A premises in Bath Street has changed from retail to residential.

The building dates from the 1960s and the shop was a ladies clothes shop until July 2020.

Justifying the decision, VWHDC said ‘Whilst the loss of a ground floor retail unit is regrettable, due to the small size of the unit, and its location on a secondary shopping frontage, it is not considered that the loss of this unit would cause significant harm to the function, character or appearance of the existing shopping provision or to the town centre as a whole.’

It is a big day for Lidl in Abingdon. Staff were busy on last minute preparations for opening the new Lidl supermarket on the Fairacres Retail Park. The Abingdon Lidl is one new store out of a hundred to be opened in 2021/22. A press release said  ‘£1.3bn investment plans for 2021 and 2022 will drive the opening of 100 additional stores across Great Britain’.

A hoarding was being driven round Abingdon with the words ‘Big on Abingdon … Drum roll please, opens Thurs 29 April …‘.

Also of note are four new electric car charging points at Lidl.

On the Fairacres sign can be seen Homebase and Lidl are opening soon. The Gym, Costa Coffee, and Bathstore will also be opening soon.

The Fairacres Phase 2 re-development is nearly completed. Contractors are busy converting the ground nearest the Marcham Road roundabout into a Homebase garden and outdoor area.

One thing that has not changed is the postbox on Nuffield Way. Everything around it changed during the re-development.

Over the weekend the garden of the Nags Head pub was a popular venue for people to experience their first meal (or drink) out since the lockdown easing. The sun shone on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Everyone entering the garden records their details with Track and Trace, and wears a mask to the table. Orders are made by mobile phones.

Here is a pint of Abingdon Bridge, brewed by the Loose Cannon Brewery in Abingdon.

While enjoying the garden the punters can watch the boats go by.

On the downstream side of Nags Head Island, Annie’s Tearooms, also has outdoor tables and has been welcoming people back.

There is currently work strengthening the moorings downstream from Abingdon Bridge.