Category: Thame news

THE Buckinghamshire women who was seriously injured in a two-car road crash in Tiddington yesterday, remains in a stable condition in hospital today.
She had to be cut from her Volvo car by firecrew from Thame and Wheatley, using hydraulic rescue equipment and specialist cutting gear, whilst being treated by Paramedics and an Emergency Doctor. She was taken to hospital by Ambulance.

Thame Watch Manager, Andy Ford, said today: “This was a very serious crash in which one person was killed and another seriously injured. The Fire and Ambulance crews worked hard to release the second lady from her vehicle by removing the roof and spreading the car dash uderwhich she was trapped. The Volvo she was in is a substantial car and not the easiest of vehicles to release someone from in such a heavy collision. It is a testament to the professionalism of the Fire crews and their use of the specialist equipment that enabled us to free her in such short time.?

The A418 was closed for almost four hours following the crash and the Police are appealing for witnesses. They are particularly keen to trace the driver of an orange coloured van who would have witnessed the incident.

Anyone with any information about the incident should call PC Richard Hale, at Abingdon Roads Policing, via 0845 8 505 505.

THE Chair of Thame Hospital?s League of Friends, Sarah Taylor, has welcomed plans to redevelop the hospital but described trying to move forward the redevelopment plans as like ?pushing a rock up hill.?
At the League?s AGM last Wednesday (24/09), the guest speaker was Richard Mills, Director for System Reform, Bucks Primary Care Trust (PCT), who stated that, although the Trust is looking at possible alternative sites for a new 24 bed hospital development, use of the present site and buildings was far more likely, for geographical reasons among others, and that the details would probably take two to three years to decide on.

Richard Mills said that he was impressed by the amount of advocacy the ?Friends? and the town were able to muster, and stated that the development would probably include community facilities.

Norman Brand put in a strong plea for the work of the Day Centre, its members and its members’ families and friends, which was appreciated by Richard Mills who accepted the importance of the day centre?s work.

WHAT IS PROPOSED?

What is proposed is a 24 bed hospital plus many ancillary services, a diagnostic centre, plus existing services like physiotherapy. Those involved in the project are looking to work with partners in Mental Health, the Children?s centre and Social Services.
It is anticipated that there could be a possible hold up with the planning authorities at some point, explained Sarah, so time scales are difficult to project.

Some concerns were expressed about possible problems, still to be resolved, about keeping facilities going during the building work. Apparently, the GPs would prefer a green field development as giving greater scope but there seems little doubt that it would be a more expensive way to go. It would take longer because of planning issues but on the other hand, it would make it much easier to keep services going during the development.

?When we have enough material and information, we can start fund raising,? continued Sarah. ?It will cost a lot more than the

THE Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal collision that happened in Tiddington, near Thame, late this afternoon (1/10).
The collision, between a silver Ford Fiesta and a red Volvo V70, happened on Oxford Road (A418), between Tiddington and Shabbington, at 3.26pm.

The driver of the Fiesta, a woman from London in her 30s, died on her way to hospital. The driver of the Volvo, a woman from Buckinghamshire, has been taken to the JR2 Hospital with serious injuries. Her condition is not thought to be life threatening.

Oxford Road re-opened shortly after 7pm.

Police are appealing for witnesses and are particularly keen to trace the driver of an orange coloured van who would have witnessed the incident.

Anyone with any information about the incident should call PC Richard Hale, at Abingdon Roads Policing, via 0845 8 505 505.

THE Chairman of the 21st Century Thame Partnership has responded to yesterday’s statement from the town council, about ‘joining up the dots’ to form a vision for Thame’s future.
Thame businessman, Keith Slater, said today: “21st Century Thame, as the community partnership, is very keen that all sections of the community are involved in determining the future direction of the town, as that was the purpose for which it was established as a result of the Health check some five years ago.”

He continued: “A significant number of projects have been realised as a result of the work of the partnership and it has attempted for some time to get agreement to larger projects for which funding is available from SEEDA (South East Economic Development Agency), funding which has been very sucessfully utilised for

WITH so many pressures emerging on its future economic and cultural development, some of the key institutions that will deliver those changes are beginning to get together to build a vision for Thame’s future.
Thame’s MP, John Howell, recently chaired a seminar for the town, district and county councils, as well as the police and local health groups.
In a statement following the meeting, Thame Town Council released the following statement from its town clerk, Helen Stewart:

“We wanted to get agreement from our town councillors that we should grasp the nettle in pulling an overall blueprint for the town together. We wanted also to make sure that our key institutional partners would support us before we talked to the public and to the many groups active in the town?s future. This is a great opportunity.
“Today?s meeting was only the first stage. Now we can go out with confidence to work with those groups who have the town?s future at heart and are already working on projects.”

John Howell MP added: “A tremendous amount of work has been done already on different aspects of the town?s future. South Oxfordshire District Council, for example, has been active in helping the town?s economic development. Many volunteer groups are actively taking forward individual projects.
?What emerged today was a need for the town council to show leadership in playing a co-ordinating role across all these activities.”

