Work Resumes at Abingdon’s Cattle Market Car Park

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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.

Water Leak : Quiet Street

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It has been quiet today in the Back Street (West St Helen Street), with none of the usual buzz of traffic. A Road Closed sign by the iron bridge has diverted most vehicles elsewhere.

The water leak started on Thursday, worsening through Friday and Saturday. Today, a Thames Water van and a lorry-mounted drill arrived to dig a hole.

I took this picture when work paused temporarily when a tool — possibly an angle grinder — broke and needed replacing. The hole bubbled with water, and there was a stream – a metre wide – running down the road. The team resumed work shortly afterwards. They turned off the water at a stopcock, pumped out the water, and clamped the pipe.

Water Table Signs Explained

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The Stop the Reservoir signs, seen in the villages surrounding the proposed SESRO reservoir site,

are now appearing in Abingdon town centre.

They raise concerns about the reservoir’s impact, particularly the potential rise in the water table – up to one metre.

Explaining the Water table rise of one metre, the Gard site says, ‘On February 13th 2024 Thames Water gave a presentation on Flooding and SESRO  to Oxfordshire County Council, District Councils and other stakeholders . Its engineer from Mott MacDonald clearly stated that the Reservoir if constructed would cause a 1.0 metre rise in Groundwater level, requiring considerable ‘mitigation’. For the villages of East Hanney and Steventon this would greatly worsen existing flood conditions.’

The UK government has approved the construction of a £1.2 billion reservoir near Abingdon as part of a national water management plan. Local councils and community groups oppose the project, citing environmental concerns and lack of public consultation, and have initiated legal action.

Abingdon Homebase last few days

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The Abingdon Homebase store is set to close within the next few days. There is up to 90% off and at least 50% off what remains. Big areas are now empty.

Homebase went into administration last year. CDS Superstores, which owns The Range and Wilko, bought the brand and 71 stores for £25.6 million, but Abingdon was not included in the deal.

It is unclear what will happen to the store after closure. When the Fairacres Phase 2 development was completed in 2021, the Homebase store combined three of the proposed units into one.