Oxfordshire County Council is currently consulting on two proposed on-street parking schemes in Abingdon: one for the North Central area, which includes the Fitzharris and Workhouse Estates, and one for the Ock Street area. These proposals follow feedback from an informal consultation with residents in November 2024. The current consultation is open until 1st August 2025.

The schemes aim to address all-day parking by non-residents and congestion caused by school traffic, which can make parking and access difficult for those living in the areas.

Under the proposals:

• Resident-only parking areas would be introduced, with permits available for residents to purchase. There would be exemptions for carers and some services
• Some areas near shops would allow shared use: residents with permits can park, and non-permit holders can park for up to 2 hours free.
• A small area outside Trinity Church and near Edward Street shops, would allow up to 4 hours free parking with or without a permit.

Residents in these areas would need to buy permits, as is already the case in central Abingdon. In the central Abingdon scheme, permit income helps cover enforcement costs, including the employment of traffic wardens. I would expect a similar model in the new zones.

You can view and respond to the consultations here:

• North Central Area (Fitzharry’s and Workhouse Estates):
  https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon_centralnorth_permitparking2025

• Ock Street Area:
  https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon_ockstreet_permitparking2025

The newly revamped Cattle Market Car Park opened recently and is looking smart with fresh tarmac, clearly painted lines, and brick-block parking bays.

One feature still to be completed is the rain garden. This will collect and filter rainwater runoff from the car park, preventing it from overwhelming the drainage channels. By filtering the water through soil and plants, the rain garden helps clean it before it reaches the water table. It will also enhance biodiversity in the area.

In Abingdon’s Cattle Market car park, fences once again surround the site, and machinery lifts the old asphalt.

The works were delayed after uncovering something far older than the car park and the cattle market that was on the site. Archaeologists identified layers of Medieval and Roman deposits, including pottery fragments. Human burials were found beneath the site, and the remains of a stone wall, possibly a former Bell Tower once recorded nearby.

The work has resumed to improve the car park, a project funded by Thames Water and managed by Vale of White Horse District Council. The planned improvements include resurfacing, a new layout, new lighting, and a rain garden to manage rainwater runoff and improve the carpark’s biodiversity.

The improvements are expected to be completed by March 2025.

The Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) will close the Cattle Market car park to vehicles and pedestrians from November 11th, 2024.

The closure, lasting up to twenty weeks, will allow for an archaeological survey, followed by improvements to the car park, including:
* Layout
* Resurfacing
* Lighting

* Creation of a garden to soak away rainwater and improve biodiversity.

There are alternative VWHDC car parks, including:
* Civic car park
* Audlett Drive car park
* Abbey Close car park
* Rye Farm car park
* Charter multi-story car park (limited access)
* West St Helen Street (long queue to get out if traffic is bad in West St Helen Street).

See https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/cattle-market