Thanks to a resident from Virginia Way for an email saying “It seems we have moles now!!!”
Workmen with an excavator have been creating a network of ditches in the field alongside Virginia Way.
This is the same field proposed for development of 170 houses.
From the Abbey Gardens the new Care Homes being built at Thames View are screened by the tall trees, but from the Waitrose Carpark the new buildings are clearly visible. They will be traditionally styled two and three storey apartments.
It was hoped a few years ago when the Thames View site was first redeveloped that its would continue to keep some employment near the town centre, alongside residential developments. But the site no longer seemed attractive to businesses.
A Care Home, with possibly 90 employees, was seen by district council planners as a better compromise than just housing.
As somebody once told me, progress will start to be seen at the Abbey Shopping Centre in August.
Most of the framework for the new fashion shops was put up today.
Remaining shops, including Thomas Cook, the travel experts, are open as usual – protected by scaffolding and hoardings.
There is currently a planning application to split what was “Stroll In” in two. “Stroll In” closed in Februray 2011 and has been empty since.
The architect planning the changes argues that before about the 1970s, when some major structural alterations were made to remove walls and replace them with beams and pillars, there were two shops on this site – one with a frontage on Stert Street, one on the Market Place.
“Stroll In” did always seem an odd shape and that could explain it.
The upstairs space will also be divided into five apartments. Although there is no on street parking, more cycle storage will be provided, and tenants may be able to apply to join the Vale of White Horse Residents Parking Scheme using the Cattle Market and Abbey Meadow Car Parks.