Abingdon Minor Injuries Unit

A slight change to the latest Newsletter posted recently:

Abingdon Minor Injuries Units times are 8am to 10.30pm - note this is from Saturday 1st November and is for the winter months only.  This service is available 7 days a week.

X-ray opening times at this MIU are as follows: Monday to Friday 9am to 6.30pm, Saturday 10am to 6.30pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm.

AGM - 18th November 2014

Our next newsletter has now gone out and some of you may have already had your copy.  We look forward to receiving your entries for the 2 Christmas competitions!

The last Residents' Association meeting in November was our AGM.  In line with the constitution, all residents who come to the meetings make up the committee.  We should also elect a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Treasurer and a Newsletter Editor.  Maureen Buckingham will be our Chair, Lorna Downs our Vice-Chair, Anita Wickens the Treasurer and Kay White the Newsletter/Blog Editor.

If anyone should want to see the accounts for last year, these are available by contacting the Treasurer.  Contact details are on the blog and in the newsletter.

We look forward to being able to carry on with our successful revival of the newsletter plus the TFLRA blog.

Christmas Lights

The festive Abingdon lights were turned on at the Extravaganza on Sunday - by Elianne from Mill Road, who was chosen to do the honours from a draw.  Well done Elianne ..... Abingdon will certainly now look pretty for Christmas!!

Gardening - The Garden in October and November

We are well and truly into Autumn now and time to put the garden to bed - to a certain extent.  You can happily cut back herbaceous perennials hard to tidy up the garden, but there is no harm in leaving them as sometimes seed heads can be attractive, especially after a frost, and it gives small insects somewhere to hide.  If you cut back herbaceous geraniums sooner rather than later, they may put on new growth that will last through the winter.

Annuals can be cleared as they start to fade, and replaced with winter flowering pansies, violas, heathers and berried shrubs.  It is worth popping to the garden centre to see what is colourful now - especially berries and leaves - and fill the gaps.  Shrubs will give year round interest if they have berries as well as flowers, ideal for small gardens.  Now is a good time to plant shrubs as the autumnal warmth will settle them in before winter. 

If you have a greenhouse, clean the glass after removing all shading and give the whole structure a good wash and repair, before replacing any plants.  You will be surprised what will survive in an unheated greenhouse, and it is often worth potting up a few tender plants to see if they will last a bit longer under glass.

Lawns can be cut up until the first frost, and Ivy can be pruned.  Bulbs can still be planted, and November is the time for tulips to be planted.

While it is still warm, keep up the weeding and don't forget to water and feed pots and baskets that you have planted for the winter.

Chaunterell Way play area

We had a letter from a resident on Ladygrove:

I am concerned about the childrens play area behind Chaunterell Way.  I take my young grandchildren there most weeks and every time we visit we find that the gate has been left open.  The whole point of it being enclosed is for the safety of the children and also to keep out any dogs that might be out unaccompanied!!

Seems obvious to me that if there is a gate then it should be closed!!

Also a couple of weeks ago I had to clear up a lot of broken glass (bottles) from around the slide and climbing frame.  If a child had fallen over they could have had a very nasty injury.  I don't know how we can stop this happening unless the community police officers maybe patrol a bit more often or maybe residents could keep an eye out and contact the police if there is anyone there making a nuisance of themselves.

Well done on the revised newsletter.

kind regards

The TFLRA have since contacted the Town Council asking if someone could look into this, and maybe put a notice on the gate, and are waiting to hear from them.  We've also asked if the Community Police would like to come to our next meeting.  We will keep you posted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update - reply from the Town Council

The Town Council replied to us, and have agreed to put a notice on the gate to remind users to close it behind them.  They will also check that the gate is easy to close.  They confirm that they litter pick the area 4 or 5 times a week and say that they should be able to respond to reports of dangerous items within 24 hours or sooner.  They ask also for the co-operation of the community in all this.  The Community Police have agreed to pay attention to the area on their patrols.

Kevin-the-postman

Farewell to Kevin-the-Postman!!  Kevin of Coleridge Drive is retiring at the end of November after delivering mail for 35 years, the last 25 years of which doing the Ladygrove and Tithe Farm deliveries.  We shall miss his cheery daily presence but wish him well for his retirement.

Council's future plans for Vale of the White Horse

If you are interested in learning more about the Council's plans for the future of the Vale, don't forget that there is a public meeting about this in the Guildhall at 6pm on Wednesday 19th November.

AGM

Reminder that the TFLRA AGM will be held on Tuesday 18th November at 7.30pm in the Jephson flats Common Room, Bridges Close.  All residents are welcome!

Update - October 2014

Thank you to all who helped with the first edition of the revived newsletter, including all the deliverers.  Although the first edition was short, we hope that you enjoyed getting this again. Lots of people have told us that they are very pleased to find that the newsletter is to continue. We are hoping to get another, longer, edition out before Christmas, with a competition for the children and a quiz for us older ones!

Sheila and Maureen went to the County Council meeting about the crossing proposals for Ock Street and Marcham Road. Their report is below this article (or click HERE) and we are sure that their disappointment and frustration about the outcome is shared by many on our estates. Work hasbeen started in earnest on the field and sometime soon trees will be felled. While we would welcome people who want to live in our area, there is still considerable anxiety about the problems that their increased traffic will bring.

Next year we will have the added problem of the closure of Steventon Bridge – reports on how long it will be closed vary but 8 months seems about the most optimistic time scale. And work will be started soon on the Milton interchange…… Send the blog your thoughts about all this road work surrounding us.

We are beginning to get pieces for both the newsletter and the blog. Do send us ideas for articles – or write something yourself! And it would be great to have something from the children - drawings and stories and anything else that you want to share with others. See ‘Contacts’ for email, mobile telephone number and addresses.

Remember that you can also advertise your business. A full advert can go on the blog with a short summary in the paper newsletters. £10.00 for residents for the year.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Advertisement - Abingdon Drama Club presents 'The Wrong Goodbye' by Stephen Rees.

Moving the crossing on Marcham Road

Comments to the decision of the Transport Committee - Oxford County Council 9th October 2014

We are very angry, disillusioned, disappointed and sad to have to report that the Oxfordshire County Council decided to accept the proposal from the developers to move the pedestrian crossing on the Marcham Road and to install a new one in Ock Street.

Despite many Councillors and Abingdon Residents speaking against the proposal and making very good points:

• about safety of children crossing
• the Councils 'duty of care' to residents
• air pollution
• congestion
• traffic management and the wider Abingdon traffic crisis
• the fact that it has already been turned down at 3 different Committee levels and the local MP is against the proposal

..... the Transport Committee decided to make their decision on the actual crossing itself without taking any of the fore-mentioned points into account.

In his summing up the Chairman said that he had listened carefully to all the comments, that the crossing does meet National safety guidelines and that he had observed the Drayton Road crossing for twenty minutes one Saturday morning (sic!).  He had to ask himself "do the proposals make the crossing safer and mitigate the traffic on the Drayton Road".  He thought it would, and would therefore support the recommendation.

There was general outrage and much discussion afterwards.  Residents and Councillors are not giving up and are looking into getting legal advice on further steps.  We will keep you posted.

report by Maureen and Sheila