Category: Thame news

THAMES’S Jubilee swimming pool will soon cease to be the responsibility of Thame Town Council, which is currently in the process of transferring the management, maintenance and services of the pool to South Oxfordshire District Council.
The pool was built at a cost of

FOLLOWING a private visit to the Romanian mountain resort of Sinaia recently by the Mayor of Thame, the Mayor of Sinaia will be visiting Thame from tomororow, April 9.

Following the visit to Romania, which included Marius Ciortan, originally from Romania himself, his wife Zoe, Town Councillor David Bretherton and his wife Margaret, it was Zoe’s idea to explore forming cultural links between Sinaia and Thame.

The Mayor of Sinaia and four of his Councillors have a busy itinerary including a visit to Barley Hill school on Friday afternoon (09/04/10), a trip to Oxford on Saturday, a visit to Great Haseley Farmers’ Market and a trip to Thame Museum on Sunday, and finally a meeting with Thame Town Council on Monday before flying home later that day.

Any Thame organisations interested in exploring links with Sinaia and meeting the delegation, are being invited to contact Marius Ciortan on:
01844 214992, Mobile: 07764 85 49 49

A Thame pub was raided for the second time in less than three months yesterday (07/04/10) by HM Revenue and Customs.

After seizing a quantity of tobacco and alcohol, Officers arrested a man who was later Bailed pending further enquiries.

Back on January 26, a 67 year-old man was arrested at The Two Brewers pub in North Street, Thame, for possession of a controlled drug (around 1000 pills) with intent to supply, and for tax evasion relating to the possession of approximagtely

AS residents’ groups in Thame rally support against the building of up to 850 new homes in the town, new figures show that the housing crisis is set to intensify in the south east, with insufficient numbers of homes being built here since 2002.

According to the National Housing Federation, who published the figures, they show that too few homes were built in every region in 2008/9, the latest year for which figures are available, with the south east missing its target by a margin of 15%. Over the whole period 2002/3-2008/9, says the Federstion, the south east missed its target by 11%, delivering 186,290 homes against a target of 210,300.

The news comes as a record 4.5m people are on housing waiting lists nationally (over 203,000 in the south east), and more than 2.5m people across the country are living in overcrowded conditions.

Regional targets were introduced by the Government as a way of ensuring that enough homes were built in each region to meet local housing need. They are drawn up by the former regional assemblies in consultation with local authorities, government housing agencies and regional government offices. The first targets were issued under the regional planning guidance system. However, since 2004, says the Federation, targets have been increasingly set through regional spatial strategies.

The National Housing Federation?s south east regional manager, Warren Finney said: ?The aim of putting these targets in place was to give a clear steer to south east planning authorities and government agencies, setting out how many homes can realistically be delivered to meet housing need here.

?While the south east is the region that actually came closest to meeting its target in 2008/9, the figures show a significant shortfall of homes being built in the region over a six year period. The end result is thousands of south east households coping with poor and unsuitable housing.

?Even during the boom years it?s now clear that too few affordable houses were being built and now we?re left with that legacy. Urgent action is required to get housebuilding back on track in the south east, along with every single part of the country.?

He added: ?The Federation is calling on ministers and the opposition parties to commit to protecting the current level of public spending on housing, after the general election, otherwise we will quite simply not see the right number of homes being delivered. If we fail to build the right number of homes now, we will store up even more problems for the future, with waiting lists growing further and homelessness and overcrowding getting worse.?

THE organisers of Thame’s first Arts and Literature Festival, to be held in June, were recently presented with a very welcome cheque by Thame Town Council.

Brian Pattinson, Luise Pattinson and Yvonne Maxwell, who along with Lyndsey Wright make up the Thame Arts & Literature Festival Board of Directors, were presented with a cheque for

RESIDENTS on Thame’s Lea Park Estate were woken in the early hours of Monday morning, April 5, by an incident involving four police cars, an ambulance and a riot van.

In a statement today, Insp Martin Ford, based at Thame police station, said: “Following an incident of criminal damage at a property in Marston Road on Lea Park in Thame, police officers were deployed and they apprehended two persons.

“During the arrest of one of these persons, a police officer sustained injury and was taken to the Hospital. The officer was released from hospital overnight following assessment and treatment.

“Subsequently overnight a further offender was arrested from another address in Thame.”

PHOTO: For illustrative purposes only – Courtesy of http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com

THIS is a Ringmaster message from Thames Valley Police.
The following burglaries have taken place over the bank holiday weekend:

Overnight between 4th & 5th April, Ormond Road, Thame. No signs of forced entry, a handbag & keys were stolen.

Overnight between 4th & 5th April, Montrose Way, Thame. It is believed entry was gained by putting an implement through the letterbox to open the front door. A handbag, games console and car keys were stolen, before stealing the aggrieveds Silver Vauxhall Astra Saloon car.

