The Vale of White Horse District Council are urging us to support local traders as they confirm the free parking days in the run up to Christmas. In Abingdon they will be the Saturdays (5, 12, 19 December) .

December 5th is also Small Business Saturday.

People were volunteering in one the charity shops today, decorating the window and getting the shop ready to open. Such shops will be permitted to reopen from Wednesday at 1am.

The rest of the winter will be uncertain for traders. There could be further closures.

Oxfordshire will be in the new tier 2 …

There are more places using Click and Collect during this second lockdown. In Abingdon town centre there are notices outside:

Fabulous Flowers,

Mostly Books,

and Abingdon Library. The library also allows pre-booked access to computers.

Barclays have sent letters to customers of the Abingdon Marcham Road branch to say that the branch is closing on the 10th February 2021. They are closing other branches including those at Botley and Didcot. The Barclays at The Square in Abingdon must still have enough visitors as it is kept open.

The main reasons, given by the bank, why the Abingdon Marcham Road is closing:
• Customer visits have gone down over the last 2 years
• 82% of customers have other ways of banking, and this percent has increased
• 57% of this branch’s customers have been using nearby branches
• 29 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking

At the Fairacres retail park, across the Marcham Road, a new planning application P20/V2809/FUL requests that the 3 remaining units (of the phase 2 development) will need an exterior garden centre. The application mentions Homebase. So if this goes ahead,  in late 2021, it will mean Homebase are returning with a brand new store taking the last 3 new units.