About 9 months ago the Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) moved a lot of their staff out of Abbey House in Abingdon to offices at Crowmarsh Gifford – home of South Oxfordshire District Council, as part of a closer collaboration between the councils to save money. The space they released at Abbey House was then used by Oxfordshire County Council.
It was a shock to see those joint offices in flames on 15th Jan 2015. Two other buildings were also set alight, and a local resident arrested for arson.
Nobody appears to have been hurt.
Meanwhile, there were many comings and goings at Abbey House in Abingdon. An early police presence made people speculate that it too might come under attack.
Core people were moved to ‘hot desks’ at Abbey House. And we were told:
Services such as recycling and leisure run by external contractors would carry on as usual
Council Tax payments could be paid as usual.
Emergency services such as people made homeless, or dangerous structures needing inspecting, could contact the council number – the Abbey House number.
Most council employees were asked to work from home until desks were available.
Residents who wanted to contact the council, with non urgent matters, were asked to delay for a few days until people and systems are back in place.
The sale by VWHDC of Old Abbey House (next door) was delayed because of a community challenge a few months ago. The delay was to give time for bids for community use to come forward. The Vale’s empty properties, like this, may get used again, bringing more Council employees back to Abingdon for a while.