Thame’s County Cllr, Nick Carter, commented: “Thame is about to face a number of large new developments. It would be utter madness if these were dealt with on an individual stand-alone basis.”
He concluded: “Today we have started by getting local authorities on side and I look forward to playing any role I can in involving the community in designing the town?s future.”

Photo: Thame from the air, with the Cattlemarket in North Street, top right, which will soon come up for redevelopment when the cattlemarket moves to a new site on the present Thame show ground.

SOME residents across the county are being given the chance to tell councils what it is like to live in the area and what issues really matter to them.
A comprehensive survey about satisfaction with public services and community involvement will be hitting the doormats across Oxfordshire from this week.

More than 14,000 residents will have the chance to have their say and help shape the provision of public services. The residents have been picked from a random sample.

The survey is being run by the six councils in Oxfordshire and is part of a national Place Survey programme, so the feedback from Oxfordshire could not only help shape the way things are run in the county,
but across the country too.

The survey, which is being run by independent company MRUK, will ask residents aged 18 and over to comment on their immediate neighbourhood, public services and if they get involved in their community.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “As councils we are all keen to hear what our residents are thinking and what they want from us. There is no substitute for hearing from the
horse’s mouth. I urge people from every corner of Oxfordshire to get involved and give us their views. We can then use that information to guide us in our policy making.”

Cllr Ann Ducker, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Good or bad, we want to hear what our residents think of our services. If residents aren’t happy with the way we’re running them, they need to tell us so we can do something about it. By taking part in this survey residents can really make a difference to the way we deliver services in the future. I encourage anyone who receives one to
fill it in and help us continue to improve our services and the quality of life in South Oxfordshire.”

NB The Place Survey is a requirement of the Government and is run according to Government stipulation. The survey was jointly commissioned by the six councils as it was the most cost effective and
efficient way of doing it.

Any responses must be in by December 19.

THAME’S new Rector was officially installed yesterday, when the Bishop of Dorchester officiated at his induction in St Mary’s Church, Thame.
The Mayor of Thame, Don Butler, and representatives from the local schools, Guides, Scouts and Cubs, all welcomed the Rev Alan Garrett, as part of the formal procedure to install him as the new vicar.

Also present were the Deputy Lord Lieutanant of Oxfordshire, the Bishop of Dorchester,Colin Fletcher, members of Alan’s previous congregation in Haselmere, and those of St Mary’s church itself.

Alan Garrett and his wife, Trish, have a teenage son still living at home, and two other children in their 30’s who have ‘flown the nest.’

Alan, who replaces the previous incumbant, Nick Stewart-Lee, is also the Team Rector for eight other local village churches, together with St Mary’s, known as the Thame Team, and leads the prayers at Barley Hill church.

Photo: The Rev Alan Garrett

ALTHOUGH Thame councillors have congratulated themselves on a vertually trouble-free fair last weekend, they have been warned that they will have to look at the cost implications again before next year’s fair.
Last weekend’s was the first fair that the town council has had to be responsible for the event’s Health and Safety. In taking on that responsibility, the Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, told councillors at a meeting of the Culture and Leisure Committee on Tuesday, that she personallly spent 80 hours of work in the run-up to the event and that her Projects Officer, Cassie Pinnells, who was on site at 7am on Saturday morning, spent 62 hours involved with the fair.

Committee members heard that despite 15,000 people coming into the town for the fair, there was one arrest for possession of a dangerous weapon, one incidence of anti-social behaviour and one heart attack. The police had got wind of a massive group having signed up on the social networking site, Face Book, intent on causing trouble at the fair and had prevented any trouble.

Several councillors remarked on how clean the town looked after the fair had left, and paid tribute to the success of the planning by all concerned.

NB More notes of interest from the Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee meeting, on ‘Other News’

AFTER seven years with an under-performing investment portfolio, Thame Town Council has decided to move its funds into a cash account.
At an extraordinary meeting last night, councillors voted unanimously to transfer the remaining

A RECENT decision to approve outline planning permission for houses on the old Thame United site, may now not be legitimate.
It has been revealed that two residents of properties close to the the site in Windmill Road, Thame, have said that they were not notified about the Planning committee meeting at South Oxfordshire District Council on September 17, and so were unable to make representations against the development.

The district council has now to decide whether or not to bring the application back to the planning committee to be re-considered.

The following are the conditions on which the outline planning permission was granted:

“a) Oxfordshire County Council to secure financial contributions towards education, libraries, waste management, museum services, social and health care and highway improvements
b) South Oxfordshire District Council to provide for 40 per cent affordable housing, payment of a recreation contribution and a community facilities contribution and alternative provision made for the Football Club and subject to the views of Thames Water and the Environment Agency and the following conditions:

1. Approval of reserved matters prior to commencement
2. Submission of reserved matters within three years
3. Commencement within three years or two years of
final approval of reserved matters
4. Tree protection
5. Restrict hours of work usage during construction
6. Reserved matters application shall include a
scheme for the provision of public art.