Pavement resurfacing begins ....

The long awaited pavement work has begun on Tithe Farm / Ladygrove with workmen currently in Francis Little Drive.  They are starting with a month of preparation work and planning on doing the main resurfacing from early December.

Covid Girls Charity Calendar 2021

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Finally ... the long awaited, eagerly sought after

COVID GIRLS CHARITY CALENDAR 2021

in aid of The Abingdon Bridge and Abingdon Foodbank

This unique and (soon to be) highly collectable purveyor of dates is available NOW from participating shops in the town centre, or contact Diane Livesley (Miss August) on 07798877882

Makes the ideal 'support your local charities' Christmas gift for £9.99

100% of all sale proceeds go directly to these charities

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Resurfacing the Pavements

Prep works in Abingdon are currently scheduled to start 4th November with the main surfacing following on from 4th December. A further letter/leaflet will be delivered a few days in advance of the slurry surfacing.

Repair - Inspection Chamber

It only took two years…..   After three complaints on FixMyStreet over the years, the grid has finally been replaced on the open inspection chamber in the alley way between Mill Road and Tennyson Drive.  The landmark cone over the hole has gone.  This may have been done, of course, as part of the planned pavement repairs by Oxfordshire County Council or it might have been as a result of our complaints.  Pleased it has been done, just wish it hadn’t taken so long.

Current Crime Trends

Over the past few months there has been an increase in Courier frauds in South Oxfordshire and The Vale of White horse areas.

What is Courier Fraud?

A courier fraud is where a fraudster telephones a potential victim, claiming to be from their bank, the police or another law enforcement authority.  They then trick the person into revealing their PIN and agreeing to hand over their debit or credit card or ask the person to withdraw money from their account.

What should I look for?

Calls where someone claims to be from your bank or the police.  They may say that a fraudulent payment has been spotted on your card, or that someone has been arrested using your details and cards.

They may then ask you to ring back using the phone number on the back of your card.  This is to make you believe that the call is genuine. But the fraudster keeps the line open at their end, so you are actually connected straight back to them or an accomplice.

They will ask for your PIN, or sometimes ask you to key it into your phone’s handset.

The scammer then sends a courier or taxi to pick up your card from your home.  It is possible the driver does not know they are being used as part of the scam.

Once they have your card and PIN, the scammer can spend your money and will withdraw large amounts from your account.

Key Facts

• Your bank will never send a courier to your home
• Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card
• Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN
• The police will never call you to inform you of being a victim of a fraud
• If you receive one of these calls, end it immediately

If you think you have been scammed or you’ve found something which looks like a fraud or a scam contact Action Fraud online or call 0300 123 2040 or call Thames Valley Police on 101.

Abingdon Heritage Weekend 2020

European Heritage Days were set up in 1991 - the principle was to throw open the doors to historic monuments and buildings, in particular those normally closed to the public, in order to raise appreciation of Europe’s rich and diverse cultural assets and the need to care for them.  Heritage Days are now held annually in September in 50 European states.

Abingdon’s first big Heritage Open Day was in 2003 and since 2007 they have been run by volunteers, mainly from the Friends of Abingdon Civic Society and the Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society.

During the early years Abingdon Heritage Open Days (HODs) mainly involved giving people the opportunity to see inside buildings not normally open to the public - in some cases private householders bravely opened up their homes to visitors.  Since then the event has expanded to include heritage-themed guided walks, and often an exhibition, usually running for a full week.  In some years we have had a mini-festival with family activities as well as the regular elements. 

This year’s event will of necessity be rather different.  Plans include: 

•     Short Videos of aspects of Abingdon’s heritage
•     Video tours of properties which would otherwise be open
•     Live-streamed events from the County Hall Museum
•     Information in windows of historic properties
•     Self-guided walks using either leaflets or mobile phone technology
•     A Market Place stall with information and leaflets

Full details of the event held on 19th and 20th September can be found at: https://abingdonheritage.org.uk

Advanced Notification of Surfacing Work - Cut-back of Vegetation

Advance notification letters were delivered to properties informing residents Oxfordshire County Council will be undertaking surfacing work on footway with removal of vegetation outside properties scheduled for August / September.

The advance notice allows residents to cut back their own garden vegetation themselves, or the contactor will carry this out as sympathetically as possible prior to the surfacing work.

The back of the footway needs to be accessible to a height of no less than .5 metres from the footway surface and any overhanging vegetation should be no less than 2.1 metres above the footway surface.

Corona-virus Related Scams

Criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try and get their hands on your money and personal information.  To date, Action Fraud has received reports from 2,378 victims of Coronavirus-related scams, with the total losses reaching over £7 million.

How you can protect yourself from Coronavirus-related scams:

There are some simple steps you can take that will protect you from the most common Coronavirus-related scams.  Here’s what need to do:

• Watch out for scam messages - Your bank, or other official organisations, won’t ask you to share personal information over email or text.  If you receive an email you’re not quite sure about, forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk

• Shopping online - If you're making a purchase from a company or person you don't know and trust, carry out some research first, for example, by checking to see if others have used the site and what their experience was.  If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, other payment providers may not provide the same protection.

• Unsolicited calls and browser pop-ups offering tech support - Never install any software, or grant remote access to your computer, as a result of a cold call.  Remember, legitimate organisations would never contact you out of the blue to ask for financial details such as your PIN or full banking password.

NHS Test and Trace scams:

The NHS Test and Trace service plays an important role in the fight against coronavirus and it’s vital the public have confidence and trust in the service.  However, we understand the concerns people have about the opportunity for criminals to commit scams.

What you need to know:

Contact tracers will only call you from the number 0300 013 5000. Anyone who does not wish to talk over the phone can request the NHS Test and Trace service to send an email or text instead, inviting them to log into the web-based service.

All text or emails sent by NHS Test and Trace will ask people to sign into the contact tracing website and will provide you with a unique reference number.  We would advise people to type the web address https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk directly into their browser, followed by the unique reference number given to you, rather than clicking on any link provided in the message.

The NHS Test and Trace service will never:

• ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to them (for example, those starting 09 or 087)
• ask you to make any form of payment or purchase a product or any kind
• ask for any details about your bank account
• ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts
• ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone 
• ask you to download any software to your PC or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet to anyone else
• ask you to access any website that does not belong to the government or NHS

If you think you have been a victim of fraud, please report it to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

Upgraded Pedestrian Crossing - Drayton Road

On Tuesday the 26th May Oxfordshire County Council will upgrade the existing pedestrian crossing on Drayton Road.  They will replace the poles, install a new signal controller and new extra low voltage equipment with LED signal heads which will greatly reduce the power consumption and carbon footprint of the site which will reduce hazards in the event of an accident.

The existing Pelican installation will be upgraded to include on-crossing detectors which will allow for a variable crossing time dependant on walking speed and number of pedestrians.

A temporary pedestrian facility will be in place whilst work is carried out and all work is estimated to be completed by Friday 5th June.

VE Day Celebrations