Abingdon News
The latest Abingdon news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Abingdon Food Hygiene: Dil Raj on Ock Street Rated 2
Dil Raj on Ock Street is rated 2 and blames building work next door. Three more Abingdon venues got a 3, and all 19 September visits in the Vale scored 5.
More stories
Council
Appleton and Besselsleigh Merger Goes to a Vote on 1 October
Besselsleigh would get a parish councillor in a merged council with Appleton, and Ferrers Green would join Kingston Bagpuize. The Vale decides Thursday.
Planning
Didcot A Site: 75,000 sq m and 14 Drayton Homes Approved
Vale councillors approved up to 75,000 sq m of business space on the old Didcot A site and 14 homes in Drayton. Lorry routes and building hours are now set.
House prices
Vale of White Horse House Prices Up 5.7% to £413,773
The average Vale home added £22,370 in a year to July, the 28th fastest rise of 295 English districts, while Oxford and West Oxfordshire both fell.
Planning
Vale Planning Call-In Ends 31 Oct: 7-Day Rule Approved
Approved: from 31 October a Vale councillor gets seven days after consultation closes to ask for a committee hearing, and two people decide. How it works.
Buses
Abingdon Bus Changes: X1 Withdrawn, Wantage Gets JR Bus
The X1 and the 35 have gone, the 6 now runs through to Abingdon, and Wantage has a direct bus to the John Radcliffe. Every Vale route change from 20 September.
Schools
Wantage's Fitzwaryn School Rated Exceptional in Two Areas
Ofsted graded Fitzwaryn School in Wantage exceptional for inclusion and pupils' wellbeing, and strong in the other five. All 126 pupils have an EHC plan.
Planning
Abingdon Reservoir: 60 Lorries an Hour on the A415
Thames Water now wants 17 reservoir construction entrances, not six, and 60 lorry movements an hour on the A415 at peak. The traffic peak moves to 2030.
Data
Vale Claimant Count August: 1,835, Half England's Rate
1,835 people in the Vale were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August, 2.0 per cent of working-age residents and exactly half England's rate.
Crime
Abingdon Murder Inquiry: Man, 36, Charged Over Woman's Death
A 36-year-old Appleford Drive man is charged with murder after a woman of 88 was found dead in Abingdon on 10 September. Police say there is no wider threat.
Council
Vale Memorial Bench Plan: £762.50 Bench, Trees From £25
A memorial bench on Vale council land would cost £762.50 plus VAT and fitting, a tree £25 to £300, under rules the Cabinet decides on Friday 18 September.
Planning
Didcot A Site: 75,000 sq m Signia Park Plan Approved
Officers back up to 75,000 sq m of warehouse and industrial units on the former Didcot A site, without the 400 homes approved in 2019. Sutton Courtenay objects.
Planning
Joint Local Plan 2045 Consultation Closes 29 September
Comments on the next South and Vale local plan, to 2045, close 29 September. No sites or policies are proposed yet; the next round runs 1 June to 13 July 2027.
Planning
Drayton 14 Homes at The Green: Approved 16 September
Officers back 14 homes at 1 The Green, Drayton despite 23 objections. Five would be affordable, four for social rent. The Vale committee approved it on 16 September.
Local democracy
Vale Merger Paused: 2028 Date Now in Doubt
The government has told the Vale to stop work on the Ridgeway Council merger. Elections due in May 2027 will now be fought on existing district boundaries.
Travel
Oxford Traffic Filters: Vale Drivers Get 25 Day Passes
From 28 September the £5 payment goes and only a permit gets a car through. Abingdon, Wantage and Faringdon residents qualify for 25 free days a year.
Elections
Vale Voter Registration Email: Respond by 2 October
The canvass email is genuine despite its odd address. Reply by 2 October or a letter follows on 19 October. May 2027 now votes on existing Vale wards.
Community
Abingdon Electric Blanket Checks Free on 25 September
More than a third of blankets tested in Oxfordshire last year failed. Free checks come to Abingdon Fire Station on 25 September and Wantage on 9 October.
Food hygiene
Abingdon Food Hygiene: A Restaurant Rated 1, No Zeros
No venue in the Vale holds a zero, but 12 sit at 2 or below, three of them in Abingdon. The full list, and what each inspection actually found.
Council
Vale Land Charges Backlog Down to 40 Searches
Searches holding up Vale house sales fell from 205 outstanding on 13 July to 40 on 27 August. A council report calls the disruption unacceptable.
Council
Council Advice Stall on Abingdon Market, 7 September
Vale council officers will be on Abingdon Market from 8am to 3pm on Monday 7 September, with help on bins, disability grants and low-cost activities.
Roads
A415 Drops to 20mph at Clifton Hampden from 31 August
The A415 at Clifton Hampden drops to 20mph on Monday for a year. The order gives the exact 414-metre extent the council's own newsletter leaves out.
Local democracy
Abingdon By-Election Needs 10 Signatures by 9 September
Ten Dunmore ward electors can force a by-election for Abingdon's vacant seat. The notice prints no deadline. Counted properly it is Wednesday 9 September.
House prices
Vale of White Horse House Prices Up £24,517 in a Year
The average Vale home reached £414,441 in June, up 6.3% and the fastest rise of Oxfordshire's five districts. Oxford and West Oxfordshire prices both fell.
Waste and recycling
Abingdon Fridge Disposal: Vale Collections Have Stopped
The Vale has stopped collecting fridges and freezers, and Drayton tip now allows one booking every three months. What it costs to have a retailer take yours.
Travel
Wantage bus changes 30 August: 68 drops Sarajac Avenue
The 67 and 68 between Wantage and Faringdon transfer to Thames Travel on 30 August, and the 68 stops serving Sarajac Avenue in East Challow. The new times.
Travel
Botley Road reopens 20 September, filters start 28th
Botley Road reopens to traffic on Sunday 20 September and Oxford's traffic filters start eight days later. Vale drivers get 25 free day passes, and the £5 option ends.
Licensing
Faringdon shop granted alcohol licence, hours cut to 10pm
GV Wine on Marlborough Street can sell alcohol from 8am to 10pm after a hearing drew 13 representations and four objectors. What the panel was not allowed to weigh.
Planning
Vale planning committee to lose most cases from 31 October
Around three quarters of the cases Vale councillors now decide will pass to planning officers from 31 October. What the new national rules change in Abingdon.
Business
John Lewis of Hungerford in administration, name to live on
The Wantage kitchen maker entered administration on 7 July. Two of its directors have filed notices to carry on the business under the same name.