Vale of White Horse District Council are investing £320,000 in the Abbey Meadow play area, with an area based on Abingdon Abbey, and another based on the River Thames and Abingdon Lock.
This will use the same area as the current play area,
the crazy golf,
and the tennis courts.
VWHDC are also investing £1M in the Outdoor Pool in a separate project. Some preliminary work is already underway.
Hard to see in the picture what’s happening in the crazy golf area; is it being seriously refurbished, which is what is required, or being got rid of? It’ll be a pity to lose it.
Looks like they’re getting rid of the crazy golf, which is a shame as I don’t know where there is another one anywhere near here?
Plans look good to me – should be a good improvement
Suddenly found some money have they? How long is all that going to take.Can’t see much going on at The Abbey Hall.Is this yet another phantom project?
At least the money they have found is to be spent on projects which will benefit Abingdon folk. You cant please all the people all the time but to judge by the numbers using the meadow, it would seem money well spent.
Empty guildhall ? When is there going to be any movement on this ? Just think of all that lost revenue on that !!! Also the crazy golf could do with a revamp if not get rid as its in need of retarmcing etc !!!!
Guy – I too would love to see some physical progress regarding the guildhall, it seems such a waste to just be sitting there empty, decaying and attracting more and more graffiti.
Linking this to discussions on a later thread about County Council cuts, all of this highlights the daftness of having 3 tiers of local government:
The Guildhall is the responsibility of the Town Council. They thought they had enough money for it but possible changes in the ground rules for their budgets seem to have made them nervous. Like others I really hope they get on with it – and would be happy to cough up a few pence more on my Council Tax if needed.
The Abbey Meadow is the Vale District Council: they do seem to have enough budget so hopefully they will get the job done.
The really big problems (Childrens Centres, Old People’s Day Centres, subsidised bus services etc) are the County Council’s and their budgets have been drastically cut by central government.
So no one group are in a position to prioritise or take notice of local people’s priorities. There is one possible gleam of hope: two separate sets of consultants (Daniel – are you still reading this?) have agreed that savings of £25m per year could be made by merging the District and County Councils. That would pay for a lot of the services being cut AND mean that one group of Councillors could decide whether money should go to say, parks or Day Centres. Those reports came out last summer… we should be asking what is being done to implement them?
Shame in a way that just as crazy golf courses are enjoying a renaissance in many parts of the country, Abingdon is moving away from providing one.
I have been in a number over the past few years, including one indoor one which was glow-in-the-dark. Amazing experience. Also another which was a really cunning design – so good we went round twice.
Hester – Many thanks for your post and I understand the savings that could be made however the thought of one body doing the work that all three are doing now is hard to swallow. On a sliding scale I trust the Town Council the most followed at some distance by VWHDC and very least of all OCC, to think that they could end up in charge of it all is just unthinkable.
Hi Badger – sorry, in my efforts not to go on too long I may have been misleading. The proposal is only to merge the District and County: the Town would remain separate and, in some versions, have more powers devolved to it. And it is not necessarily a question of the County taking over – the idea is to merge the FUNCTIONS of the two levels, the organisation of how that should be done is the sticking-point: should there be one county-wide Unitary Authority or a number of smaller ones. Lets just hope the powers that be get on with it so that £25m can be put to good use.
Hester; no, I’m not. DM bullied me in to submission.
What’s galling, is that when Abingdon’s assets are sold off, ie Old Gaol, and no doubt Abbey House, that money does NOT get put back into the town it came from…so someone else benefits from selling off our silver (cheaply!)
Commendable as the park expansion is , and it is very popular and well used, its a shame that there isn’t a great deal for the young teens. All very ‘safe’ play which is a bit of a shame. I agree that a new re-vamped crazy golf would be a popular addition. The existing is dire as is the pitch and putt.
I just hope they get on with it, all long overdue.
Really pleased to see the improvements to the Abbey Meadows play area and pool. They are well used and many people will enjoy these improved facilities. Would be great to have a similarly high quality town centre cinema for teenagers and the town as a whole