This evening was the annual parish meeting held by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council to let people know what has been happening in the last year. Big events in the last year were the jubilee and re-opening of the museum. There are ongoing big plans for the Guildhall.
There will be an exhibition showing those Guildhall plans about 18-20 April to include the cinema/theatre design, better accessibility to the historic rooms, as well as improving the general ambiance and look of the modern Abbey Hall.
The number of homes in Abingdon has been reduced from 12,683 to 11,580 in the last year for council tax purposes. People claiming council tax relief no longer count as part of an accounting exercise – pushing the responsibility for council tax relief onto local councils. It means a relatively small loss for the town council this year as there are transitional arrangements but that could be taken away.
We also learned:
* Allotments have had a difficult year through flooding.
* More dog bins will be provided where there is a problem.
* Abingdon in Bloom will be re-launched this year. It was called off last year.
* Work on the MG gardens has progressed well over the winter months.
* At the end of the year, when the lease ends, town council offices will be moving into Roysse Court above the registry office.
* The cemetery will fill up in 12-15 years. About £300K has been saved towards a new cemetery.
* People have praised the town council for its work helping to keep pavements clear during snow.
* The new Garden of Remembrance will soon be open for ashes.
* The James May program about mechanised Bun Throwing will be broadcast in a couple of months time.
* The Town Council planning committee voted down having Greene King replacing traditional pub signs.
The town council play equipment budget will be re-instated, although town council play equipment is in a very good state.
The pub sign in question is the White Horse on corner of Ock Street / Spring Road, where Greene King want to replace the pub sign with a generic sign that has the Greene King logo and the name of the pub as a font rather than a traditional picture. They have already done this at some other pubs in the area.such as the Boyers Arms in Radley and also plan to do it for Midget and Boundary House.
They only changed the sign last year to a picture of a white horse head. Many people think it should have a picture related to the Vale’s Uffington White horse.
The White Horse is on a major arterial road coming into Abingdon and should reflect the historical culture of the town.
Uffington white horse would be a great idea for the sign. Sadly Greede King aren’t known for their interest in historical culture.
Are Greene King the new Watneys? The beer is better than Red Barrel, but not much…
The MG gardens would be enhanced if the MG logo was angled up to make it more visible to passing traffic or pedestrians. With some illustrated boards to explain the history of the nearby factory site it would be a credit to the town. An occasional car on a weekend would be good too.
What meeting is this? Do many people go?