Change.org is a global website enabling anyone to start, sign, and share petitions for various social causes. I have listed the top ten community concerns from Abingdon-on-Thames in terms of number of signatures, as of 16/02/2024.

A) The derelict Upper Reaches Hotel is a disgrace to Abingdon (2615 signatures)
B) Save Old Abbey House for the people of Abingdon (1781)
C) Preserve the Historic Name of Our Local Public House (1599)
D) Make Greene King change the name of its pub ‘The Midget’ (845)
E) Speed Camera on Ock Street, Abingdon (553)
F) Save Abingdon Juniors’ Football Pitch & Historic Conservation Area (525)
G) Build a nature reserve instead of housing and an Aldi next to Wootton Road (397)
H) Change the unfair Abingdon Community hospital visiting rules (349)
I) Moderate excessive noise from Abingdon Airfield (320)
J) Change the Golden Kitchen’s chips back to chunky chips! (71)

(C) and (D) are two competing petitions about changing a pub name.

(D) Greene King pub “The Midget” offends with an outdated term. Though named after an MG car, the term’s history in “freak shows” makes it hurtful. Change the name while respecting local car heritage.

(C) Changing the name erases local heritage and disrespects patrons’ memories.

There have been even more petitions for Abingdon, Virginia. Two concern a possible name change:

K) Rename Abingdon, VA to Slawville (61 signatures)

Petition to change Abingdon to Slawville to honour local heritage, not British colonialism. The current name disrespects Appalachian culture.

L) Rename Abingdon, VA to Flavortown (21 signatures)

Abingdon’s dull name does not attracts tourism. “Flavortown” would be a more exciting, attention-grabbing answer.

P.S. I have got the pictures in the wrong order. Can anybody out there help put them in order of importance?

The Friends of Abingdon Civic Society has started a petition to the Vale of White Horse District Council and Contemporary Hotels (who have a seventy year lease) to break the impasse over the Upper Reaches Hotel site. You can read it and, if you agree, sign it at https://chng.it/7dY88CbZwn

The petition calls on the Vale of White Horse District Council and Contemporary Hotels Ltd to resolve the current impasse and bring the site back into use.

There is more information at https://abingdoncivicsociety.org.uk/conservation/upper-reaches-hotel/.

A man died recently on Ock Street as a result a 3 vehicle accident. There have been other serious accidents in the last 12 months. As a consequence one resident has started a petition for speed calming measures on Ock Street. Here is the petition … https://www.change.org/p/oxfordshire-county-council-speed-camera-on-ock-street-abingdon.