The Morland Gardens development is about two thirds complete and looks very good. I have just been reading what Taylor Wimpey have to say about the development and our town …
Surrounded by trees and hedgerows, Morland Gardens is a new development located on the southern edge of the lovely market town of Abingdon.
For the weekly shop, you can choose from Waitrose or The Co-operative both within 1.5 miles from Drayton Road and other supermarkets a little further from home.
For all your retail therapy needs, visit The Orchard Centre and the Clarendon Centre, both less than 10 miles from your door. There is a lovely selection of pubs and restaurants in the town.
The last third of Morland Gardens to be developed is adjacent to what was the southern edge of Abingdon.
This road could have been called The Rookery, but the road names chosen are King Street, Bowler Gardens, and Thomas Way. The link could be from the WW1 Abingdon Roll of Honour …
KING, Percival Arthur
THOMAS, Albert
BOWLER, Edward John
Unless anybody knows better.
backstreeter, it’s what’s called ‘talking your game’. ‘Morland Gardens’, rather ‘Gridlock East’ from which mileage is a an academic concept and travel-time to get there is the true measure.
Wait rose and the cooperative? That’s called posh in it up a bit. Could have said “a short walk to Reg’s shop”.
You are correct on the names coming from the roll of honour. Not sure how they chose them.
For the weekly shop, you can choose from Waitrose or The Co-operative both within 1.5 miles from Drayton Road
For all your retail therapy needs, visit The Orchard Centre and the Clarendon Centre, both less than 10 miles from your door.
Or 1 hour each way if you choose to drive 🙂
I love the info on the street names.
Is there anyone with information on what/who streets on other estates may have been named after? I’m thinking specifically about the Dunmore Road estate: Alexander Close, Boulter Drive, Knollys, Gibson, Loyd, Lovelace etc
Apparently the Town Council were asked to name the roads. The Drayton Road is doomed. When all the many housing developments are built, (lots in Drayton and Steventon). the queue along the Drayton Road will get bigger and bigger.
I find it interesting that there appears to be only one road into/out of the development. It’s the same on the Tithebarn estate. It makes early morning queues longer and doesn’t allow for emergency exits.
It’s also interesting that the developers don’t see Abingdon as a place to shop in. They direct potential residents to Oxford or Didcot instead. There’s confidence for you!
To dispel the gloom. Abingdon Horticultural Society are holding their Spring Flower Show Saturday week. 14th April. Come along and see what people in Abingdon are growing despite the snow and rain. Saturday 14 April 2pm until 4pm Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, OX14 1NS Entrance £1 Members free Plant stall Refreshments
how dare they build these houses on what were once fields, said people living in houses that were built 30 years ago on what were once fields.
They aren’t the right sort of fields Rudi.
It’s not the fields, rudi. The traffic is so poor along the Drayton Road that anyone buying a property there will spend ages getting anywhere and make it worse for people who already have to use the road. But developers don’t care when your money’s in their bank … neither do the councils. Heaven forefend that you might need a GP!
Perhaps in the next vacant field, they could build a drive-in GP (sponsored by Big Mac).
If they do, you saw it here first and I want my cut 🙂
Interesting comments, we live off Preston Rd and I attended most of the planning meetings chaired by the Henley councillor Nimmo Smith, is he still around.com At the final meeting where permission was given it was stated that no more the 5 vehicles will be queued up on Drayton Road at the Oct St junction.com How wroung it it mostly 20 pr more and sometimes it can take 60 minutes from Preston Rd. So where do we go shopping now?
Not Waitrose 90 mins away not Tesco 70 mins away in Abingdon.
We turn left out of Preston Road and go to Didcot for Sainsbury, Aldi and now M&S all 20 mins away.
Until full infrastructure systems are installed before the builder are let loose the same will happen again and again.
Surrounded by trees and hedgerows… which is why they chopped down the row of poplars on the Drayton facing side of the estate and didn’t even bother to clear away the stumps. Don’t get me wrong I fully believe that change does sometimes have to happen but it doesn’t have to be for the worse. If they really bothered and came up with more unique and diverse house designs I feel that the estate wouldn’t be met with so much opposition. They’re building on rural land so building rural style houses would go down much better. It’s obviously not hard for them considering the fact that there are one or two pretty houses such as the one to the right of the entrance but upon entry to the estate it’s clear that many of the others are standardised, characterless and have obviously been crammed in as close together as possible so as to be able to build a few more. By building more characterful and interesting housing more people want to live there and less people mind them being erected. I hope these last few prove to be more inline with other rural buildings in the area.