There were loud toots from a Co-op lorry in West St Helen Street yesterday evening, trying to get a driver back to their car.

The lorry had to stop because on one side there were parked residents’ cars, and on the other  was a car parked where cars do not normally park – on a single yellow line with a restriction of no waiting 8am–6pm Monday to Saturday. Only a few weeks ago, new double yellow lines were introduced along this street, but not this particular section.

For a while, traffic built up behind the lorry, until the driver reversed and other drivers behind adjusted their positions. This allowed cars to mount the kerb to get round the lorry.

A few minutes later, with help from a Co-op employee on foot, the lorry was able to squeeze through without a scrape.

Single yellow lines with time restrictions can give the impression that parking is acceptable, but if parked cause an obstruction that could be a police matter.

P.S. It may have been an emergency situation.

Over the past week, new signs have been appearing across the Town Centre and Centre East as the latest parking restrictions come into force. These changes were consulted on last year, approved in January, and officially took effect on 1 April.

The most noticeable change is the replacement of older signage with new signs, including those carrying the “AB” designation for Abingdon Town Centre. (The patch on a lot of signs is to hide ‘Mon – Sat 8 am to 6pm’ which does not apply to residents’ spaces.)

New restrictions have also been introduced. These include a new 30-minute waiting limit below the Co-op in West St Helen Street. A new pay-and-display machine is on St Helen’s Wharf.

In Centre East, there are double yellow lines in places where none were before.

This has created some interesting patterns along roads such as Penlon Place.

Oxfordshire County Council has launched two new consultations on parking changes in Abingdon, both open until Friday 12 December 2025.

1. Centre East Abingdon – Proposed Parking Restrictions

The first consultation covers new ‘No Waiting at Any Time’ (double yellow line) restrictions in parts of Centre East Abingdon. These would extend or add restrictions on:
* Audlett Drive
* Jackman Close
* Magnette Close
* Penlon Place
* Quakers Court
* Radley Road

The aim is to stop obstructive parking, following an informal consultation with residents in 2024.

The consultation can be viewed at: https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon_centreeast_parking2025 .

2. Abingdon Town Centre – Proposed Parking Restriction Amendments

The second consultation covers the town centre. The main change is a small extension of the residents’ permit scheme, to include:
* St Edmunds Lane (permit-holder)
* St Helens Wharf (permit-holder or pay-and-display)

New limited-waiting bays
* West St Helen Street: maximum stay 30 minutes. These are intended to support access to local shops and services. The parking outside the Salvation Army would be removed to allow 30 minutes parking opposite. This may help the Co-op where people often park in the loading bay.
* Manor Court: maximum stay 2 hours

Other proposals include:
* Additional double yellow lines, replacing some single yellow lines, particularly at junctions where parking is already discouraged by the highway code.
* New no-loading restrictions on Abingdon Bridge.

The town centre will also get new signs showing that it is the AB residents parking area. So the sign stuck outside our house will be replaced.

The consultation can be viewed at: https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon_towncentre_parking2025.

These measures don’t look as controversial as the previous consultations (earlier this year) which had many people worried.

Cabinet Member for Transport Cllr Andrew Gant, of Oxfordshire County Council, has dropped two proposed residents’ parking schemes – Abingdon Centre North and the Ock Street area – after overwhelming public opposition.

An informal consultation last November was followed by a formal one over the summer, which drew a heavily negative response. Officers compiled the feedback into a record-breaking 2,500-page agenda document – 1,393 pages on the Abingdon schemes alone, two-thirds from Ock Street.

At the meeting, four people spoke against the proposals in person and two via the internet including the owner of Reeves’s (correction sorry) Fish and Chip Shop, who warned the restrictions would pose the greatest threat to the business in its 100-year history. (Other potential objectors knew officers were already recommending rejection; otherwise many more might have addressed the meeting.)

Cllr Andrew Gant asked few questions about the schemes themselves but asked on behalf of one resident about some double yellow lines that had not been dropped. He also asked about the contrast between informal and formal consultation results.

In the end, he backed officers’ recommendations to scrap both schemes, apart from a few minor details that will go ahead. For many residents the decision will come as a relief – though it leaves open whether months of work and worry have been a worthwhile exercise. Officers do deserve credit for including every response in that record breaking document. It shows democracy in action. Only one print was made.