The Vale of White Horse Planning Committee voted by seven votes to five, with one abstention, to allow 158 dwellings on the field next to the Drayton Road – on the other side of those Lime Trees. 10 of the Lime Trees will be cut down to make an entrance onto the Drayton Road.

The committee were deciding on Taylor Wimpey’s modified housing plan. Taylor Wimpey had brought the land from a previous developer with a plan for 159 dwellings, but wanted to use their own style of housing. That original plan was turned down by the Vale of White Horse Planning Chairman, without even going to committee – among other factors, because of South Abingdon’s traffic problems. But that plan was allowed on appeal by a planning inspector. This time the modified plan did go to the committee, and that same chairman voted for the modified plan, and Council officers kept saying it would be very cavalier of councillors to go against officer advice, and face significant costs if they lost a second time on appeal.

A number of local councillors had spoken against the scheme before it was discussed by the committee, and three local residents were allowed just 3 minutes between them to present the views of residents. When the clock stopped for Anthea to take over there were just 33 seconds remaining. She wanted to speak on the environmental issues of the development. She put the case that the developer’s studies had failed to reveal the bats and other wildlife. She did not have time for her conclusion, which was “One has to conclude that if the developer’s evidence is inaccurate, here, then surely other aspects are also inaccurate.”

After the vote, the debate ended in shambles as some Councillors thought there was still time to include a condition about measuring the effect of the traffic mitigation scheme (those pedestrian lights on Marcham Road) before houses were built That was ruled out of order. It should have been proposed properly and voted on before going to the final vote.

Publishing House, at the bottom of The Vineyard, has gained prior approval to change from offices to residential use, and has now been sold.

It was vacated by Connexions, the agency charged with helping to find young people work, in August 2011, and there has been a To Let sign / For Sale sign outside since.

The new house on Wilsham Road has been going up during the winter, and the huge roof beam lifted into position.

At Abingdon School the concrete frame of the new science block is being filled in with breeze blocks and insulation slabs.

Mayott House is having the roof put on.

The site for 159 dwellings in a field off the Drayton Road are still having an archaeological survey.

External refurbishment of the Abingdon and Witney College D Block is nearing completion.

The large hedge, hiding the college, could soon be coming down.

A lot of the rest of the college has already been rebuilt or refurbished. There is a fairly new art block; and more recently engineering buildings, and a vehicle maintenance workshop have been added.

I found a picture of The North Berkshire College of Further Education, as it was called in 1967, on the ATV Television archive site.

The Short Film shows some mums doing an introduction to teaching course; and Mr Comely, the first ever college principal – appointed in 1963 – being interviewed about the course.

Mr Comely retired from the college in 1986, and then became a governor.

The College was renamed as Abingdon College after Abingdon was moved into Oxfordshire in 1974. Then in 2001 the college merged with Witney College to become Abingdon and Witney College. And the hedge has kept growing.