Abingdon Town Council opposes the proposed Bury Street mural in its current form and wants residents' views by 10 December 2026. Updated November 2026.

Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council has formally opposed the designs for a large mural proposed for Bury Street, and residents now have until 10 December 2026 to give their own view. The council’s Public Art Working Group considered the designs and “formally expressed its opposition to the designs in their current form”, the council said on 6 November.

The consultation is being run jointly with Sunny Day Capital, which the council says has agreed to work with it “recognising the importance of community involvement in the future of the town centre”. Both “would welcome feedback from residents on the proposed mural designs”, the council said.

The council has not said what it objects to in the designs.

How to have your say

  • Online: fill in the survey.
  • On paper: collect a feedback form from the Visitor Information Centre on Bridge Street.
  • Deadline: the consultation closes on 10 December 2026.

A display about the scheme is up in a shop window in the Bury Street precinct, with a QR code that leads to the same questionnaire.

Shop window in Bury Street, Abingdon, with posters showing the Abingdon Postcard mural design, a Have your say notice, sketches and the Living Tracery sculpture design
The Have your say display in a Bury Street shop window, with the mural design on the left and the sculpture on the right. Photo: supplied by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council

Where the mural would go

According to the window display, the mural is proposed for the piazza area facing Santander, Poundland and Kings Pharmacy. The display says it is part of “a package of improvement works to rejuvenate and add vibrance to this end of Bury Street which has suffered over recent years”, with works “due to commence in Spring 2027”. The display names Bury Street’s owners as Sunny Day Gentian; the council’s release names Sunny Day Capital.

The same notice says the artist’s impression also shows “the new feature cafe alongside new sculptural seating, planting and flooring in this piazza area”.

The design: Abingdon Postcard

The mural, titled Abingdon Postcard, is by Adalberto Lonardi. The display describes it as “an interpretation of a popular Thames River view image showing St Helen’s Church”. It shows a swan in the foreground, the river curving past a row of red-roofed buildings, a narrowboat and the spire of St Helen’s under a swirling blue and yellow sky.

Abingdon Postcard mural design: a swan beside the River Thames, red-roofed buildings, a narrowboat and the spire of St Helen's Church under a swirling blue and yellow sky
The Abingdon Postcard design by Adalberto Lonardi. Image: supplied by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council

In the panel’s words, the piece “reimagines Abingdon’s iconic heritage, including St Helen’s Church and views of the River Thames, both of which have inspired generations of artists”. It continues: “A tranquil palette of river blues, greens and turquoise is energised by warm accents of yellow, orange and red, bridging Abingdon’s storied past with a fresh, modern perspective for the new plaza.”

The display describes Lonardi as a London-based visual artist and creative director who earned a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in 2020, with commissions in London for Wandsworth, Chelsea and Westminster, Kensington and Camden councils.

The sculpture: Living Tracery

The artist’s impression also shows a tall steel sculpture, Living Tracery by Cristina Morbi, beside new curved seating and planting. The display says it “draws inspiration from the rare Tree of Jesse medieval imagery in the 14th-century of St Helen’s Church Lady Chapel, translating its historic branching geometry into an intricate canopy of interwoven steel”.

“Over time, climbing plants, grasses, and perennials will weave through the canopy, supporting local pollinators and creating an ever-changing interplay of light and shade,” the panel says.

Morbi is described on the display as a London-based artist, landscape architect and researcher, and a lecturer at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

The council’s release is about the mural designs only; it does not say whether the working group also objected to the sculpture or the other piazza works.

What it means for you

If you shop in Bury Street or walk through the piazza, this is your chance to shape what goes on the wall before work starts. The town council has already said no to the designs as they stand, so residents’ answers will feed into what happens next. Fill in the online survey or pick up a paper form on Bridge Street before 10 December 2026.

For more on what is happening in town this month, see What’s On in Abingdon.