Category Archives: community

South Abingdon Localism

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Another Meeting
This picture shows the end of the meeting of the newly formed South Abingdon Community Led Plan group (better name being sought).

In attendance were: members from the River Ock Flood Action Group, the chair of the Marina residents association, the chair of the Tithe Farm and Ladygrove residents association,  residents without portfolio,  PCSOs, an officer from VWHDC, a SOHA housing association officer, a town councillor and district councillor, and a local newspaper reporter.  You can read more in the Abingdon Herald.  

The group are planning a 10am – 4pm community event on March 19th at Preston Road Community Centre where residents of Ock Meadow and Caldecott will be consulted on their priorities for South Abingdon. Then a five year local action plan will be created and sent to every home in the area. The group will then work and lobby to get things ticked off – when done.  This could be the start of what the new government are promoting as localism, and Big Society.

Winding up Action4Abingdon

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Action 4 Abingdon
The final post appeared on the action4abingdon forum 3 days ago saying “… As you know we created the forum as a vehicle to lobby for improvements to the then newly implemented Abits scheme. This, along with our 250 business signature petition and the Independent Traffic Report resulted in no less than 12 significant changes to the layout.

The forum soon became a good platform for all things Abingdon and has had some lively debates on various subjects, however, nothing lasts forever and so I think it’s time to wind the thing up…”

Needless to say there are still challenges facing Abingdon. But the forum showed that many people cared passionately for the town from various political, and non-political persuasions.

From Snow Correspondents

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More Snow Pics
Thanks to Peter who sent me a picture – of his – that has already appeared on BBC South. It shows the moon last night above St Helen’s Church. If the lunar eclipse was visible at all last night it would have been around dawn and from Cornwall and Devon – cloud permitting. Did anybody see it in Abingdon?
More Snow Pics
George, who I have not heard from for ages, sent me a picture of the crosses in St Edmund’s Churchyard. Each cross is a memorial to one of the Sisters of Mercy who came to help educate the poor of Abingdon in days gone by.
More Snow Pics
Richard sent two pictures, taken on Monday, where neighbours on Cameron Avenue – off the Radley Road – got together to clear their road.
More Snow Pics

Early August Allotment Report

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West End Allotment
Thanks to John for a report from the West End Allotment. That is the allotments, the other side of the A34 from Tesco, on what was Abingdon Common before the A34 destroyed it.

Allotments don’t have to look pretty. Allotments were created to allow us town dwellers – with not enough land – to grow some of our own produce.
West End Allotment
John says “in spite of the drought there’s some enterprising plots (not mine!). Here you find the latest in bird scarers; runner beans are pretty, squashes and pumpkins are popular, as are polytunnels and self-build sheds, even summer-houses.”
West End Allotment
August is here and it is time to concentrate on bringing what is in flower to fruition – pinch out the top of tomato plants and let the plant concentrate on what it has already.
West End Allotment
It is community gardening, and if you are new to it there will always be somebody there to give advice. The town council owns the allotments, but the day to day running of the allotments is done by individual allotment associations. There are three for the three allotments in Abingdon: West End featured here, Wildmoor (also over the A34 but a little further north) , and Drayton Road (so called because it was once on Drayton Road before houses crowded it out, and now is to be found close to the sewage works).