Seen here between The Harp and Al-Zaib is a modern purpose built office building within an attractive courtyard setting. The New Abbey Court offices benefit from a lift and car parking. But times have moved on and there are plans afoot to replace them with even newer housing.
The architects says “Due to its close proximity to Oxford town centre, Abingdon has seen an influx of young professionals in recent years.”
There’s a theme developing here, Backsteeter. One suspects that all these new properties will not be robust enough to stand the test of time, nor have the charm to gather the rich patina of time. These buildings may not last long in any case as they could well collapse into the decaying Stert conduit! The real challenge will be how the new units in Bury Street are converted into residential use. As I’ve written here before, no one in authority in Abingdon seems to have come up with/adopted a ‘vision’ of what town centres are going to be for in the future. All development in the centre just seems to be guesswork based on things remaining the same.
I quite like the idea of all of Abingdon’s carbuncle architecture falling into the Stert Street conduit. It never amazes me how ‘development’ works. My heart may be in Abingdon but I live in the town centre of a small New Forest market town – prey to much speculative dev these days just because someone (they all seem to live in Leamington Spa) needs to make some money. And this is within a conservation zone in a town with a dev plan – how does that work? Localism – I don’t think so, Abingdon or elsewhere. Development doesn’t need to think past the immediate profit, so what’s the solution in the old Gaol, Drayton fields or Stert Street? (Or the view out of my bl**dy window, but don’t get me started)
Does seem to be a pattern, the Old Pearl Assurance/Insurance building a bit further up, converted into apartments.
I think I have seen similar designs in Iffley Road,(Old design I think-look very ‘dated’).
Disruption when they are demolished/services installed/more cars I see?, in a street more retail than residential…..
Yay more houses!
An so inkeeping with the town, they won’t stand out like a sore thumb at all!!
Woeful.
I note that the bright young things who are architects of the proposed Stert Street development work from good, sturdy and tasteful offices in London and will continue to live and work a long way away from Stert Street:
http://www.benadamsarchitects.co.uk/
Is it me, or does all their stuff look very similar?
This reminds me of Cranbourne, who when they were developing the Old Gaol decided that they wanted the ‘plum’ on the development for themselves as the place they’d work from:
http://www.british-towns.net/england/midland/oxfordshire/vale-of-white-horse/abingdon/album/twickenham-house-abingdon
nothing pretending to be modern and leading-edge for them.
Adding more to the traffic problems!! Surely the appeal to build 170 more houses in South Abingdon cannot succeed on the basis that Abingdon needs more housing. The old Morlands site was built on so was the industrial site at the rear of Waitrose. We also had housing on the garage site along the Drayton Road. I also hear that 55 more houses are to be built by the Old Bakery at Steventon.
Is that an impression of what this new development might look like?! The word ‘ghastly’ springs to mind!
John S
Surely there is enough housing development going on to make a collective levy on them to fund the much, much needed diamond interchange at Lodge Hill. Then we can avoid the town centre and it can become a housing estate officially!!!
Abingdon Town Council are holding a public meeting on Saturday 23rd February in the Guildhall to discuss the appeal to the Secretary of State to build 170 houses in South Abingdon
Thank god more houses i was losing sleep thinking there is not enough . What is going on with this town people from Abingdon do not use the town because of the shops are rubbish the ones that are built are empty . Sainsburys are not coming to Abingdon so they have to go to another bidder the shops we got are struggling and on verge of closing and now the council are going to cause more traffic less parking and house more people to shop elsewhere . I need to find an estate agent to get out of this crazy ghost town
Just heard a women refer to Abingdon as Scabingdon . I spoke to a shop owner and they said the shop costs them 30,000 in rent and rates and they took £372 in from Jan – Feb
. You open a shop here you will be bankrupt within a year 80 % of the people from the town shop elsewhere that is why the shops are closing all the shops will be flats . It makes me laugh when people say do you remember so and so shop it was great i never bought anything there though it was a shame it closed .
I agree with Abbo man the people of Abingdon always shop elsewhere they moan about having no shops and moan about there being too many charity shops . Have you seen the charity shops in Abingdon they are busy all the time hwo can the other shops compete when they have low rent low rates as they are a charity and they have volunteers working in there . You think it all goes to charity they are run by business men who give 10p in the pound to charity . Also they get the stock for nothing so they get 100 % profit if you dont like seeing charity shops in your town stop using them simple . You moan about tesco killing off butchers etc dont use them then use a butcher who need the trade to feed his family stop going to a superstore where the directors are billionaires and you will never meet them .
