Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

CHINNOR Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group says it is determined to continue developing its plan despite last week’s announcements that outline planning permissions have been granted for 200 dwellings in the village, after successful appeals by Taylor Wimpey and Cemex Ltd.

Outline planning permission has been granted by England’s Planning Inspectorate to build 80 homes near Greenwood Meadow and 120 homes near Crowell Road.

Chinnor Parish Council decided to sponsor a Neighbourhood Plan (NP) in March 2015. It was recognised when the NP started in March 2015 that land for these developments was already in the hands of the developers and planning applications well under way. So it was unlikely that the Neighbourhood Plan would be at a stage where it would be able to influence the progress of these developments.

‘We can still influence what is built’

Peter Brook, Secretary ofthe Chinnor Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group said: “Nevertheless the Plan is proceeding, strongly supported by Chinnor Parish Council, because these planning permissions are only outline so there is a way to go yet and much that the Plan can influence. Objectives of the Plan include ensuring that the type and size of houses to be built will meet future needs of the residents of Chinnor, and that the facilities needed in Chinnor to support future developments such as schools, health facilities and infrastructure are provided as a condition of any development. The developers do not have a free hand. Planning Conditions are attached to all planning application. The Neighbourhood Plan can influence not just future developments but these developments as well.”

The Steering Group will be sending out a Housing Needs Survey to all households in Chinnor, Henton, Wainhill and Emmington, which it says will be a cornerstone for constructing the Plan.

‘We need Chinnor residents to get behind the plan’

“It is hoped that residents will get behind the NP team, by responding to surveys, attending consultation events and giving feedback so that work can proceed to produce a robust plan that will pass scrutiny and reach completion as soon as possible,” added Peter.

Zena Baker, Steering Group member responsible for the NP Steering Group Website added: “We need to join up as a community, and work towards ensuring that any development undertaken will meet all current requirements along with the extensive expansion to Chinnor’s infrastructure which will be required to support an enlarged residential area. We cannot let these approved appeals tear us apart. Let’s demonstrate that we can work together as a community, and complete the Neighbourhood Plan for the benefit of all our Chinnor residents for the years to come.

“The recent Inspectors’ reports are currently being urgently examined by the SODC Planning Officers and its legal team, to understand the findings against planning regulations and to identify the potential implications for the district. This information will be provided to the councillors and Parishes with a current interest, when this has been completed, along with advice on the way forward.”

‘Doing nothing is not an option’

Zena concluded: “The message to Chinnor residents is that we do need your participation and help to make the Neighbourhood Plan a success. Doing nothing is not an option! There are many ways in which you can help whether it be in the Steering Group, as a member of a Focus Group or just as a volunteer helper able to distribute leaflets and communications, report progress to your neighbours, get involved with surveys, or collate information for the Steering Group to work from.”

Chinnor Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group can be contacted via: Email: Chinnorneighbourplan@outlook.com,

Website: www.chinnorneighbourplan.com and Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinnorNeighbourhoodPlan

JUST after 7pm last night (15 October,) emergency services were called to a two vehicle collision on the A40 London Rd, near Milton Common.

Two fire appliances from Slade and Wheatley fire stations attended the scene along with the Specialist Rescue Vehicle from Kidlington.

On arrival the crews were faced with two vehicles which had been involved in a head on collision with the driver of a van trapped in his seat by the contents of the rear load area.

Firefighters used cutting equipment to gain access to the vehicle and extricate the driver before handing him over to colleagues from South Central Ambulance Service who also attended the scene.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue said: “The swift attendance of the crews and the ability to get specialist equipment and knowledge to the scene quickly, undoubtable limited the time the driver was trapped and allowed him to be treated by the medical teams.

“Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service would like to remind the public of the dangers posed by any unrestrained items within their vehicles.”

Incident Commander Will McPhail from the Slade Fire Station in Oxford, said: “The gentleman involved was lucky not to be more seriously injured, the whole unrestrained load in the rear of the vehicle had been thrown forward during the collision pinning him to the steering wheel. If these items had been secured the driver would probably have been able to get out of his vehicle himself.”

If you have a road safety question, call the free phone community safety helpline on 08000 325 999 or email: community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk.

ON the day when the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council has announced that a further £50 million worth of cuts are on the way, a plan to hand down responsibility for some services normally carried out by the county council, to town and parish councils, has been met with caution by Thame Town Councillors.

