Town planners have used millions of pounds of tax payers money to surgically remove any last shred of character from Abingdon's precinct. Not only does it have a 'Greggs' and a 'Pound Shop' but it has now had a cheap looking homogenised makeover to look like every other precinct in the country. Just go to Didcot, Kidlington, Wantage or any other small town in Britain and you will see that their shopping precincts have had the exact same tasteless facelift. Some may have a 'Greggs' and some may have a 'Percy Ingle', some may have a 'Starbucks' and some may have a 'Costa'; but basically they are all the same place.
They built that fake castle in Oxford; could they not have applied the same principles to Abingdon's precinct; at least giving some shops tacky faux tudor facades. Instead of this gaudy red brick and yellow sandstone theme that seems to be pervading all of England's shopping centres. If you have eyes and any grip whatsoever on aesthetics you will see that it looks horrible and needs to be torn down to ruble and left as blitz-kreig-esque memorial to the days of yor.
Get a grip; your assessment is outdated and completely off the mark. We're lucky that Scottish Widows has invested in Abingdon. The significant number of independent shops in the town, some of which are based in the precinct, can only survive if we have greater footfall. A minority of large shops which pull in more people is a necessity for us to build a vibrant town centre. The design, albeit not perfect, broadly represents the character of the town with gable ends and coloured facades. Large windows are a given in the 21st century and most shoppers (I'm not one of them) prefer this experience. Abingdon is nothing like Didcot, so let's not make ridiculous comparisons. The re-development of the Crown and Thistle, Nag's Head, Old Gaol and precinct clearly demonstrate that given extremely difficult economic conditions, people are investing in the town. If you've got that much of a downer on it, why don't you move to an exclusive area like Woodstock or Chipping Norton. Otherwise, start saying something positive!
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