There was a full report of the meeting with the Oxford Bus Company and Oxfordshire County Council. Louisa Weeks, Director & General Manager of the Oxford Bus Company answered questions on the low floor buses and punctuality. She said that the 35 route was popular but not one of the top income generators so it was decided to introduce some mid-life double-deckers which were being purchased from a sister company in the North East. There was one already on the route and it was hoped by July a further seven would be available so all the buses on the route were low floor. When the buses arrived they would be refurbished to introduce more seats on the lower floor as it was felt that this would be more comfortable for bus passengers.
There had been a change in the timetable of the 35a/b to allow it more time to get from Abingdon to Didcot and back. While there had been a number of complaints about punctuality before Christmas since the new timetable there had been very few. The new traffic system in Abingdon was having an impact by increasing the queues down Ock Street and Drayton Road. The County Council was still working on measures to help the buses particularly by introducing a bus lane in Drayton Road. There was still work to be done on the phasing of the lights through Abingdon. It was agreed that, as the new Abingdon terminus was Stratton Way, better signage was needed at the High Street stop to re-direct passengers.
The clerk was contacted by a representative of Halcrow Group Ltd who had been commissioned by Thames Water to investigate the flooding issues in Kennington Road. The clerk arranged a site meeting to show them the problem areas. The Chairman, via the Neighbourhood Action Group, had been informed that the police were installing a device called a Mosquito at a shop in Playfield Road. The device when manually activated sends out a high pitched noise over a twenty metre range. It is targeted at young people from 13-19 years old and becomes unbearable for them to stay in the location for long.
There had been a joint meeting with the Playing Fields Association to finalise the details of the installation of the T Mobile telecommunication mast. The revised Heads of Terms of the lease were agreed by the Parish Council. It was also agreed to earmark the income for new recreation projects in the village such as children’s play equipment. Bids would be considered by a joint meeting of two members from each organisation.
