Abingdon Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhoods & Districts

Feria Urbanism was appointed by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council to provide support for its neighbourhood plan project. The plan will guide the development of the town over the next decade or more as it seeks to positively address a range of built environment issues, including heritage protection, public realm, the town centre, better access to the River Thames and the use of previously developed land.

Our work has involved providing the client group with a better understanding of what a neighbourhood plan can and cannot do in terms of regulating the built environment and the statutory processes that need to be adhered to. We have also provided skills support as the client began to assemble its steering group, as well as providing mapping assistance as they undertook a strategic place audit. Due to the restrictions on movement and social gatherings imposed during the Covid-19 public health crisis, much of the early phase of work throughout 2020 and early 2021 was successfully shifted to online platforms and video calls.

Using outputs produced by the steering group, we successfully shaped a Pre-Submission (Reg 14) Draft Plan that was subject to formal consultation in late 2024.

A critical role for Feria Urbanism was to provide a link between Vale of White Horse District Council’s town centre development framework for central Abingdon and the relevant town centre chapter of the neighbourhood plan. We ensured coordination and avoided duplication.

Character Area Visual Postcards

We involved 16-18 year old students at Abingdon & Whitney College in the plan making process, to ensure their voices were heard. As part of this, we organised a character area video project, in which students took film footage of various parts of the town, and these were edited into a series of visual postcards. These short films were published online as part of the engagement and consultation process.

Exploring the possible mixed-use intensification of monocultural suburban areas of Abingdon