Oxford Road Sewer Works Delayed Again

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The contractor working to connect sewers for the new North Abingdon housing had a permit to carry out roadworks on Oxford Road from 28 April to 17 September 2025. However, progress has stalled once again.

The delay follows the discovery of an uncharted water main, which now requires a further redesign in coordination with Thames Water. This comes after an earlier redesign caused the project to be postponed to this summer.

In response, Oxfordshire County Council has cancelled the permit and told the developer to clear the site and return with a revised plan. As a result, it now appears that the works at the Oxford Road roundabout will not be completed any time soon — though this does not affect the A34 interchange, only the Oxford Road and roundabout.

The County Council told the contractor to fully open the road by 23 June. As this deadline has not been met (see picture from today – 25 June 2025), overrun penalties now apply:
* £5,000 per day for the first three days
* £10,000 per day thereafter

The County Council has pointed out that the work has broken some of the agreed rules of the permit, including:
* No one was on site to manage traffic by hand when needed
* Work was done outside the allowed hours
* A safe temporary crossing for pedestrians wasn’t provided
* There were long periods with no work happening and no explanation given

The Council has made it clear that while essential infrastructure work is supported, it must be done responsibly, transparently, and to a high standard.

County and Town Councillors and Highways Officers have played a role in pressing for a new plan for the works and fully opening the road.

Morris Dancing memories

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I met Frank on Saturday, the day of the Mayor of Ock Street. He told me a few of his Morris Dancing memories.

He was with the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers up until 1956 — that makes him one of the oldest ex-dancers still about. He got into it when he was at Boxhill School — him and half a dozen other lads. It meant missing a lesson for an hour. Next thing, because he was good enough, he was dancing with the regular side.

He remembers a young Stuart Jackson — he was the mascot back then. Stuart went on to be the Mayor of Ock Street many times, and now is President.

Frank was dancing in Conduit Road one day when Prince Philip drove past. The Queen and him were in Abingdon to reopen the County Hall Museum. The Prince did a double take when he saw the Morris Dancers in all their kit. Must’ve thought, ‘Whats going on here?’

There was a big Morris ring meeting over in Buckinghamshire one year and Slim Mooring was the fool. He had a pig’s bladder, same as Roger Cox carries now, and went about bopping people with it. He got near this policeman — who was there to keep the crowds in order — and raised the bladder as if to bop him. The policeman just gave him a look, as if to say, ‘You just try it, and see where it gets you.’

They had lots of Americans in those days, from the airbase. They loved all the old English traditions and used to stand and watch the dancing and throw coins, half crowns sometimes.

Major Frier played the accordion and he’d drive the dancers round in his old maroon charabanc. It looked more like a hearse than a bus.

And poor Jimmy Grimsdale. One day he sat on a bag of cherries in his white Morris trousers. He didn’t realise until it was too late and a great big red embarrassing patch bloomed on his backside all day.

When Frank was sixteen, he looked at the older dancers — some nearing forty — and thought, ‘They’ll never get through the day!’ But even though they could hardly walk, they kept on dancing.

What’s On in Abingdon: AA, Books, Beavers, Brass Band, Cream Tea, and Pride Picnic

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Here’s a “What’s On” based on posters seen in town:

Tuesday 24th June 2025: With species vanishing at alarming rates, can Christianity help?

Meet Abingdon’s very own super-star children’s author and illustrator, Rob Jones, known for his brilliantly quirky books.

Wednesday 25th June 2025: Beavers — once extinct in Britain — are now making a comeback thanks to rewilding efforts.

There will also a town council meeting on Wednesday at the Guildhall at 7 pm.  The town council will discuss writing to the Environment Agency to ask when they will do something about the weir walkway + normal council business.

Saturday 28th June 2025: Tea and Scones in a beautiful setting

Celebrate six decades of music-making with a special performance from the Abingdon Town Band.

Celebrate love, inclusion, and community spirit.

Also browse local produce and crafts from independent traders in the town centre at the Summer Craft Local Excellence Market on Saturday 28th June.

Abingdon Sinkhole Sealed Ahead of Schedule

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A sinkhole that appeared in Abingdon on Friday 13 June has been repaired within four working days. Traffic flow through the town, which had been disrupted due to temporary traffic management, returned to normal on Thursday 19 June, earlier than the expected completion date of Friday 20 June.

The hole was reported by a member of the public on Friday evening. An on-call team from Oxfordshire County Council’s principal highways contractor, M Group, discovered that the hole was over 1.2 metres deep and showing widening cracks. They immediately made the area safe, erecting barriers and signs to alert public to the hole. To reduce risk of traffic vibrations worsening the hole, two-way traffic lights were put in place to ensure public safety.

A technical inspection on Monday 16 June showed no clear cause of the sinkhole. Highways teams worked over a four-day period to repair the hole and to install new kerbing and added a ‘fluted’ channel to divert surface water from the footway to reduce the risk of further damage.

While working on the site the team discovered a horse’s jawbone and tooth, believed to have been there for over 100 years.

Thanks to Marc from Oxfordshire County Council for the update and images.