New quarry proposal – 40% of traffic through Abingdon town centre

New
Thanks to Gordon for this. There was a public exhibition yesterday at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club for a proposed sand and gravel quarry on farmland between the River Thames and the A415.

The entrance would be opposite the Culham Science Park.

A larger scheme for the same site was opposed by residents, and opposed by English Heritage who did not want the bronze age cemetery at Fullamoor Farm to be destroyed. And so the proposed quarry area has been reduced in size, and traffic across the Culham and Clifton Hampden bridges removed.

Gordon says “The transport page is interesting – ‘level of additional traffic insignificant’, ‘no perceptible increase in queueing or delay’. The map seems to indicate the route to the A34 through Abingdon town centre

“It was stated that 40% of the traffic would go through Abingdon throughout each working day, amounting to 4 trucks every working hour.”

He just wanted to bring this to people’s attention. A planning application will be going to Oxfordshire County Council early in 2016. The consultation can be found at fullamoorquarry.co.uk

41 thoughts on “New quarry proposal – 40% of traffic through Abingdon town centre

  1. Iain

    Not sure whether people watched ‘the last kingdom’ this evening. Its about the anglo saxon wars with the vikings.

    In a scene this evening they had a complaint brought to the Wittan that traffic was too heavy on the bridge at Abingdon.

    Plus ca change!

    Reply
  2. Daniel

    Ah…that makes the “bizarre” suggestion for a new river crossing near there, mooted a few months ago, suddenly become clear….

    Meanwhile, I see that The Cranbourne Homes companies have been dissolved (On AbingdonFirst website). What does THAT mean?

    Reply
  3. Rachel

    Cranbourne Homes Ltd, Cranbourne Enterprises Ltd, Cranbourne Holdings Ltd and Cranbourne Abingdon Ltd are all still active companies with the same directors Messrs Dominics and Mr Morgan.

    Cranbourne is not dead and will always rise from looking dead!

    Reply
  4. Julian Annells

    Hypothetical Question:- When a Council puts out a tender for something worth millions of pounds…do they have to carry out Due Diligence checks on any businesses involved? And if you or I wanted a builder to refurbish our home, would you use a builder that had gone bust more times than you’ve had hot dinners? Answers on a postcard please…

    Reply
  5. ppjs

    So, more insigificant traffic increase through Abingdon. Whereas architects draw with pencils (nowadays, computers), planners stay with marker pens. Just what does “insignificant” mean? Sooner or later, those “four lorries an hour” will be found in the same tailback.

    Nobody will be to blame – it will those marker pens.

    Reply
  6. Lyle Lanley

    Surely this wont be a problem, just stick up a new set of traffic lights , and job done..

    After all its worked on the Drayton Road..

    Mr Nimmo is a visionary in traffic management..

    Reply
  7. Roland

    Oh dear, here we go again….
    * Traffic planners please take note *
    Just in case I may be considered a moaning individual, I wish to state that I have held a Class 1 Licence for 30 years and have the greatest respect for truck drivers.
    Because of this I know that truck drivers only drive through towns and villages because they have to.
    They prefer A roads and motorways.
    Abingdon town centre is not on the preferred route for any truck driver.
    I do not know if the 4 trucks per hour are 18t or 44t ? but whatever they are they will cause untold problems in the Town.
    I believe that the Thames bridges will also suffer to a greatly increased degree.
    If this is not a prime reason, for a Southern Abingdon relief road. I don’t know what is ?
    This MUST be a condition of any further consideration of the proposed quarry project, in my opinion.

    Reply
  8. Lyle Lanley

    On the other hand..

    A few months of 4 x 44 tonne trucks an hour down Stert Street on their way to Culham should finish off the collapsing drainage nicely !

    So maybe it will finally get fixed.. or maybe not.

    Still, I’m sure our local MP will come and pull her ‘serious face’ again for the papers after the event..

    Reply
  9. Geoff Bailey

    Judging by the tremendous volume of traffic through the town centre this afternoon a few more lorries wouldn’t make much difference.I wonder if they have done any air pollution tests lately.The main bottleneck seems to be Coxeter’s House corner.Pedestrians actually have the cheek to press the crossing buttons.Why did they not put in an underpass on that junction similar to the original one back along Stratton Way?

