Category: Thame news

THAME councillors are disappointed that Park Street has not been included in an extended Designated Drinking Area Order (DDAO), that seeks to prevent anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol use in the town.
According to the Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, speaking at a meeting of the town’s Planning Committee, the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) also regrets the omission of Park Street but the police have apparently said that they would be unable to police Park Street.

That particular street has been the focus of vandalism and anti-social behaviour, associated with alcohol mis-use by young people who have obtained alcohol from a near-by store.

Southern Road and Moreton Lane have also been left out of the revised DDAO.

Those streets and recreational areas included in the new DDAO can be viewed by going to the TEXT

A THAME town councillor has been dropped because she did not attend enough meetings.
The council said that because Claire Walker “failed to attend meetings throughout a period of six consecutive months, under Section 85 of the 1972, she ceases to be a member of Thame Town Council.”

Claire Walker, a Conservative party candidate, was elected to Thame Town Council at the last local elections in May last year, along with her husband, District Cllr, Richard Walker. He resigned from the town council last week but will continue to carry out his duties as district councillor.

The couple run a pub in Thame and have two young children.

At an Extraordinary meeting of the town council last night (15/04), the town clerk, Helen Stewart said: “Had there been an apology before the six months, a Leave of Absence could have been considered.”

Following the publication of a notice of the vacancies by the town council today, 10 voters in the South Ward must submit a written request to the Returning Officer, Council Offices, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8PH, within 14 working days, that they wish a By election to be held. Otherwise the council can co-opt two new council members themselves.

A NEW football facility for Thame came a step nearer last night, when Thame Town Council’s planning committee unanimously voted for amendments to plans already approved by them. The decision came despite representations from residents in the vacinity of the proposed new development, and members of the Lea Park Residents Association, who feared increased noise levels, parking problems in residential streets, vandalism, litter and light pollution from flood lighting.

The committee were discussing amendments to the original plan, amendments which removed a planned Marquee and relocated the East stand and turnstiles.

Tim Green, Chairman of the Thame Football Partnership, told the opposition: “We have been working alongside local councils for two and a half years. We believe that this proposal makes best use of the area and that we have taken into consideration all your concerns. We believe it is in the best area and will keep a very strict eye on noise levels etc. All of our children do need somewhere to play their recreation and this is the best location available to us.”

Cllr David Laver summed up the feelings of most councillors when he said: “We are sympathetic with some of the concerns and there is little doubt that there will be a slight increase in traffic. We were not happy that there was enough car parking in the original plans but we have been assured that there will not be many late-night functions – the removal of the planned marquee will help there.
“There will inevitably be some noise on match days, as there was in Windmill Road but with modern flood lighting, as has been installed at the rugby club, that should not be such a problem. The Partnership has gone some way to address some of our concerns and we should support this application.”

FIRE investigators suspect that a van fire in Long Crendon over the weekend, was the result of arson.
Shortly after 8pm on Sunday evening (13/04), a fire crew from Thame was sent to deal with a van fire at Chearsley Road, Long Crendon.
It appears that the vehicle, a two year-old white van, was full of builder’s equipment and had been abandoned behind a barn in the village before being set alight.

Photo: for illustrative purposes only

THE body of an elderly woman, believed to be that of 84-year-old Molvie ?Molly? Chambers, was found in a field near Wheatley at around 7am yesterday morning (13/4).
Molly went missing from Headington on Friday evening (11/4), after wandering off from her carer during a shopping trip.

She was seen at approximately 5.10 pm around the A40 at Thornhill Park and Ride, walking towards London and then again at 6.55pm on the London Road towards Asda, having just passed Church Road.

Molly was black, around 5ft 1ins, skinny, with black hair and was wearing a bright purple headscarf. She was wearing a black coat, blue pleated skirt, and black boots.

She was described as liable to becoming confused and due to her age and vulnerability, officers launched a search operation on Friday night and have been checking many locations since then.

Any one with information is asked to contact the Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505

Photo: ‘Molly’ Chambers

THAME Town Council is to investigate the cost of leasing Christmas lights for the town, the current bulb festoons, which the council owns, costing around

FOLLOWING a meeting of Thame Town Council’s Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee on Tuesday evening (08/040, here is a round up of news arising, including youth issues:-
* Grants are being sought from the FA and others for re-seeding of the grass play area at Churchill Crescent, and for the provision of a better, all-weather surface for the hard-standing play area.

* SKATE PARK – The company that installed the ramps has not been responding to letters from the council about their responsibility to re-paint the ramp. The council has therefore obtained some paint from another source and after applying some to a small area, is monitoring its durability. In the meantime, the council is looking for another specialist company to take on the maintenance of the skate park which apparently, only has a life span of about 10 years. Councillors agreed that they need to be looking towards having to replace what Cllr David Laver called: “..this worthwhile and well used” facility.

