Category: Thame news

ON Monday 20th May, between 1:30pm and 3pm, a vehicle parked in the High Street, Thame was broken into.

Offender/s gained entry to the vehicle by forcing the locks and stole tools from the back of the van.

Please be extra vigilant. If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101 and state you are responding to a Thames Valley Alert message.

Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

A GROUP of individuals who found fault with the Thame Neighbourhood Plan and campaigned against it during the pre-referendum stage, have formalised their association under the heading of A BETTER PLAN FOR THAME GROUP.

The group has stated that it intends to present a series of arguments to Thame citizens, the first of which is aimed at revising the plan: “….to be more of a plan and less of a series of vague and obvious objectives,” appears in the Letter to the Editor
PHOTO: For illustrative purposes only – Courtesy of landlordreferencing.co.uk

A pre-school aged child was taken from Thame to hospital this morning (20/05/13), suffering from burns.

LATEST: The child is now back at home, after an incident apparently involving hot tea.

The South Central Ambulance Service was called to the hall next to St Joseph’s Catholic school in Thame, at 10.12 am this morning, to attend a young child suffering from burns.

A rapid response vehicle as well as an ambulance and the Air Ambulance attended the scene, but the child was taken to Stoke Mandeville hospital by road.

The extent of the child’s burns is not known at this time, nor has the cause of the burns been confirmed.

A 17 year-old male from Thame was amongst 32 people charged with public order offences, following disorder at a football match between Oxford United and Bristol Rovers.

Arrests were made in connection with Operation Boots, following disorder prior to the match at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, on Saturday, February 9, 2013.

The youth, who was charged under Section 4A of the public order act 1986, cannot be named for legal reasons.

PHOTO: Courtesy of http://www.oufc.co.uk/

BETWEEN 3:30pm on (16/5) and 5pm on (18/5) offender/s gained entry to two vehicles parked in Thame Road and Roundhead Drive, Thame.

A water leak detection system was stolen from an insecure vehicle in Thame Road and number plates stolen from a vehicle parked in Roundhead Drive.

Please be extra vigilant. If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101 and state you are responding to a Thames Valley Alert message.

Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

SOURCE: Thames Valley Police Alert

PROPOSALS that could have seen a new, four-runway airport built at Haddenham, near Thame, have been scotched by Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd, who commissioned work to look into such a possibility.

In a letter responding to one sent by Thame’s MP, John Howell, expressing the concern of many of his constituents about such a proposal, HAH Ltd have said: “We believe that maintaining a strong hub airport in the UK is of vital importance to our economy, jobs, investment and trade.”

“The story that appeared in Aviation Week recently, concerned early drafts of (these) concepts developed by our consultants. We do not endorse the designs and I can confirm that we will not be proposing plans for a new airport as part of our submission to The Airports commission in July.”

John Howell said today: “The news brings to an end the saga of a proposed new airport at Haddenham. The proposal was put forward in order to convince the Airports Commission that Heathrow had done a full job in looking at alternatives.

“?I am glad that Heathrow has confirmed that Haddenham is not a serious proposition. The letter confirms that the airport is interested in a strong hub airport which presumably means it is interested in expanding at Heathrow. This should come as welcome relief to Thame and to the surrounding villages as far south as Henley who would be affected by noise from takeoffs and landings.?

THE long held tradition of Thame town councillors standing to speak at council meetings, was consigned to the past this week when Thame Town Council changed its Standing Orders to the effect that councillors will no longer be required to stand to address meetings through the Mayor in the Chair. Only Cllr Don Butler insisted on standing when his turn to speak came round.

A FORMER Mayor of Thame, has this evening been elected as the first Independent Vice Chair of South Oxfordshire District Council. Cllr Anne Midwinter has represented Thame South Ward on the district council since 2003. Anne has been a stalwart of the local British Legion and the Thame Show and has been deeply influencial in the work of local housing associations.

