![](\"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/imag25\/2025062702.jpg\")
\n(Picture shows General William Booth visiting Abingdon)
\nThere weren\u2019t many of us at the Town Council meeting last night \u2013 just nine councillors, two officers, me in the audience, and Revd Georgina Bondzi-Simpson, who opened the meeting with a prayer.<\/p>\n
Revd Georgina shared a short story about General Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. When he was too unwell to attend their annual meeting, he sent a one-word telegram to sum up his message: ‘Others.’ She reminded us that this is what council work is all about \u2013 serving others.<\/p>\n
The meeting itself was relaxed. Each committee chair gave a brief update on their work, and the Mayor shared her recent engagements. One that stood out was a Dementia Awareness event, where she was reminded of simple ways to help \u2013 like reintroducing yourself each time you meet someone with memory loss, rather than assuming they remember you.<\/p>\n
County Council Update<\/strong> Plans to improve the Bridge Street\/High Street junction are moving forward and will go to public consultation (maybe next year). One councillor commented that, after the disruption caused by the sinkhole and recent temporary lights, it\u2019s important any future works happen during off-peak times.<\/p>\n The roadworks at the top of Oxford Road and the fines issued (as mentioned previously) were also noted.<\/p>\n District Council Update<\/strong> Around 2,500 trees have been planted in Abingdon since 2022.<\/p>\n Bus shelters were discussed. Those on Preston Road are in poor condition but little used, so the focus will be on replacing shelters on High Street and adding a new one on Stratton Way. The County Council has already installed a new shelter on Langley Road.<\/p>\n The town now has a trained staff member responsible for maintaining bus shelters. One councillor said the mess under some shelters gives a bad impression of the town; another noted that clearing the ground isn\u2019t always the town council\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n Grants were awarded to Heritage Open Day and Oxford Wood Recycling. Unfortunately, One Planet Abingdon missed out this time.<\/p>\n A grant request from the Rugby Club for new women\u2019s and girls\u2019 changing facilities was passed to the Finance Committee, as it could qualify for developer funding (CIL).<\/p>\n The recent Clubs and Societies Day was a success, and the new staff structure is helping events run more smoothly.<\/p>\n Finance Committee<\/strong> The current auditor will continue for another five years, following a review.<\/p>\n A working group is being formed to look at potential local government reorganisation. To avoid conflicts of interest, councillors who also serve at District or County level won\u2019t be included.<\/p>\n A new Emergency Plan \u2013 covering pandemics, flooding, severe weather and more \u2013 was approved. While emergency planning is mainly a County and District responsibility, the town council will support them as needed.<\/p>\n The primary school planned for the North Abingdon development may not be built until it\u2019s deemed necessary. Since there are still places available in current schools, one councillor suggested it might not be built until 2028 or 2029.<\/p>\n On the proposed reservoir, councillors attended compaction trials and questioned Thames Water representatives, but felt they didn\u2019t receive proper answers.<\/p>\n I had to leave the meeting at that point. The last item was due to be a discussion on the weir walkway, with the council planning to write to the Environment Agency to ask for a clear timeline when it can be made safe and reopen. I expect that was agreed \u2013 with strong<\/strong> wording.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Picture shows General William Booth visiting Abingdon) There weren\u2019t many of us at the Town Council meeting last night \u2013 just nine councillors, two officers, me in the audience, and Revd Georgina Bondzi-Simpson, who opened the meeting with a prayer. Revd Georgina shared a short story about General Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-council"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33916","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=33916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nA consultation is being planned for new parking zones near the town centre, including the Fitzharry’s Estate and the Ock Street \/ Conduit Road area.<\/p>\n
\nThe Vale of White Horse District Council report highlighted frustrations around the North Abingdon developments. Ongoing issues haven\u2019t been helped by staffing shortages and the focus on the new Local Plan, which has meant regular liaison meetings with developers haven\u2019t been taking place.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/imag25\/2025062701.jpg\")
\n(Picture shows the old Market Place notice board that got moved to a side area when the Market Place was repaved in 2006)
\nEnvironment Committee<\/strong>
\nA new double-sided noticeboard for the Market Place is going ahead. There\u2019s a \u00a37,000 budget, as installation may involve digging near utilities. Care is being taken not to block shop fronts.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/imag25\/2025062706.jpg\")
\nCommunity Committee<\/strong>
\nMusic in the Park ticket sales are ahead of last year at this stage (550 vs. 200).<\/p>\n
\nThe rugby club grant was agreed in principle but needs final sign-off at the next meeting.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/imag25\/2025062704.jpg\")
\nPlanning Committee<\/strong>
\nOn the North Abingdon development, there were questions about how many homes can be occupied before traffic improvements (like those on the A34) are completed. It appears there hasn\u2019t been close coordination between developers and the district council:
\n* Kingsgate is almost finished, with the last few homes and paths being completed.
\n* Abbey Fields (David Wilson Homes) is sold out and finished, with Barratt now building the final dozen homes.
\n* Radley Reach is progressing, with an estimated 50\u201360 homes built so far.<\/p>\n