Proposals to reduce the number of local councils from three levels to two look increasingly likely. Consultation information can be found on the table near the entrance of Abingdon Library for the ‘One Oxfordshire’ proposal already launched by the leaders of Oxfordshire County Council. Responses to that consultation, which can also be found at http://www.oneoxfordshire.org/, end on 28th February 2017.

The leaders of the Vale of White Horse District Council, and South Oxfordshire, have also announced today that they want to work together with Oxfordshire County Council to develop a proposal for a unitary council that represents the best deal for the people of Oxfordshire. They say they hope all the councils will be involved.

A unitary council running the joint County Council and District Council services would include the following…

County Council Services:
Child protection
Fostering and adoption
Adult social services
Educational Support
Roads and transport
Fire and Rescue service
Waste disposal
Public Health
Libraries
Trading Standards
Countryside access
Parking

District/city council services:
Housing and benfits
Parks and leisure
Local planning
Street cleaning
Waste collection
Environmental health
Concil tax collection
Electoral registration

We will have to see how the proposals develop, but Abingdon Town Council would continue to provide local services in some areas, and might gain some local services as three layers of council is reduced to two.

Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council provides:
Guildhall and Museum
Information Centre
Allotments
Cemeteries
Parks and Open Spaces
Christmas Lights
Market Place, markets and fairs
Fisheries
Abingdon in Bloom

At the start of the council meeting there were a group of 13-16 year olds in the spectator seats. They were there with the youth leader from the Abingdon Damascus Youth Project to receive a cheque for £2,684. There was also somebody to receive a £7,000 grant for South & Vale Young Carers. After they left the meeting we heard shouts of delight outside.

There followed a presentation to the council by the groups: Host Abingdon, and by Abingdon More in Common.

After that a report was presented by County Councillor, Alison Rooke. This gave details of the On-Street parking consulation that was on the blog yesterday. You can respond here by 10 Feb 2017.

As Oxfordshire received less than 5% of the £400m+ applied for from the Local Growth Fund it does mean that developing the four way interchange at Lodge Hill will be more challenging to achieve. Council officers are to meet with developers.

Because the two Children’s Centres were built with Sure Start finance of several hundreds of pounds it means future use should be for children – or the funds would be clawed back by central government.

The Mayor presented a list of all her engagements since the last council meeting, and named some upcoming events for all councillors including the annual bowls match against Oxford to be played at Oxford for the first time.

Then the council went through all the committee papers since the last Town Council meeting …

There have been two meetings of the committee considering a Community Led Plan for Abingdon but no details were given.

The museum is considering charging visitors who are not resident in Abingdon.

The Town Crier magazine, usually sent to all houses in Abingdon 3 or 4 times a year, will not be published this year. People can visit the town council web site instead to find what is happening.

Nothing to report on the new cemetery.

Tenders had been considered for the Guildhall development and a recommendation made. So that could have been accepted in confidential session at this meeting.

There was then a discussion of the budget for the coming year. The Lib-Dem group proposed putting some money aside to show support for the South Abingdon Children’s Centre – should a sustainable project plan be produced. They noted that successful projects agreed to by the County have had support from their town councils. This led to an adjournment by the Conservative group to discuss the proposed amendment.

I left at this point for haggis and neeps. For it is Burns Night …

Thanks to Sven for this …

The Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon hosted a Donald Trump presidential campaign event.

Mr Trump was reported by the Herald Courier as saying that “Coal mining jobs have been taken away and we need to bring them back.”

The Oxfordshire County Council cuts to the town’s subsidised bus services will happen in the next two weeks. This will make it more difficult for elderly people, without their own transport, to get into town and to the community hospital. Most effected are villages, and areas in North Abingdon away from the Oxford Road. I was approached by one elderly person yesterday in town who felt very angry about the cuts, and said that they, and others they know, will feel more isolated.

Cutting bus subsidies is being done because of cuts to local government finances imposed by central government with the aim of having a budget surplus by 2020, a target that the chancellor of the exchequer has had to abandon after the Brexit vote.