The Vale of White Horse District Council has announced it is intending to build Council housing in place of Old Abbey House in the centre of Abingdon.
Using financial contributions from the nearby Old Gaol, where there was no social housing, the council plans to redevelop the former council offices at Old Abbey House.
The proposal for Council Housing on the site will help provide homes for local residents on the Council’s own waiting list.
This is subject to getting formal approval from the council, and planning permission.
Please please please please-No no no no! Please don’t put social housing in one of the most cherished and oldest part of town? There must be a dozen more sites better suited to housing than this one?
Friends of Abingdon you must not let this happen !
How about a crowd funding scheme to raise enough to buy the site from the Vale and once bought think of a good use for it?
Of course if this goes through the guild hall will be next !
I bet there will be much self congratulatory back slapping in the council chamber over this one… another one gone, not many more Crown Jewels left to sell off, what are you going to do when it’s all gone eh?
Probably completely the wrong analogy to make given recent events but in the Wild West someone would have shot the lot of you by now, unfortunately in this day and age the most powerful thing we can fire at you is a loaded pen… fat lot of good that is!
Oh my goodness, surely this can’t be true. The Council are crazy, they need incarcerating. What’s the betting the Vale’s favourite builders will do it. Please someone set up a petition, this has got to be stopped otherwise the whole of that area might as well be bulldozed and built on. What are they thinking about.
Horrified and very disappointed!!! I just hope it will not happen 🙁 🙁 🙁
The Vale stuffs Abingdon again … are the TC to let this go through, as per usual, without a fight? There are still empty flats in The Old Goal which could be made over to social housing.
When the charm has been bulldozed out of Abingdon the numpty councilors will find that it can’t be bought back, or rebuilt by the inept developers who they’ve let loose on this town.
Roll on an unitary council and the abolition of The Vale District Council (and all who sail in her).
Can someone hack the Vale’s hold music so that it plays the Genesis album ‘Selling England by the Pound’ seems rather apt.
Oh come on. People in Abingdon have campaigned for open borders and no limit to immigration. I think Ian and Hestor said that they want more immigrants in Abingdon. It is time for people to step up to the plate. Many immigrants apply for social housing and because many have large families they take priority on the housing list. We have many immigrants in social housing in South Abingdon. As many of the good people of Abingdon are all for mass immigration they should be pleased that the council are supplying more social housing. Or is it OK if they are out of sight in South Abingdon, but not where they live, in the centre of town?
I think you’ve missed the point here, people are annoyed about the disposal of the town’s public buildings, remember once they are gone… they are gone.
There is plenty of social housing in the town centre, in the Vineyard very close to me you have Withington Court, Julian housing opposite the BP garage and also Dodson Court, so please don’t suggest it’s all in the south of the town, I think some should be built into the new housing all around that is being forced upon us.
Building council housing on this site would be awful, in my opinion. Surely there is something positive we could do with the existing buildings (and gardens) to maintain the beauty of this place. Council housing is much in need, but it should be part of the housing developments already being planned for other parts of the town. As has been said, there is council housing near the town centre already. We need to keep beauty as part of our lives – it is a crucial feature.
So the last part of Abingdon worth visiting by the people of the Town, the Abbey grounds ,is to be ruined .No wonder the Town council holds its meetings behind closed doors.
Maybe some of the millions set aside to be wasted on the Guildhall should be used to save this last part of Abingdon on Thames for us to enjoy for the future.
Social housing should included within the thousands of houses being forced onto Abingdon in the near future.
I couldn’t agree more Jenny.
My goodness what panic. Lets wait and see what they plan to do to the building. I agree we don’t want the buildng destroyed but we do so need social housing.
We have a waited a long long time for the social housing that was supposed to be provided as a result of the Old Gaol development. If you want to get angry you should be getting angry on behalf of all those who are stuck in unfit housing waiting their turn for a decent home that meets their needs.
If no commercial organisation wants to buy/lease the building, what should the District Council as freeholder do with this site? Sounds like they have tried to come up with a ‘useful’ solution which can be implemented using the money Cranbourne have paid in lieu of low cost housing at the Old Gaol. I’m pretty sure the Abbey Gardens can’t be touched, so what remains to be seen is how or if the existing building will be utilised. A sensitive renovation of the existing building in my mind is better than it’s current outlook.
the flat on the old gaol are all sold , the flats which are in the main part are serviced apartments
Jenny and Dave you are absolutely right that social housing should be included as part of all the new housing coming to us.
it was always supposed to be provided as part of developers contributions under section 106 of the housing act. however this seems to be going by the board especially since the Government intorduced a viabiltiy clause which allows developers to wriggle out their commitments.
