Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

Old Gaol feasibility study

In November 2004 the Vale and Oxfordshire County Council commissioned research from ABL Cultural Consulting into the feasibility of the Old Gaol site being used for community use, including space for a cinema, theatre, museum and library, as well as commercial space. The scheme would have cost around £20million in capital and would have had up to £500,000 a year revenue costs. The consultants predicted there would be no grant funding available for such a scheme and that the demand would be limited, due to other facilities available both within Abingdon and in the surrounding area.

Both the Vale and Oxfordshire County Council agreed that the costs were prohibitive and Abingdon Town Council, which considered moving the town museum into the Old Gaol complex, also accepted it would not be able to afford its part in the scheme.

The Council formally accepted the report findings at a meeting of the Executive held on 2nd September 2005.

The report and relevant documents can be viewed and downloaded below:

• Introduction   
• Chapter 2 - Strategic context
• Chapter 3 - Catchment analysis
• Chapter 4 - Analysis of needs 
• Chapter 5 - Potential partners   
• Chapter 6 - Funding   
• Chapter 7 - Exploring the options   
• Chapter 8 - Conclusion   
• Appendix 1 - Consultation list   
• Appendix 2 - Research list  
• Appendix 3 – Drawings of option 3B   
• Appendix 4 - Capital costs breakdown  
• Appendix 5 - Capital costs for option A   
• Appendix 6 - Revenue cost breakdown   
• Appendix 7 - Operational budgets for option A