A RIVERSIDE development more than a decade old is continuing to leave Abingdon residents divided.

Cranbourne Homes, which owns the Old Gaol site, submitted an application to Vale of White Horse District Council in February to turn empty restaurant space into three flats and then run its own cafe/wine bar.

A target date for planning officers is tomorrow but civic group The Friends of Abingdon has submitted an objection to the application, citing concerns over the viability of the developer-run cafe/wine bar as well as the impact on the Grade II listed building and access to a riverside garden, which is public open space.

It added: "We are concerned that granting the application may actually make it more difficult to achieve viable use of the whole of the Old Gaol building, and the council’s aim of vibrancy and vitality for the area, in the longer term." The proposal has also been opposed by Abingdon Town Council.

Residents who already live in the flats, however, have submitted a raft of signatures confirming their 'full support' for the plans via Alan Waddon, chairman of the Old Gaol Residents Management Committee.

Old Gaol resident Jackie Reeves commented: "The present development of Costa coffee enhances the courtyard and I feel a wine bar will add to this."

Earlier this year the company also asked to almost double the time allowed to pay off a £1m affordable housing contribution for the site because of struggles filling the empty units.

It is still unknown if this will be granted, however, a spokesperson for Vale confirmed earlier this year the orginal application submitted in December was withdrawn as it was not the 'appropriate route' for a deal under five-years-old.

Controversy dates all the way back to the 2007 sale by Vale. The authority originally valued the site at £6.3m but later revealed it had settled for just over half that – £3.2m – after the global recession in 2008.

Abingdon First, an anonymous group of local residents, wrote an open letter to Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran last month urging her to press for a 'full accounting' of the situtation. Ms Moran responded she had 'serious concerns' about the development to date.

The district council has always maintained while work is ongoing it cannot disclose commercially sensitive information.