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 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.
More stories
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.