    Reply
  10. David Fraser

    I’m furious that the Cranbourne people have ripped us off. Very naive people from the Council handling this. I’m new to this site and looks like there are some people on here that feel like me. Good job in submitting the FOIs. 4 trucks across Abingdon bridges each hour? Ludicrous.

    Reply
  11. Captainkaos2

    Geoff, when Abits was first installed and brought Abingdon to its knees I commissioned an independent review of the system by a well respected company, their first discovery was that the software “Scoots” was totally inappropriate, it was recommended by traffic consultants Halcrow, (later I discovered it was the only software they worked with) Scoots is designed for long roads with Regular intersections, (bit like the a4 in London) where you can travel at the speed limit, cross the first light on green and then traverse all the other junctions on green too, thus keeping the traffic flowing , but it fails here because (example) 25 cars arrive at the vineyard lights so the road sensors tells the coxetet lights to expect 25 cars, what it doesn’t know is 5 went to the multi story, 5 went over Abingdon bridge. Instead of 25 cars arriving at coxetet only 15 do, so the lights stay on green when there’s no cars there! Next sequence it expects say another 25, but 10 come from culham and 5 from Saint Helens

    Reply
  12. Captainkaos2

    Continued, so 15 more than expected arrive at coxetet, the system doesn’t recognise this so defaults to a timed sequence designed in the 50’s. Hence the bottle necks, but it gets worse! The bus/s to Oxford that stop outside Richard coxetet in ock St trip the light sensor at the crossing , the coxetet lights then stop traffic from town because the junction is expecting traffic coming up ock St, the fact there is no traffic at the junction because it’s all stuck behind a parked bus is undetected, hence the bottleneck there! Even more pathetic is the vineyard abbey close crossing, here there is only one operating system for that junction so of a pedestrian coming from town wanting to cross at Abbey close activates the lights to cross there (crossing abbey close) they stop the entire junction, even traffic leaving town has to stop while pedestrians cross abbey close, we really have been very poorly served with this system !
    Ps. Sorry to bore !

    Reply
  13. Bob

    Daniel – I understand the river crossing is more to do with the several thousand houses proposed to be built in Didcot in the years to come.
    Roland – the route thru Abingdon is an ‘A’ road and is also one of Oxfordshire County Council’s designated Lorry Routes. As a cyclist I find the lorry drivers far more considerate and therefore less of a threat than many car drivers.
    Rudi – well said.

    Reply
  14. Daniel

    …I don’t think it’s boring captain. I think it is hugely pertinent that we do not forget how poorly served we have been. How poor (as in zero) the effort has been by those responsible to address the issues, and finally how it continues to be ignored by all of the people who are tasked with the administration of our town.

    Lest we forget, I say.

    I’m still curious to know how many lorries would be “too many”, if 4 isn’t?

    David Fraser – welcome to Abingdon!!

    Reply
  15. ppjs

    Bob, the A415 does indeed pass through Abingdon. It also goes through Marcham (where they are busy building new housing) and an extremely tight series of bends there. That doesn’t mean that the arrangement is a good one.

    The road also travels through Kingston Bagpuize and over the Thames at the Rose Revived with bridges built for pedestrians and packhorses.

    I cannot imagine that lorry drivers using the A415 want to drive through Abingdon or Marcham – especially those (like Roland) who drive articulated vehicles with different turning circles for cab and trailer. It is what they are obliged to do because an alternative has not been provided.

    We cannot keep loading our local roads with ever increasing traffic flow. The A415 was designed long before present usage could have been envisaged; it is in need of considerably re-engineering or a re-route. If nothing is done (apart from new traffic signals), there will eventually be a straw that breaks the camel’s back. Then everyone will wring their hands and declare how something should have been done sooner.

    Sooner is now (we can’t go back to yesterday), so I am looking for our MP to strut her stuff and for local planners to stop sleepwalking.

    Reply
  16. Dave

    Maybe a vehicle weight restriction with bus exemption would provide an answer in the short term. Any short cut route is only for the benefit of the vehicle operator, and cost to the Town.
    Much hand wringing has been seen over the past 25 years with regard to the Drayton Road, the results of which can be experienced any day.

