![\"Abingdon-on-Thames\"](\"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/imag16\/16030901.jpg\")
\nIn the Parish Meeting, Abingdon Town Council provide updates of its work over the the last year. Each committee chair reports back on the work of their committee to members of the electorate who attend. This year there were 8 members of the public and Sophie Grubb from the Abingdon Herald.<\/p>\n
A new council were elected on 7th May 2015, comprising 10 Conservative, 8 Liberal Democrats, and 1 Independent.<\/p>\n
Key Issues from the Chairman of Finance and General Purposes: <\/strong><\/p>\n Guildhall: the council could not get funds for the more ambitious plans they had before the election. None of the commercial partners were able to bring in sufficient funds, and their operating model was not compatible with the continued public use of the building.<\/p>\n Town Planning: The town council has set aside \u00a310,000 towards a Neighbourhood Plan that could end up costing \u00a370,000.<\/p>\n Lodge Hill four-way interchange: costs range from \u00a38m to \u00a313m. The North Abingdon housing estate could bring in \u00a39.6m in developer funding.<\/p>\n Bury Street: Aberdeen Assset Management have asked to be released from their commitment to spend around \u00a350m on redeveloping the Charter. They have not found investment partners. The District Council are asking that instead they upgrade the Co-op and Poundland shops.<\/p>\n Budget: 4.54% increase in Council Tax precept for the Town Council. Guildhall Project to cost \u00a32,184,000 of which \u00a3934,000 will be a loan.<\/p>\n 2 new Residents’ parking wardens have been employed. The County Council has come up with a better deal to keep this scheme going.<\/p>\n Key Issues from Amenities and Recreation:<\/span> Key issues from Community Services Committee:<\/strong> Key issues from Guildhall Committee:<\/strong> Museum<\/strong> Planning<\/strong> Town Matters raised by members of the public<\/strong> In the Parish Meeting, Abingdon Town Council provide updates of its work over the the last year. Each committee chair reports back on the work of their committee to members of the electorate who attend. This year there were 8 members of the public and Sophie Grubb from the Abingdon Herald. A new council were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n90 new trees have been planted in the cemetery
\nNegotiations about a site for a new cemetery are happening confidentially
\nSome of the 8 Town Council play areas had safety surfaces improvements
\nNew town signs will be going up
\nTown fisheries being reviewed
\nAbingdon in bloom successful again<\/p>\n
\nA 2nd monthly Farmers Market has been allowed
\nMonday Market will be given better publicity
\nMarkets are seen as a way of increasing footfall not a money generator for the council
\nMarket Place was booked on 156 days last year
\nGrants process being revamped
\n23rd April – Clubs and Societies Day<\/p>\n
\nPlan includes:
\nGroundfloor entrance and cafe area – glazed at front
\nRemoval of ramp and old steps
\nImproved access from Bridge Street
\nStage moved to other end and Abbey Hall soundproofed
\nPrices for hire likely to come down after comparison with Didcot and Wantage
\nPrevious hirers are being kept up to date with plans to entice them back<\/p>\n
\nMousehole opened as cafe
\n20 volunteers now help
\nJane Bowen – curator since the re-opening in 2012 – has retired.
\nLift now working and there are plans to cover it to stop rain getting in to the mechanism
\nWeather Vane to have scaffolding removed shortly<\/p>\n
\nConsidered 281 plans
\n40 members of the public came to speak
\nStopped Drayton development on 3 occasions for not abiding by conditions<\/p>\n
\nTown bus service to be axed. Will the town council support a community group setting up a community bus as is happening in Witney? Town Council are happy to talk but have no budget.
\nChildren’s Centres. Scope for communities to get share of funding to keep centres open. Will Town Concil get involved? This is a County Council matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"