* GRASS CUTTING – The council has taken over all grass cutting on the town side of the by-pass that is within the 30mph limit, and is asking residents to report to them any areas it may miss.

* YOUTH ISSUES – The committee’s recently formed Youth Issues Working Group is to distribute work sheets to groups likes the Scouts and Guides, Youth Theatre, Rugby Club, Youth Centre etc, to gain information and feedback about issues effecting young people. The YIWG’s Terms of Reference are:
“….to look at ways of bridging the gap between the Town Council and young people in the core age range of (11-18 yrs) in the community.
“The bridge should be developed as a two-way structure, enabling councillors to be proactive in contacting young people and for young people to be involved in community projects of all kinds.
“The ultimate aim is to form a widely represented strong and effective Youth Council for Thame or Forum where regular communiction between the parties can take place, influencing the decisions made by the Town Council.”
The group has previously met with the Thame Youth Worker, Nicola Francis and some young people at the skate park.
Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods said that the council needed to get to the ‘disaffected’ as well as those already in organised groups.

* YOUTH SHELTER – Five years after a Youth Shelter was promised, and a subsequent consultation exercise came up with prefered sites, i.e. Queen Elizabeth circle and the Southern Road recreation ground, the YIWG is to make a youth shelter its priority. (There was opposition from some residents in both areas)

“You will get some opposition from the vociferous few wherever it goes,” said Cllr Champken-Woods. “We just have to grasp the nettle.”

Cllr Mike Dyer said: “We should ask the young people themselves how they are going to police it!”

Cllr Beatrice Dobie said that circumstances had changed since Southern Road was looked at, in that the residents had accepted an enlarged guide hut. “A youth shelter may be a bridge too far,” she said.

The CLR committee agreed that the WIWG should go away and come back with recommendations as to where, what costs, what funding is available, what style of shelter etc.

* FRIENDS OF ELM PARK – Following a meeting with the Neighbourhood Action Group, it seems that Elms Park is the biggest problem for the police with regard to drink, anti-social behaviour and drugs. The group apparently feels that the whole area needs re-designing to include new fencing, more planting and more equipment for older, young people.
The possibility of a Park Warden is being looked into and possible sources of funding such as “Parks For People.” The council are also considering locking the gates at night.

* CUTTLEBROOK – printing of a new leaflet going forward. Duke of Edinburgh Award students from Lord Williams’s school have been involved in work parties but the Management need for volunteers.

* FISHING LAKE – The Town Clerk is to look into where the council is with this scheme which has gone quiet lately.

FOLLOWING a public consultation, it is clear that most of those who took part (13% of those sent the questionaire form) want Thame’s September fair to remain in the High Street.

However, the majority, including the Police, want it to end at 10pm instead of 11pm as at present.

The town council carried out the consultation following complaints about noise, smell and anti-social behaviour from residents near by.

In the future, the town council will have to take over complete responsibility for stewarding and for security whilst the fair is in the town centre, and if it remains open after 10pm, will have to pay the police to patrol the fair.

The council is currently re-negotiating its agreement with the Showmen’s Guild, which runs out in September 2009, and says that it intends to “take a hard line” over the size and positioning of rides which over the last few years, the fair has “pushed to the limits.”

The findings will go the full council next month.

A By-election in Thame seems likely, following the standing down of two Thame town councillors, one of whom is also a district councillor.
Husband and wife, Claire and Richard Walker, who stood under the Conservative Party unbrella at the last local elections, have said that “business and family reasons” lay behind their stepping down.
Richard and Claire have two young daughters and run the Star and Garter pub in Kingsey Road, Thame.

The Walker’s departing from Thame Town Council comes days after another councillor, Adam Backland, stepped down from the town council’s Open Spaces Working Group.

Cllr Buckland was vociferous in his opposition to the council’s choice of play equipment for the refurbishment of the Southern Road recreation ground, particularly critical of the fact that a consultation exercise revealed that the majority of older children questioned wanted a Zip wire included in the scheme, and that a majority of the younger children questioned chose a different scheme to the one selected by councillors.
(See report
of that meeting)
Other councillors said that they had to consider wider aspects of the schemes, like whether the tenders received met the specification and whether they represented good value for money.

Cllr Buckland said: “I think it is time for the older, more sceptical councillors to go and meet the young people themselves. As a member of the Youth Working Group, I was beginning to feel as though I was banging my head against a brick wall sometimes. Those of us who went and sought the views of young people would come back to the council with their ideas but nothing seem to get done.”

FOUR fire crews were called to Park Street, Thame, in the early hours of this morning to tackle a fire in a bedroom in a first floor flat.
The fire is not believed to be suspicious and it is not known if anyone was injured at this stage.

More information later as it becomes available.