This Abingdon Church Hall was featured in the 1927 Hooke’s Abingdon Almanack and Directory – to show the workmanship of P.A and G Randall, Builders and Contractors of Swinburne Road. It was built in 1926 – funded by public subscription.

The Church Hall would have been situated about where the road runs in front of Abbey House, and was demolished in 1988 when the Abbey House Council Offices were built. Demolition allowed access to Abbey Close avoiding the Abbey Gateway – which in our times need protection from passing traffic.

The church hall was used for the WI Market, church youth clubs, blood donor clinics, church socials, jumble sales, dances, and performances on a small stage.

This evening at Wantage there is Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) Meeting where the updated draft local plan (2013 – 2031) will be discussed.

This evening’s Council Meeting will be the first chance for most Abingdon District Councillors to challenge the change from 610 to 1000 houses for North Abingdon.

In the original draft plan put out for public consultation in February 2013 there were no major housing developments planned for Abingdon.

After that the UK Government told Oxfordshire to take many more houses.

And so in February 2014 a new plan was published with 610 new houses in North Abingdon, removing that land from the Green Belt. They are the westerly 3 red areas on the google map above.

They included the circus field,

and fields either side of Tilsley Park – very close to the A34 in places.

Now in October 2014 the new draft plan has proposed removing more land from the green belt for housing and is offering a Lodge Hill A34 Diamond Interchange to help take the additional traffic. That does depend on the UK Government allowing such an interchange.

The Draft Plan says “One site, North Abingdon, has been extended east of the A4183 into land not initially recommended for Green Belt release in the Green Belt review. An expanded site at North Abingdon would better support provision of a new primary school and help fund the A34 south facing slips at Lodge Hill, as well as helping to meet needs arising in the largest settlement where there are limited alternative opportunities for sustainable growth.

The plan has already been recommended by the VWHDC Cabinet, who met on 3rd October, and if agreed by this evening’s meeting will go out for 6 weeks public consultation and then to the Secretary of State for independent examination.

The turf-cutting ceremony marked the official start of works just before the end of the Summer Term. Now in Michaelmas Term the Abingdon School Science Centre has sprung up in leaps and bounds.

The other major new building in Abingdon this autumn is Mayott House – where one centralised care home is being transformed into lots of modern care homes.