Shop small £1 spent with family firm is worth £1.76 to local economy £1 spent in a multinational is only worth £0.36
Janet – what time is the public meeting on Saturday?
It makes me furious that the people on benefits who sit on their backsides all day .They get paid for watching jeremy kyle and also get more money every kid they push out they get a free house . shop owners pay tax and rates employ local people and they are not given a reduction in rates the world has gone mad .
Golly; there hasn’t been such a thread of doom and gloom for a while! Let’s hope all the anger and passion and energy that’s flowing from these disappointed people is being put to good use and they are all making themselves heard to all the right people.
Kelly – The Herald says the meeting is from 10am.
Kelly (13) – public meeting is 10.00 in the Guildhall
Janet (5) – the local development plan produced under the previous government’s planning regime said that Abingdon had to build around 1100 new houses by (I think) 2026. That was under a “top-down” approach where each region was told how many houses it had to provide. You might think that under this government’s “localism” approach, all that might change, but guess what….! The first draft of the new Local Plan which will reveal all is due out in the next few weeks and there will be plenty of scope for comment/consultation. If you go on the Vale website News section you can find out more, and how to get on mailing lists about consultation etc.
Whatever happens i hope the Vale are totting up all these relatively small developments because they should all count towards the total target and maybe help avoid bigger developments…
Hi Daniel – thanks for lightening the mood!. This is the first I have seen or heard about this and I have to say that it doesn’t look too bad to me! A few more families (well couples anyway) to shop, eat and drink in town can’t be all bad..
Hester we have around 30,000 people in Abingdon and they do not use the town so what difference is another 20 going to make .
I wonder how many of those 30000 people will use the town if they keep hearing and reading and hearing and reading over and over and over and over and over again how bad the town is, how rubbish it is how empty it is how quiet it is …. And I wonder how many may use it if they hear and read how interesting it is how different it is how the shops that are here offer something different or unusual that only independents can, how it’s worth the effort to seek out the good. As well of course all the other, non retail reasons to come here…
I just wonder?
Daniel too late damage is done . Town needs free parking it also needs rate reduction so shops can invest this money in their shops to make them better . Abingdon should be promoting itself to get people in town such as free parking, radio shoutouts , festivals , free mini bus to town things like that .
Moody – it sounds like you’re an ideas man. Is there an election this year? You may have just enough time to get an “Abingdon First” party together …get a candidate in every ward….and change may just happen!
Good luck – I’ll happily deliver leaflets for you!
Public Meeting on Drayton Road Development is 10am in the Guildhall
Where’s a grump-o-meter when you need one? Daniel is right that if you have strong opinions you need to put them to good use. All the energy spend on complaining could be better spent on other things.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: this town is a good place to live and bring up children. I’ve been here ten years and it has got better and better so anyone harking back any further than that is living in retro lala land and is just plain grumpy. Change has to happen; you can’t ossify a town and hope it doesn’t break!.
People living in towns make towns safer and busier.
People living with shops on their doorstep tend to use them and walk more than use their cars.
People need homes to live in.
People often work hard and bring up lovely children in difficult circumstances, think before you judge and paint thousands of people with the same brush.
I was at the Chamber meeting tonight and despite the general whinges about things being hard at the moment there are a lot of people talking about doing good things, trying new ideas and thinking about how we can all help each other.
Times are hard and there is less money to go around that there was eight years or so ago. Things may never get back to ‘normal’ so we all need to think about how to move forward. Perhaps co-operative shops are the answer for some people? Perhaps not having a shop is the answer for others. Our business has never had a shop front and in the long term I think many of the businesses in our sector will also move away from the high street. That may make some people sad but it will improve service and reduce costs to the consumer in the long run.
We are living in times of change and we need to stay hopeful.
Watch this and see what we could be on the brink of (it boggles my mind but Blogger only appeared in 1999 and now even grumpy people think blogs are normal!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wqm6G5DjaI
Well said both Daniel and Rachel – my sentiments exactly.