Monday 5th April, at 03:35hrs, Hazelrig Drive, Thame. Offenders were disturbed by the aggrieved who heard a noise and saw the front door open. The offenders made off and were seen getting into a Silver Vauxhall Vectra car. Three white male offenders were seen, one is described as being in his mid 20’s, 5’8″ in height, large build with a round face and short dark cropped hair.

If you have any information relating to this message, please call the police on 08458 505 505 and state you are responding to a Ringmaster message. If you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

HERE is the latest Thame neighbourhood update from Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) Diane Jackson and Lucy Thorne:

During March, we have seen a rise in burglaries in the Thame area. The Lea Park housing estate has been targeted, with three burglaries reported on 8 March.

We are appealing for witnesses at this time, and would urge anyone with any information, to get in touch. I would also like to stress how important it is to ensure you are securing your property, making sure that doors are locked and secure. Between 16 February and 22 February, approximately 16,000 worth of Toshiba televisions were stolen from a lorry in Rycote Lane. If you saw any suspicious behaviour or have any information relating to this incident, please contact Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505 505.

Crime mapping shows an increase in burglary, since this time 12 months ago due to the recent spate of burglaries in Thame. We will be carrying out extra patrols and routine stop and checks which should help to deter and reduce and incidents crime relating in our area.

On 22 February, an Aylesbury man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, in relation to a fatal crash at Kingsey, near Thame, in May last year. The man is due in court on 2 March 2010. Crime mapping shows that we have had a decrease in anti-social behaviour (ASB), robbery and violent crimes since this time 12 months ago. We have been working closely with young people who have been involved in ASB over the last month and will be conducting home visits to issue warning letters and talk with parents. We continue to conduct high visibility patrols at key times and locations, which has deterred/prevented higher level crimes such as robbery and violence taking place in our neighbourhood.

We continue to conduct high visibility patrols at key times at key locations to work to deter and prevent ASB. We engage with our young people on a regular basis, which allows us to build good relationships should we need to approach and deal accordingly with any ASB. However, there have been two separate seizures of alcohol from large groups of underage young people congregating in our designated non drinking zone. These seizures consisted of mainly cans of cider and bottles of beer, along with wine and vodka. As a result of these, warning letters will be sent out to those identified with the alcohol and extra patrols will be conducted in these areas over coming weeks.

PCSO Jackson has worked closely with PC Russell Hounslow, serving an Anti-Social Behaviour Contract (ABC) to a man in Thame relating to ASB.

Comments on all priorities:
The three NAG priorities for Thame are:
1. Speeding-Chinnor Road/High Street ?Further SID (Speed Indicating Device) operations are planned for these two areas and any other roads identified by Thame residents.
2. Parking.
3. Dog Fouling.

We continue to carry out monthly site inspections with South Oxfordshire Housing Association, South Vale Housing and A2 Dominion. Our site inspection with South Oxfordshire Housing Association during March went very well which resulted in victims of distraction burglary having their level of security reviewed.

Parking issues were also addressed in Chowns Close. All residents will be receiving a letter from South Oxfordshire Housing Association reminding them of acceptable parking arrangements. We have also worked closely to arrange suitable support of vulnerable tenants. Part of our inspection includes reviewing and monitoring the upkeep of gardens as we feel it is important to keep our residential areas looking tidy, providing tenants with a pleasurable place to live.

SOUTH Oxfordshire District Council has teamed up with ASDA to offer a helping hand to parents on a tight budget by offering free sports and activity sessions for kids during the Easter holidays.

It?s not too late to book a place on one of the great holiday activity courses running from 6 – 16 April. Activities range from tennis and netball, to street dance and a fantastic Star:track athletics course run with England Athletics.

The activities are for young people aged 8-13 looking to enjoy their holidays by getting active and maybe
trying something new, with a range of choices across the district.

Getting kids active this summer couldn?t be simpler. To get a free activity voucher all parents need to do is:
● Pop into their local ASDA store and ask for a Sporting Chance
voucher from the checkouts
● Visit the website www.asda-sportingchance.co.uk or call 0113 237
6555 to search for sessions near you
● Call the session provider direct to book a place on 01491
823124
● Enjoy the session – don’t forgot to take along your voucher!

It?s also even easier to book now via the council?s online booking facility available at: www.southoxon.gov.uk/sport

YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

All our sessions are inclusive for people of all abilities. Following demand from local parents, the council is also running an inclusive street dance session for young people with disabilities aged 8-16 years to provide a taster for the six week course
running after the summer at Henley Leisure Centre.

Bill Service, South Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet member for leisure, said: ?We want to encourage young people in the district to get active this Easter and maybe try something new. There?s a range of good choices available, providing the perfect solution to keeping kids active while they’re off school and with the free activity voucher on offer, at no extra cost to families. So this April, why not swap the TV and video games for an exciting activity instead??

PHOTO: For illustrative purposes only (Not necessarily bouncy castle activity available!)

A young Thame car crash victim, given just a 3% chance of survival, has successfully completed a 280 mile cycle ride from Paris to Oxford – and raised over