People voting on the future of Abingdon’s Abbey Meadow have overwhelmingly called for the outdoor pool to be retained. Earlier this year residents were asked to have their say on which of three options they would like to see happen in order to improve Abbey Meadow, the most popular park in the Vale of White Horse, which is located on the banks of the River Thames in Abingdon. The responses to the consultation have now been published and can be read at www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/theabbeyproject. Over 3,100 people took part in the consultation, with more than 80 per cent voting for option A – a place to swim and play, which would see the pool retained along with a number of improvements being made to the wider area. Many commenting on the survey were concerned about the potential loss of the pool, feeling that it ‘is a unique asset which brings many benefits to local residents’, and ‘makes Abingdon a more distinctive place’. Other options that people could vote for included: A place to relax and unwind (ten per cent), and A flexible outdoor space (nine per cent). Both of these options would have required the outdoor pool to be removed in order to free up the space and funding required. Following the consultation, Vale of White Horse District Council has agreed to appoint a project manager to investigate the cost of retaining the pool and delivering the most popular improvements using the £500,000 budgeted for the project. Alongside retaining the pool, residents were also keen to see a number of improvements to the wider area including new picnic tables and seating, refurbished changing rooms, adventure play equipment for the over 10s, enhancing the splash pad and improving the kiosk. Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of White of White Horse District Council, said: “We were very pleased with the level of response to the consultation, it clearly showed how much people care about the area. Following the overwhelming support for the option that included retaining the pool and making other improvements we’ll now look at how we can best use the funding we have available to support this. Ideally some of the improvements will be in place by the time the pool opens for business next year.”