Abingdon is a great place to live. I hear far more people who talk positively about our beautiful town than the consistent negativity from moody bloke, shop owner (who must be a ray of sunshine to his/her customers) and abbo man.
Personally I really like the changes in tge precinct and look forward to seeing new tenants in tge shops which now look about ready. If I was a serious retailer I’d definitely set up in Abingdon – 35000 people of untapped potential is a great attraction.
Along side the very positive steps of free parking, museum, more vibrant chamber and abs, great work by choose Abingdon, loads of market place events, revitalising of guildhall, nags head flourishing again, encouraging signs at broad face, crown and thistle and post office, not to mention some of the best curry houses around.
What’s not to like – I’d encourage other readers of the blog to share what they love about this town and send the boo boys back to where they belong (didcot?)
Can’t believe I forgot to mention the river
Just to point out; I too have had my fair share of moans, groans and rants and by no means think everything is rosey.
I feel very strongly that ranting actually has it’s place.
The anger and frustration is an untapped energy that “people in positions of influence” should neglect at their peril.
DIalogue needs to be had with the people who think the town is ‘bad’ as well as those thast think the town is ‘good’. A good place to start would be widely publicised meeting where “The residents” get to voice their woes, their concerns, their hopes and their aspirations.
Perhaps at the same meeting the powers that be can allay the fears and frustration, address some issues, take on board points and concerns, manage expectations etc etc.
All with a view of course…of putting together some kind of Vision for Abingdon. Where is the Town going, what is it to become, for who, over what period…
No one seems to know what the Town is, or wants to be…so a great many worthy ventures are undertaken…but without a common goal.
In the end, everyone may be trying to take steps in the right direction…but actually just random steps are made…with no direction at all…and so Abingdon continues to drfit and thrive where it can by good luck, rather than good management…
Young professionals? I hate that buzz-word!!
And since when was the Plough renamed the Harp? Have I been asleep?
While all may well be doom and gloom in Abingdon this doesn’t appear to be supported by the stats. As highlighted by this blog back in December (https://www.abingdonblog.co.uk/?p=7958) the net loss of shops in 2012 amounted to the earth shattering total of 1.
Change in 2007 – Net Loss 4
Change in 2008 – Net Loss 3
Change in 2009 – Net Gain 3
Change in 2010 – Net Gain 3
Change in 2011 – Net Loss 3
Change in 2012 – Net Loss 1
We Love the town i grew up here and we started our shop in the doom and gloom and people are moaning but they dont moan in the good times when its booming . Which will come round again it always does we just got to pull together and get through it .
Daniel – what you say is part of the big problem here. The Hidden Britain report also highlighted the fact that there are many organisations rooting for Abingdon but they aren’t all rowing in the same direction.
Perhaps the new Mayor could get them all in the same room, with other townsfolk with sturdy opinions and hash out a few things that could be done if they all work together.
I think I suggested this on another post in discussion with Hester and now it seems I am not a lone voice 😉 so perhaps Iain could take this back to the council and see what could be done?
On this issue I agree with Iain, Hester and the other positive contributors.
Abingdon is a great town. Yes there are challenges, but it’s still a great town.
Compared to a few years ago Saturdays are much busier in the town centre, following the steady growth in Market Place and other activities over the last few years as well as the growth in the number of cafes.
The restaurants and pubs in the town centre have also got steadily better over the same period.
It frustrates me that more people in the town don’t shop in and use the centre, particularly as it’s actually quite a compact town and fairly easy to walk/cycle/bus in and out of, but that’s their choice.
Some of the business owners don’t help themselves with the constant moaning and groaning but many of our indies are top notch and deserve our full support.
I only wish I could afford to spend more time and money in The Kings Head, Nags Head, Brewery Tap, Dil Raj, Tiffins, Bella Napoli and The Lemon Grove!
Well said Neil, I’ve lived here 32 years and seen many changes but I can feel the change…little concerned about the lack of progress in the Old Gaol though.
We love Abingdon too. Delicious bread fron the new deli, lovely foods from Added Ingredients, 2 bookshops,…. Not to mention the Nags Head. We regularly have family walk round the river, in all that mud and then revive in the pub! It is always busy in there, when we pop in for kid’s drinks and beers and G&Ts for the parents! Used to live in London. Would’nt go back!