    Reply
  17. Captainkaos2

    Here’s a thought ! N Power used a system of conveyors to move their mountain of ash from the power station across the Thames to Radley gravel pits where for years they filled the pits with their spoils, presumable that system is still in place? Or the remnants of it is, so why can’t the proposed pit move its gravel across the Thames using that system to a distribution point among the existing gravel works along the Appleford rd and then transport it by lorry via the Didcot peripheral to the A34? Simple eh?

    Reply
  18. Roland

    Just a few notes and thoughts…
    rudi: We are talking about 4 ‘extra’ trucks an hour,
    i.e. 72 – 176t more than now, for 10 years.
    ppjs : I should make it clear that I no longer drive artics, but still have the licence.
    Captainkaos2: Your input is interesting , not boring at all. I love the conveyor idea !
    Bob: I am aware that the route is both an A road and a ‘designated Lorry route’. This could be changed with a Southern relief road, taking over ?
    We should also consider the other 6 trucks per hour through Clifton Hampden and Burcot !

    Reply
  19. Daniel

    Captain…I always wondered what those coveyors were used for! Thanks.

    Meanwhile, it is forward, outside the box, thinking like that….that we miss.

    Still…it’s easier to just have the trucks, init?

    Reply
  20. Janet

    Oh dear Rachel. When someone has a good arguement it seems that the only way that you and Ian can put forward a counter arguement is by sarcasm. My mantra is that I will listen to everyone’s point of view and never use insults and sarcasm. I know that party politics can be very personal and bitchy. Will never join this sort of unintelligent behavour.

    Reply
  21. JRB

    I am with Janet on this, please continue to contribute to this blog as you seem fit, and ignore the the likes of Iain Littlejohn, a failed politician at best.

    Reply
  22. Rachel

    You’ve never had a good argument, Janet. You are here for our amusement. So pray tell us your thoughts on the development issue..

    Reply
  23. Roland

    Comments 23-29 are completely pointless?
    As are these….
    * 4 lorries an hour wouldnt make any difference to traffic….
    * Still…it’s easier to just have the trucks, init?….

    This could be a serious problem, if it goes ahead in its proposed form of 40% through Abingdon, 60% through Clifton H .and Burcot .
    Now is the time to comment, not after the council have passed everything.

    Reply
  24. Captainkaos2

    Either way, what ever whatever, Roland is quite right in that we should all take the time to lodge our dissaproval, a perfect example of the public being hoodwinked was the installation of the fortnightly rubbish collection
    In the name of a greener eco friendly system, trouble is no one was told all our waste would be taken to Culham No 1 site to be sorted and then taken by road, through the centre of Abingdon to the incinerator at Ardley by fleet of humongous sized “walking floor” lorrys operating every 30 mins or so 24/7! Unless we follow Roland’s lead those waste juggernauts will be joined by a fleet of gravel trucks!

    Reply
  25. Roland

    Daniel, No I am officially Old, and apart from a 30 year absence I have links with Abingdon, back to 1961.

    Captainkaos2, Thank you for your support.

    Reply
  26. daniel

    ..I just meant, to thsi blog.

    Only…if you were, you may not have realised that no “comments are completely pointless”, merely some more pointless than others.

    (Except mine, which are usually bang on the money) 🙂

    Reply
  27. daniel

    ..I just meant, to this blog.

    Only…if you were, you may not have realised that no “comments are completely pointless”, merely some more pointless than others.

    (Except mine, which are usually bang on the money) 🙂

    Reply
  28. Roland

    OK Daniel,
    I try to keep to the point also.
    Sometimes my comments are random….
    Sometimes I am wrong….
    It’s what makes life interesting 🙂

    Reply
  29. Daniel

    Well said Ali.

    I don’t necessarily agree with what Janet says, but I welcome her opinion and respect her view. I also give her kudos for saying what she feels – her worries, her concerns. She speaks about things that others daren’t even think about, let alone dare to speak of. Well done for putting your head above the parapet Janet.

    Reply
  30. Old Ghost

    Absolutely agree with Ali and Daniel, may not agree with Janet all the time but at least she has the guts to put a point forward. Others disagree and put a different argument. Condescension and downright rudeness just reflects back, it’s a bit like sarcasm….

    Reply

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