There was a Town Council Meeting this evening in Abingdon-on-Thames. It could be the last one that Councillor Jan Morter will chair as Mayor. Her successor Councillor Margaret Crick will become Mayor at a ceremony on May 9th.

The meeting began with prayers mentioning St Mark (as it is the Feast of St Mark today), then some statements from town people.

Levy payers to the BID (Business Improvement District) came again with their worries about the BID. Their spokesman, was stuck in traffic after a major holdup on the A34 and so others spoke instead. Some businesses are refusing to pay the BID levy this time and have been told there are court proceedings against them from the BID company.

An audit has appeared on the BID website, carried out by VWHDC. The audit is procedural rather than financial, and shows that after resignations by members of the board nobody is clear who is on the BID board anymore. The audit says some meetings were not quorate as a result, and meetings have also not been properly minuted. It also appears that accounts have not been properly signed off by meetings.

102 member companies have petitioned for the BID to be closed down. So despite the sterling efforts of an interim team to turn it round the BID is likely to be closed.

The Abingdon Carbon Cutters gave a statement about cutting down on plastic, and ended the presentation with the suggestion that the Town Council could help by reducing waste in two events it is responsible for: Abingdon Market and The Michaelmas Fair.

Later in the meeting the council chose to support a motion proposed by Councillor Sam Bowring to sign up to the national refill scheme and provide a place for refilling of water bottles, and not provide single use plastics in the Guildhall. This was unanimously agreed.

There was then a presentation by Thames Water about their future plan for providing enough water for the growing population of London and the South East. They are currently consulting on the plan which includes Abingdon Reservoir mk 3 or 4. This time they appear to have made more of an effort to screen the high 20 meter mounds that will enclose the reservoir. If allowed, the reservoir could provide water from the 2040s.

County Councillor Emily Smith presented a comprehensive report on what is happening at the County Council but drew attention to three things. Each County Councillor now has £15K for their division and groups can apply at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/councillorpriorityfund. People can now become super users on www.fixmystreet.com to actually monitor and book in repairs in their area. The third was a consultation about Dunmore Road is happening.

Then we got into the main body of the council meeting and looked at the minutes from the last Town Council. The meeting discussed the BID again and how it could be wound up, and the wisdom of doing this. Mike Badcock, the leader of the council, said he had been assured that letters demanding payment of the levy will not be pursued through the court.

The Ock Bridge has re-opened.

A new town bus service financed by the Town Council is on its way from December.

There was a question from Monica Lovatt asking why 5 of the last 10 grant applications had been declined. Was it because the committee was running out of money for the year, or did the grants not meet the criteria. It was the latter.

On the museum committee we hear that, sadly, Matt, the museum manager, has left. So he will be a great loss to the council.

Building work continues in the Guildhall and is scheduled for completion from 1st September.

Then back to the BID and we heard the VWHDC is reviewing legislation into winding up a BID.

It was agreed filming of council meetings could happen.

St Nicolas Clock, for which the Town Council is responsible, is working again. The Town Council will also take on responsibility for St Nicolas’ closed churchyard.

The council then came to the decision whether to agree to the cinema operating in the Guildhall, and the town council leader proposed an amendment which seemed to move the decision back to the finance and general purposes committee, subject to certain things being agreed between the parties beforehand. Everybody agreed with the amendment. The discussion was very difficult to follow and so I may have missed the final outcome.

The feedback from the Community Led Plan discussions was given and it appears to have generated various other volunteers taking on actions to keep Abingdon litter free etc. So well done to them.

There followed a proposal to have a Mobiloo at Fun in the Parks at a cost of £490. This will allow some people to attend who could not otherwise, and shows that the council will go the extra mile to make its events accessible to all.

Then came the discussion on plastics and how they are ruining the planet. All were agreed that it was a big problem and we could do our little bit.

Last night’s “Annual Parish Meeting” was a quiet affair compared to the recent Special Meetings. This is the event where the Chairs of the various Town Council Committees report to the public on their work over the last 12 months and is the only occasion when the public can put questions – and get answers – without having to give advance notice.

We had reports about the Council’s work on Amenities and Recreation, Community Services and Grants, the Guildhall, Museum, Planning and Finance. These reports will be made available on the Town Council website.

There was a question about whether Bun-throwing was an appropriate means of commemorating the end of WW1; we were told that the decision had been taken and it was unlikely to be re-considered. We were also reminded that bun-throwing had been used in the 1990s to commemorate the anniversary of VE Day (picture above possibly just before VE Day bun throw).

One of the audience commented that stopping publication of the Town Crier magazine meant that people without the internet had little information about Civic Events.

On the Abbey Hall we were told that discussions, feasibility studies etc for the proposed Community Hub, which “might” include the Library would take about two years so discussions were now under way about the approach from the Regal Cinema to use the space for that 2-year period. A formal proposal was expected in time for discussion by the Council at the end of March. The only other option likely to be considered would be to re-open the space for hire alongside the historic rooms, as in the past. A questioner reminded the Council that they had committed to full public consultation on the long-term plan and asked for reassurances that this would be included in the process. These were given.

Work is now under way on the alterations to the historic Guildhall and the date for re-opening is now likely to be early September. There was a lot of interest in using the rooms for conferences which could provide a useful income stream. Plans for the staircase were under review following comments from Historic England and others about the proposal to replace it. There were no questions on this report – possibly because those most interested are waiting to hear what happens at the Guildhall Committee when all of this will be debated.

We were reminded that following the “Abingdon for All” consultation last autumn, public meetings have been set up to discuss the topics which generated most interest: there was one on traffic and transport earlier this month, the one on Planning and Housing is pending and there is one on retail in April. People were encouraged to come along to these.

Not part of the formal reports, but we were told the good news that “Carousel”, the group setting up a replacement for the South Abingdon Childrens Centre, is now making good headway and it should open soon, providing a range of activities and services for families with young children.

And finally, regular readers of this blog will be delighted to hear that we were told that “last year, as always, the flowers were amazing”. I am sure we would all agree.

The second public meeting about the Guildhall’s future also had a strong turnout with well over 100 people including about 8 councillors. The meeting had moved from the Roysse Room to St Helen’s Church, and everybody did get admitted this time. As can be seen, not many young people were there.

The format was much the same as last week and similar points were raised. It was pointed out by one speaker that it made it difficult to have ‘a discussion’ when the Town Council would not answer any questions or respond to any points raised.