THAME Town Council is beginning to plan how it will take the Thame Neighbourhood Plan forward, and announced at its AGM on Tuesday (May 14) that it will hold regular Neighbourhood Plan Monitoring meetings to which the public will be able to attend.

THE rate of recycling in South Oxfordshire is beginning to slip, warned the District Councillor largely responsible for taking SODC to the top of the national league for recycling rates. Cllr David Dodds told the town council on Tuesday: “All though we are still doing reasonably well in the district, there are slightly worrying signs that recycling is beginning to edge down.

“The fact that food waste is slightly down could be a good thing, in that people are not wasting so much food. The main concern is that residual waste, that which goes to landfill, is slightly up. Soon that waste will be going to an incinerator to produce electricity, but we need to make sure that everyone keeps up the good work.”

CLLR Dodds also announced that the next ‘deep clean’ operation will take place in Lea Park, in Thame. His fellow District Cllr, David Bretherton, made a plea to Cllr Dodds that Towersey Drive been given priority for a deep cleanse.

DURING the Notice of Motions section of Thame Town Council’s AGM, Cllr Mary Stiles asked the

THAME’S new Mayor, Cllr Peter Lambert, who was elected last night, has revealed how he and his wife only intended to stay for four weeks when they arrived in Thame four years ago, and spoke of his aspirations for the coming year.

In his acceptance speech, in front of a packed public gallery which included patrons from his pub, The Cross Keys, and his parents who had come all the way from Essex, Cllr Lambert said: ” I came to Thame only four years ago with my wife Trudi on the premise of running a pub here for only four weeks. However, the warm welcome we received made us realise what a special town Thame truly is.

“If you had told me that four years down the line I would be Mayor, I would have told you to stop being ridiculous, but with encouragement from other councillors and customers at the pub, here I am.”

The retiring Mayor, Cllr Nigel Champken Woods, said that his “….had not been the easiest of years as Mayor, with one or two interesting days over the Neighbourhood Plan,” but that “the crowning glory had been getting the plan through.”

“Now the hard work begins!” he concluded.

Cllr Lambert announced some interesting ideas for fundraising for his chosen charities, including a snooker night, a cribbage night and a Council Review night in the Players Theatre, Thame – one of his chosen charities. The other is Thame SAFARI, which stands for SELF ADVOCACY FOR ADULTS REQUIRING INDEPENDENCE. The charity helps a small group of adults with learning disabilities that join together once a month at Thame Barns Centre.

THE MAYOR’S ASPIRATIONS FOR HIS YEAR

Business recycling

“One of the things I would like to improve in Thame is business recycling. SODC do everything they can to encourage residents to recycle as much as they can. This drive is proving to be successful within the county. In fact, SODC have won awards for their efforts. However, nothing is done to encourage businesses to recycle. By choice, as a business we pay in excess of

FOLLOWING reports of future site options for a new airport hub in the Southeast, including one for Haddenham near Thame, the town’s MP, John Howell, has written to both the chairman of Heathrow Airport Holdings and to the Secretary of State for Transport seeking further information.

In his letters, the MP has asked for assistance in making publicly available the contents of the plan ‘so that it can be seen in its true context’.

In his letters, John Howell points out that the proposed Haddenham airport would be half way to Birmingham Airport and on the doorstep of Oxford airport.

The MP has also pointed out that the existence of plans for an airport this close to Thame could have been revealed as part of the Neighbourhood Planning process.

Out of four proposed locations for consideration, the Haddenham site would perhaps be the most controversial, as the proposed layout suggests the virtual removal of two villages, Chearsley and Long Crendon.

The advantages of a Haddenham airport are that the location is close to major transport links, the M40 and the Chiltern mainline route into London. Haddenham is also within a few miles of the government’s planned High Speed 2 (HS2) rail route to Birmingham, a move that, it is said, would boost transport times into Central London.

Heathrow Airport officials apparently told Aviation Week: “….the documents are early drafts developed by consultants last year. They are not designs that have been endorsed by Heathrow Airport. Heathrow will be making its considered submission to the Airports Commission in July.?