Permit Parking Decision Nears – Officers Recommend Withdrawal

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On Thursday 4th September, the Cabinet Member for Transport Management will decide on the proposed Residents Permit Parking schemes for Abingdon Centre North and Ock Street (including Exbourne Road pictured above).

Following consultation, council officers have recommended that the new permit parking areas should not go ahead.

This will be a relief to many local residents and community groups – including Trinity Church, which feared added difficulties for access and parking under the proposals.

Some people had been calling for tighter parking controls, but the idea of paying over £100 a year for an on-street permit proved unpopular. The revised plans scale things back considerably.

Instead of large permit zones and shared-use bays, only a few targeted changes are now suggested – such as new double yellow lines at certain points to improve safety.

If the recommendation is agreed, the more extensive permit parking scheme will not proceed.

You can read the full agenda and officer reports here.
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Two Current Planning Applications at Fairacres, Abingdon for M&S Food Store

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1. Store Conversion (and change of Use)

An application has been submitted to convert the existing M&S unit at Fairacres into a food store, with associated car parking and external alterations. This proposal is opposed by the owners of Bury Street, who cite planning conditions that restrict out-of-centre food retail in order to safeguard Abingdon’s town centre. Consultation on this application has ended and a decision is expected by 15th September 2025.

It has a planning reference: P25/V1108/FUL

2. Mini-Roundabout Upgrade at Fairacres / Nuffield Way

A second application proposes installing a mini-roundabout at the junction between Fairacres Retail Park and Nuffield Way to improve traffic flow. Surveys commissioned on behalf of M&S show that, at peak times, delays are significantly longer for vehicles exiting Fairacres than for those leaving Nuffield Way. The proposed roundabout is expected to ease the exit from Fairacres. Comments on this application are mostly from people who use Nuffield Way regularly and highlight existing concerns about heavy traffic along Nuffield Way at peak times. There are also comments about whether a mini-roundabout will make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians or not. Consultation on this ends on 28th August 2025. So there is still time to respond.
It has a planning reference: P25/V1525/FUL

Bank Holiday Bowling

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On a sunny August Bank Holiday, members of Abingdon Bowling Club gathered at their rink in Albert Park to compete for the Martin Cup. Teams were drawn from across the club members there, making for a competitive afternoon of bowling.

Bowls is a social sport, with plenty of encouragement and advice exchanged between teammates. For spectators, the basics are straightforward: each end begins with the small white jack rolled to the far end of the green. Players then roll their bowls, aiming to finish as close as possible to it.

Scoring is less obvious – at the close of each end, the team with the nearest bowl scores one point for every bowl closer than the opposition’s nearest. Sometimes only a single point is won; at other times a team can collect several. Scores are added up during the match, and the team with the highest total wins.

Abingdon Bowling Club were founded in 1913. Their present clubhouse, built in 1994, stands beside the green in Albert Park surrounded by a hedge which makes a peaceful setting for the game.

New Superintendent for Wantage and Abingdon Methodist Circuit

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There was a good turnout at Trinity Church on Saturday 23 August, when the Revd Georgina Bondzi-Simpson was welcomed as the new Superintendent Minister of the Wantage & Abingdon Methodist Circuit. Georgina has been minister at Trinity and at All Saints in Abingdon for the past year, and now takes on the added responsibility of being minister at Grove, as well as superintending the circuit, which includes eight Methodist churches across Abingdon, Didcot, Wantage, Wallingford and nearby villages.

The service was led by the Revd Bruce Thompson, alongside the Revd Dr Sonia Hicks, Chair of the Northampton Methodist District, which includes Oxfordshire.

Reflecting on the occasion, Georgina said the word that had stayed with her in preparing for the service was humility. “It’s not just about me,” she told the congregation, “but about all of us being open to God and to each other.”

The circuit has recently reduced the number of ministers from three to two, with lay members and retired ministers now taking a greater part in leading services and activities.


Among those present were the Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Rawda Jehanli, Georgina’s family, and friends from across the area. Afterwards, people gathered in the Conduit Centre to share sandwiches and a generous spread of cakes — so many that they were still being enjoyed after Sunday morning’s services.