaning and for once pleased about what the council is trying to do to improve your town
Who are the idiots who want to build a medical centre, day centre and library on the first floor? These facilities are all used by elderly people and parents with pushchairs. If I am ill, the last thing I want to do is walk up stairs – especially if the lift is broken. TIME FOR A CHANGE OF COUNCIL TO ONE WITH SOME COMMON SENSE! MAY IS FAST APPROACHING!
Note the picture of the ‘bustling’ precinct – must have been market day to see two people out and about!!
Outsider – I think that people are so relentlesly negative because based on past experience…this is all “jam tomorrow”. In action, wrong decision and complaicency seems to pervade the decision makers and because of that many many have their doubts. We have been this far before, with a ‘revamp’ for the precinct a couple of years ago… only for it to all go quiet,, and when pressed, and pushed and pressed again…said ‘contract’ was never signed! so nothing happened last time round. Like many, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Meanwhile…it also ‘grates’ that “the council and the developer” have decided on what they are going to (or may never) do…how’s about asking us, the residents?
I hope it happens- I really do. I am definately NOT in the “Abingdon’s Thriving – leave it alone camp” that many in charge seem to be.
There’s so much potential in Abingdon, I hope it becomes what it can and deserves to be…beyond the fourth comming election!
I may be missing something regarding consultation, but does not the first photo show the display which was in the community shop when the public were being consulted?
Patlon,
The concern is that The Plan, from the town’s point-of-vew, is being run by commercial rejects working out their pre/post-retirement years. They’ll be long gone once the fruits of their ineptitude are obvious to us all.
When it comes to planning these people probably think invading Russia might be a good autumn strategy.
What started in Tunisia should have spread to Abingdon by now …
“* a new large supermarket WE ALREADY HAVE PLENTY And they have killed the Bakeries, fruit and veg and other stores.”
Quite frankly the town centre is stagnant regardless. If people were eager for the bakeries and fruit and veg stores that sell you more or less the same produce at more expensive prices, then the town centre would be thriving. However it is stagnant, and creating more jobs in the town centre with a supermarket and so forth is a hell of a lot better than some local shops just about scrapping through even when there’s very little in the way of competition in the town centre proper itself.
“* a replacement library, day centre and medical centre potentially at first floor level. FIRST FLOOR MEDICAL? What if you have put your back out, or broken a leg?”
I don’t know, maybe they’ve considered the high technology of a lift? :/
Patlon – fair point… I couldn’t get to ‘The consultation’, as if I remember rightly it was a fairly short lived ‘event’… perhaps not but I know I couldn’t go (and it’s unlikely I was busy or out of town for 2 or 3 weeks)! Now, it is likely it was only a few days – and only one saturday… For such a ‘huge’ issue, it wasn’t a very long, well publicised consultation (from what I recall).
In addition, from expereience, these sort of things are not a fact finding mission to establish, or ask “what we want”…they are a bit of lip service to see what we think about what they have decided to do. Is that what it was – is that “consultation”?
Ultimately, it’s all a move in the right direction – if it happens at all. Finally. So that is good.
I’d imagine that anyy medical centre above ground floor is going to have to be able to cater for “all access issues”. As ever shop in town seems to have some “access award”…I’d imagine the medical centre will be similarly judged. I know we can trust the decision makers with that one ! 😉
steveo, colinb. eileen and others – there are many, many examples of medical centres and libraries being on floors other than ground level. They usually use a combination of stairs and lifts so that people can access them easily.
The JR has several floors and Central Library in Oxford is on the first and higher floors, and is used far more extensively than Abingdon’s.
It will be a big improvement to have Abingdon Library all on one floor.
Oh my goodness, lots of negative people out there. ‘Don’t remove the canopies’, but honestly why not? The precinct as it is, is hideous. ‘Don’t want another supermarket’ my undersatnding is that the Poundland and Somerfield are to be demolished, so why not another supermarket? I don’t really care what the commercial/political angle is as long as there is change, let’s face it, it can’t really be worse than it is. As an Abingdon shop owner, i welcome anything that will bring the locals back into our lovely town.
Local lass – I can’t see any positive outcome from a supermarket, such as Sainsburys, coming to the town centre. Ok, so it”s likely whoever it is is going to bank roll the revamp in some way; fair enough, it’s tough financial times. It is also likely that whichever retailer will not please everyone… but surely, surely, a “one stop shop” for every highstreet offering (grocery, fresh food, fish, bakery, pharmacy, flowers etc – you get the jist) all under one roof…is NOT a good thing for the fabulous independants that make Abingdon special.
OK. So, somewhere to buy “fresh” fish and “fresh veg”…fair enough…but all the other stuff? I can only see it working against Abingdon.
Plus…is this “it”? Is this the modern, inovative, forward thinking, strategic long term planning for Abingdon’s future that we deserve…a supermarket as the anchor of the Abingdon package?! OK, so I don’t have a degree in Town planning…but even I can think better than that!
Of course, there are then all the traffic issues, the potential ‘lack of integrated thinking; to get those supermarket shoppers to head in to town as well”. You say that you’ll “welcome anything that will bring the locals back into our lovely town”. What makes you think a supermarket will do that? Maybe they’ll just fill all their shopping bags, put them back in their car…and join the traffic queues to get out/through town.
More worryingly…where’s the public consultation? Fair enough if the majority want it…but will they?
As I said, there’s probably no ideal answer…but a supermarket is definately the worst!
IMHO!
Yes, please, please for heavens sake do not remove the canopies – though if means must, please replace them so shoppers can at least walk along out of the rain for some part of their shopping experience!!!! Who wants to stand looking in a shop window in the rain, or try to collapse a dripping umbrella whilst struggling to get through a shop door – the dry area under these canopies at least stops a lot of the wet being trampled into shops making their floors dirty and slippery. It’s brilliant that you can walk the length of the precinct at the mo without dodging umbrellas. When we had the really bad snow in the winter, it was wonderful that the area under the canopies were snow free allowing shoppers to carry on as near as normal – if there were no canopies, the shop keepers would have to clear the snow and pile it where? Think about it – be practical not pretty!!! No we don’t need another bug ugly supermarket, it only kills off the smaller shops – but of course the only reason a supermarket is considered is so that they’ll obviously foot part of the £53m bill ………. no supermarket – no new precinct!! Better car park? Mmm that’s if you can get there through the messed up traffic system that was another ‘good idea’ that locals didn’t want ………. does anyone ever listen to what WE want in OUR town? We live, work and shop here – not the developers!!!!
I want to see more example on this subject, will you kind enough to post more examples or provide site address that provide more examples.
I recommend to my friends to this really nice article and thank you I will always follow