Any statements and/or petitions from the public under Standing Order 32 will be made or presented at the meeting.
Minutes:
The Executive noted that the Chief Executive had been presented with a petition of approximately 4,500 signatures which read as follows:
"We, the undersigned, believe that the Old Gaol site is a unique and valuable part of Abingdon's heritage. In assessing the proposals submitted by developers, we urge The Vale of White Horse District Council to pursue the following points:
The Executive also received two statements from members of the public on the subject of the future of the Old Gaol, Abingdon.
(1) Alison Mummery made a statement on behalf of Community in the Old Gaol (COG) regarding the Old Gaol's future. Before the meeting, COG had presented the first stage of its petition to the Council’s Chief Executive, signed by 4,500 people from Abingdon and the surrounding area, showing that the level of interest in the Old Gaol remained high. The petition requested the Council to retain the freehold of the site, to maximise the areas accessible to the public and to provide some community facilities. She believed that all was not well in Abingdon, with people of all ages commenting on the lack of any focal point or anything to do rather than go to pubs or restaurants. The potential of the Old Gaol to regenerate and restore the vitality of Abingdon could not be overestimated and the more people it attracted, the greater its impact would be.
COG considered that it was vital that prospective developers were given access to the ideas and wishes of local people now, so that they could take them into account in drafting their final plans. COG had developed a range of constructive proposals they wanted to share with developers. Although the Council might have concerns about this, COG wished to raise two points:
(i) COG understood the financial pressures the Council faced but did not believe that COG's ideas need necessarily lead to a reduction in value for the site. COG would like to work with developers to identify activities which would bring people in to the site, complementing other activities there and possibly even enhancing its value.
(ii) COG also understood the Council’s concerns over commercial confidentiality and would abide by any confidentiality arrangements the Council or developers might wish to put in place.
Recent announcements from Central Government showed a move towards community involvement in local facilities provision and decision-making, such as the ‘Opening the Transfer Window’ initiative and last week’s announcement of proposals for ‘participatory budgeting’ to give local people the chance to examine and decide how budgets were spent. The emphasis was clearly moving away from the narrow financial interpretation of ‘Best Value’ which had applied in recent years.
COG was pleased that the Council had agreed to pass information about the group to developers so they were able to make contact, but this only went some way to meeting the group’s demands. COG wanted the names of the short listed developers to be generally available. COG did not accept the Council’s argument of commercial sensitivity and cited the example of Oxford Castle development where such information was in the public domain from the earliest days. This information was of legitimate public interest and the group would continue to press for more involvement in the decision-making process. People had shown how much they cared about this very special site and deserved to have a say in what happened to it and the future of their town centre.
(2) Councillor Lesley Legge made a statement on behalf of Abingdon Town Council regarding the Old Gaol's future. The Town Council believed that the Old Gaol was of huge importance to the town. It was a prominent feature in Abingdon’s gateway; visitors parking in the car parks passed it on their way into the town centre. In the daytime there used to be shops and the tourist information centre located in this area. However, now, as the building lay empty, there was nothing to attract them further. The Town Council wanted to see the Old Gaol developed to enhance the vitality of the town and to encourage community use of the site. Its Members wanted to work with the Vale Council again, within the confines of the financial pressures, to find ways to increase the vitality of the area. The Town Council also wanted to comment on the bids. The late District Councillor Parsons once said that the Old Gaol must provide for the future generation. Councillor Legge urged the Executive to think long and hard about providing for future generations and provide the best all-round value for all in Abingdon and the Vale. The Old Gaol was a hugely significant historic building in the town and Councillors must fight for its survival. She asked that the Town Council was included in the decision-making for the Old Gaol’s future.
The Chair thanked Alison Mummery and Councillor Lesley Legge for their statements and assured them that their views, and those expressed in the petition, would be considered by the Executive when discussing the future of the Old Gaol. He also promised that the Chief Executive would offer briefings to both the Town Council and COG in the following week on the Council’s position.