A recent survey of the voluntary sector in Abingdon by a team of students from Oxford University identified over 200 voluntary and community groups in Abingdon. This is a massive resource which contributes greatly to the quality of life in the town.
Dave Butterworth, the Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) ambassador for Abingdon, thought that it would be a good idea if voluntary groups could meet to get to know one another, to share experiences and, perhaps, develop joint initiatives.
The first such event was held at 35 Ock Street last week and was attend by 20 representative of groups covering a wide range of interests and activities.
People there really enjoyed the event and were keen to hold similar events on a quarterly basis. For more information contact Dave on dave.vol@ocva.org.uk.
Relating to previous comments on the development at 65 Oxford Road ….. what seems to be a site office has appeared today (2 Dec). Does this mean the developers now have the go ahead to start developing the cleared site?
They first got the go-ahead ages ago, which is why they started work on about the second of January this year when no-one was looking! Delays this year have been largely because of complaints about what they did in breach of the conditions applied to the planning consent, They were told off (!) and required to put in some new guarantees about replacing planting. The latest application which was heard this week was in respect of some changes to the layout – there were no fundamental objections so I assume it has gone through.
It seems ironic that we have all of these groups of people giving of their time for no payment, just to make life in Abingdon better for the community.
Then we have building companies who flaut the Planning Contracts ( for profit) and get away with it with no more than a rebuke!!
I understand that it is impossible to fight them through the legal system because of the cost to the tax payer. However, once having broken their planning promises, why are these companies not prevented from obtaining further development contracts in the area?
The Vale Planning Department is toothless. One of their resaons for allowing the developer to shirk the planning consents despite “overwhelming evidence against them”, was because there were other planning contreventions that were of greater public interest (and so more worthy of our money on the fight, one assumes).
I did ask the Vale Planning Departrment for the list of the top 10, or indeed 5 planning contraventions being pursued, that are of greater public interest – bearing inmind 65 Oxford Road has been in the local press and also on the internet, in this blog etc… as well as that “overwhelming evidence against them”….
I am still waiting for a response – but I did only ask them in August….
If the collective “we” can not even do anything about two piddly card board houses, being built by a fairly small time local developer, when the weight of all things “right” are on OUR side…what hope is there when it comes to 160 houses off Drayton Rd (a done deal of course), or indeed the 1000s of homes for the rest of Abingdon?
…please could someone ask Doric to come take a look at Abingdon? Couldn’t we do with a cinema and the things they were offering at Botley?