Sections of West and East St Helen Street re-tarmacked

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Sections of West St Helen Street were re-tarmacked last Friday.

The longest section of new tarmac was down near St Helen’s Church.

This Thursday the paving machine was back laying fresh tarmac along East St Helen Street. A couple of rollers smoothed the surface.

The work was along a stretch of carriageway at the lower end of the street, not including the residents parking.

Traffic was kept off the road, giving pedestrians a rare chance to see East St Helen Street without cars.

North Abingdon Developments

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Former Primary School teacher and Abingdon Mayor Pat Hobby has a road name on The Kingsgate Estate.

The new Aldi store is progressing well but does look like a long line of grey when viewed from the Wootton Road.

Beyond the Aldi Store and new Kingsgate Estate the cycle / pedestrian way ends. No thought seems to have gone into improving this crossing – so close to the new developments. Cycles must join the road and pedestrians cross the road at a place (near Mallams) where a young man was killed, by a speeding driver, not so long ago.

Also see if you can spot the bus stop.

Here is new BUS STOP near the Abbey Fields Estate for comparison.

New turf and shrubs are being planted.at the the new Abbey Fields Estate. Sprinklers are used.

The re-channeled brook is dried up and stagnant there has been so little rain.

The developments will help pay for a full A34 junction at Lodge Hill. The last update I heard was that the full plans could be published in September.

In Botley, another place where houses are close to the A34, there is a 50 mph.

Books from Abingdon People

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People sent in poems about Abingdon and the poet Andrew Jamison selected the final ten and wrote the foreword. The book Ten Poems about Abingdon sells at £5 and all profits go to The Abingdon Bridge charity – supporting young people. The book can be found at The Bookstore, Mostly Books, Abingdon Museum and Abingdon Bridge. It will appear at Abingdon Library.

Jenny Gould will be at Abingdon Library this Thursday talking about her book No More Good Girl. Jenny is a psychotherapist and married to Mike. They live and are well known in Abingdon.

Kevin Thomson is well known at Abingdon Drama Club and organises Abingdon Walking Tours led by himself and other actor friends. His children’s book is called Willy and Wally – The Windscreen Wipers.

Outdoor Pool opened today for six weeks

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The Abbey Meadow Outdoor Pool opened today for six weeks. The pool normally opens in May but due to the increased cost of heating the pool (*) the council took the decision to reduce the season to what should be the most popular time, the summer holidays.

The timetable of hours can be seen at https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/vale-of-white-horse/abbey-meadows-outdoor-pool/timetable.

Prices are up on last year but annual inflation generally is running at over 9%.

Adult is £5.35 (£4.90 in 2021)
Child is £3.30 (£3.10 in 2021)
1 Adult and 1 or 2 Under 3’s is £5.35

* A VWHDC press release said heating costs for the pool were expected to be around £107,000, compared to £47,000 in previous seasons. Presumably that is for a full season.