The Vale of White Horse are about to sell Old Abbey House, now that arrangements for Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council, and Citizens Advice are finalised.
Their advert says that it has Residential potential subject to achieving the necessary consents, and will be vacant by June 2014.
Unconditional or conditional offers are invited by noon 16/04/14.
Old Abbey House has been on the market since February and one or two earlier losing dates have passed. I understand that there have been a fair number of viewings. There is more information about the House and the proposed sale on the Friends of Abingdon website http://www.friendsofabingdon.org.uk/2014/04/07/old-abbey-house/ – the Friends are particularly concerned about the gardens which are currently open to the public and were beautifully restored 2-3 years ago using Heritage Lottery funding.
Sorry – that should say closing dates – although losing might seem appropriate!
Are the Vale going reimburse the Heritage Lottery fund for monies spent or will it just end up where the money for the museum went after they found out that they could not put a lift up the showing area.
But never mind the disabled can always get a lift down to yet another cafe.Just what they and the rest of Abingdon wanted NOT
I’m often puzzled how local authorities, in particular the vale, take it upon themselves to off load our family silver? I understand that this building and other town gems such as the Old Gaol, were once the property of the Old Abingdon Borough council, but when the borough councils were disbanded and district councils set up, their assets (the old gaol, abbey house etc) were transferred to the new VWHDC. Several of these “gems” were often bequeathed to the council and came with covenants stipulating such things as disposals, or rather not to. The NHS has gotten into all sorts of legal problems by disposing of properties that were “given” to them on condition (Lord Nuffields generosity for example) and I can’t help but think that some of “our” assets that were given to the people of Abingdon (not the council) may well have similar conditions, (Tilsey Park is another ?)
Perhaps Hester and her team at the F.O.A can check this out?
Why not sell it for housing and let it get knocked into individual luxury apartments, add on an ugly extension that looks like a Uni student block and a promise that part of it will be open for public/community use (as if) for a change. Oh forgot, you already did that to our Old Gaol…..
You echoed my thoughts Houdini. Incidentally, has anyone heard any new information on the ‘proposed’ development of leisure facilities/public access at The Old Goal?
A forward thinking council would convert the property itself into the inevitable housing, but not sell it. Quite the opposite it should rent it out in order to secure a strong rental stream and so subsidise the local amenities such as the outdoor pool. Or do the council need to sell the building in order to build the loss making micro-cinema?
it would also allow the insertion of clauses to ensure the tenants accept a certain level noise from the Guidlhall if at some future point is it run properly along commercial lines and there is regular daily use. I appreciate this is unlikely and the council prefer to bumble along treating it like an oversize village hall, but these things are possible! The problem with selling housing at this location is that puts the Guildhall even further into a residential area which could mean big bills for soundproofing etc depending on the enforcement of current legislation and what might come through in the future, which in turn leave the building stuck as it is.
Still far better to sell up and spend the cash on a ‘prestige’ project such as the cinema than think to the future.
James, I don’t agree, why should the VWHDC continue a policy of disposing of OUR assets, just because they are unable to run them? The Old Gaol, The Guild hall, Tilsey Park, the freehold of the Tesco lease are, or rather were all valuable assets that if run properly could be providing us with a significant income, as well as preserving historic assets for the town ( granted tesco is not historic) And where is the logic behind this project? the vale aren’t capable of running the Guildhall complex, so they give it, along with a £1 million sweetner to the TC (who were happy in their Abbey House building) so the Tc are migrating across the road to a building that’s hemorrhaging money (now the TC are on £150k pa loss) then the vale move most of their staff to SOGC hQ in Wallingford and sub let most of their HQ here? now they put the old TC building up for sale< where's the logic in this? why didn't the vale move into the guildhall complex and sell their HQ?
Feature Oxford mail 24/4/14 – Might become a Hotel, or interest from Architects (specialise in Old buildings). An Art centre did show interest, but didn’t follow it up…
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11167248.Hotel_idea_for_historic_town_building/?ref=var_0
If the garden at the back has been used as a public park since 1923 surely it has public right of way and this must be respected by the council and any new owner, I walk my dog there every day – sometimes 2 or 3 times – and I have never known it to be closed or access restricted. To preserve their right over the land the council should close it 1 day every year or the land can be regarded as public after 10 years. This happens in the Oxford university parks which were closed for one day last December – Christmas Eve? Surely the council have no right to sell off land that belongs to the public and has been used as a park for nearly a century.