Under the umbrella of ‘Localism’ – Working together‘,  “Giving communities control over local services“, OCC admits that the proposal is aimed at saving them money, by stating: “Reductions in funding for local government coupled with rising demand for services mean that we have to change the way we deliver public services, with a shift towards enabling people and communities to take ownership of local priorities. We will continue to provide community leadership and foster partnership working, whilst recognising that the days when the council could deliver all services to all people have gone.” (More HERE)

The county council says that it believes local communities will benefit through better value for money, improved quality of service and a more responsive service. Such things as Highways services like grass and tree cutting, salt bins, School Crossing Patrols, public toilets and even potholes could be delegated down. It suggests that ways of implementing the services could include the use of volunteers and ‘Social enterprise groups’.

Scepticism from Town Counillors

Cllr Mike Dyer, Chair of Thame Town Council’s Policy and Resources committee, which discussed the proposal at its meeting on Tuesday (13/10), was sceptical, describing one definition of ‘Localism’ as “fending for themselves.” He added however, that the town council would need to consider very carefully, what it wants to take on, how it would do it, and think about some of the opportunities and challenges.

“There may be some initiatives like car parking that we might feel we can do better,” he said.

Cllr Bob Austin said that it was not clear what finances would be devolved down and that he feared town hall staff would be over-loaded.

Cllr Dyer added: “We need to find formulae that suit us. If we don’t take on somethings, they just won’t get done. I have heard for instance, that within a couple of years, repairs to minor roads in the county will not get done!”

Cllr David Bretherton said that he was certain that the town council could fill potholes quickly and more efficiently.

Cllr Helena Fickling gave her views on Localism: “Localism sounds fantastic. Central government says ‘get on with it’ and then says that it wants to control it!” She then suggested that OCC should sell its building in Oxford. “For them to be sitting there when everyone else is ‘skint’ is wrong,” she said.

Cllr Nigel Champken Woods was also sceptical: “We need to be careful, “he said. “Their (County Council and SODC) precept (their part of the Community Charge) will stay the same if they’re spending less, but our’s may have to go up and we’re the bad guys!”

 

Won’t the money from the developers of all the new housing help?

The question was raised as to whether any extra money coming in to Thame from having the extra housing, would be enough to make up for the extra pressure on services they will bring. Cllr Catherine Jones asked whether the Government’s announcement that Business Rates would go straight to local councils, might mean that some would come directly to Thame. But Cllr Dyer replied that he thought the Business Rates would be going directly to Oxfordshire County Council but that he understood the Minister, Greg Clark, had been lobbied by smaller councils for them to receive rates directly.

What about the more vulnerable in the community?

The question of the threatened closure of Thame’s Children Centre was raised and youth centre too, and Cllr Helena Fickling suggested that the Children’s Centre might be something the town could take on, but that it would need to know whether the county council would allow the building to remain in the community or  would want to sell it off.

Cllr Nigel Champken Woods added that he thought this particular Localism proposal could have as major an impact on Thame as the Neighbourhood Plan has.

Cllr Bob Austin said: “Things we think we can do better, cheaper, more effectively or imaginatively, we should.”

‘Let’s concentrate on the Neighbourhood Plan’

The Town Clerk, Graham Hunt, remarked: “We would need some guidance about how much it’s going to cost us to look after trees and mend potholes etc. I think we need to concentrate on the Neighbourhood Plan Continuity work and things that we can take on will crop up from that by osmosis through the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.”

The consultation process between Oxfordshire County Council, the district, town and parish councils will go on.

THAME Town Council has decided not to support a proposal for a town centre-wide WiFi system which would have given shoppers, visitors and businesses the ability to go online more easily to find information about the town and events.

Councillors who sit on the town council’s Policy and Resources committee, which met last night (13/10),  were concerned that visitors would not be encouraged to go into local cafes and pubs and other places that have public WiFi already, which would have a detrimental effect on the town centre economy. Others thought that there were sufficient hotspots around the town centre already for people to get internet access.

The proposal, which is part of South Oxfordshire District Council’s Economic Development Plan for Thame, would have cost around £10,000 to install, £5,000 coming from SODC itself and the other half, from matched funding by Thame Town Council.

One of the proposal’s main aims was to encourage ‘longer dwell times’ in the town centre, resulting in greater visitor spending.

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for information after a male pedestrian from Didcot was seriously injured when he was hit by a van.

At around 4.15pm on Monday (Oct 12), a white Volkswagen Transporter Van was travelling on the A418 towards Oxford when it collided with a 69-year-old man at the Thame Road junction with Mill Road in North Weston, near the Shabington turn. The man was seriously injured and taken to hospital.

PC Kevin Crick from Abingdon Roads Policing said: “We urgently require anyone with information that may help us with our investigation to contact us. If you witnessed the collision I would ask you to contact me at Abingdon Roads Policing via the Police Enquiry Centre on the Thames Valley Police non-emergency number 101.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting URN 846 of 12/10.

If you do not want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.