It’s remarkable how many developers get away with not meeting their full quota.
sorry for the typos scattered about in the last posting,
Of course there’s a need for social housing, but in my view there shouldn’t be any housing on that site – will totally spoil the area. They cannot seriously intend to knock down such a beautiful building, inside and out. Is it not listed?
Perhaps it’s time The Vale DC moved back to Abingdon, though they probably wouldn’t want to deal with the traffic chaos they’ve been complicit in creating and might not be keen to mix with the electorate they’ve betrayed.
It seems we need a public meeting to discuss the future of the town centre conservation area. But where shall we hold it? It looks as though it will have to be outside in the Market Place.
Pat
Pat; I’m sure they’d be some community space we could use for a meeting to discuss Abingdon… perhaps in Faringdon?
Old Abbey House is a very important building – some of it possibly dating from the C17, but it is essentially a C18 house, which contains some relics of its occupation by E J Trendell, who built the architectuural folly in the park behind. It was enlarged and ‘modernised’ by Leslie Randall, suffragan bishop of Reading, who built the porch with its enigmatic inscription above the door. Historic England did not support the case for listing it – despite the fact that dozens of important houses extended in the late C19 or C20 are listed grade I – because they thought the later alterations compromised the C18 house.
We are thus at the mercy of the Vale Council. Could someone please ask them to move their remaining presence in Abingdon into Old Abbey House, thereby freeing up New Abbey House, which could far more easily be converted into affordable flats. Or is this just too simple a solution for great minds to understand?
I’m quite astounded that demolishing this building could even be considered. I used to work there and there are some stunning rooms and an incredible staircase with beautiful bannisters …….. why on earth would anyone in their right mind think of destroying such a grand building!!!
I can never understand why housing was ever interspersed amongst the shopping area / centre of town in the first place. It seems Abingdon is a right old mix …….. wouldn’t it have made sense to keep shops with shops, houses with houses, industrial with industrial????? Would anyone ever think of building some flats alongside Homebase or Tesco’s ?? Then why mix the town centre up?
Why would housing be considered for that area anyway? Right next door to what could potentially be the cinema in the Guildhall ….. and no doubt the ‘potential’ occupants would then be complainting because of the noise from the Guildhall when there are functions on.
Preston Road Community Centre is fairly large for a public meeting – there have already been some there. St Helens church??? Its certainly large enough ….. and whilst we’re there perhaps a prayer or two to save the town 🙂
Seriously, get a grip Councillors. Please do not take anymore of our heritage away.
The Adult Care Centre in the Charter is empty at the moment….Seems to be a lot of conversion into apartments and flats in Abingdon. Offices/Pubs/etc, Guild Hall next perhaps??
I am appalled and saddened. Old Abbey House is such an attractive building with its lovely garden and aspect looking out onto the Abbey gardens. It would make a wonderful community arts and education centre. Surely that would be a more fitting use of money obtained from sale of the Old Gaol?
There must be other more suitable places for council housing.
As with the Guildhall there must be some other way to raise funds.. What about some kind of community funding? Could Friends of Abingdon set up a public meeting to dicuss this?
A Community-Led Plan for Abingdon is in its early stages. Apparently this will allow the community to say what it feels is important for Abingdon’s future.
The Vale’s plan to turn Old Abbey House into housing should be put on hold until it’s clear whether that’s what the people of Abingdon want. Many people might prefer to see the building remain in community use.
I think it would likely galvanise The Veil to get it through before a community plan is put in place Rezzy;….although, since when did “what the community want” give way to a profit being made?
And anyway…isn’t a community plan merely a wish list? It holds no sway over what The Veil may or may not do, or get away with?
I have tried to buy old Abbey House on a number of occasions – e mails went unanswered, promised viewings never happened and a phone call by the head of the council to me was short and sweet telling me that they would be leasing as serviced offices.
I wanted to turn the rear into a coffee shop and the main part into a restaurant or a small hotel.
The costs to convert the building to social housing will be very high, it will destroy the building and the running costs would beyond the income of the tenants.
I would love to work with Abingdon Town council / vale on coming up with a scheme that would work for the town.
Any profit from the sale could be used for a more suitable property build for social housing.