Category: More News

PUPILS from two local primary schools have impressed the organisers of the Towersey Festival with their winning designs in a competition to design new T-shirts for the festival.

The famed annual Oxfordshire music event challenged nearby schools to create colourful and creative designs inspired by the 51 year-old festival’s rich heritage. Over 100 pupils responded to the call-out with the two winning entries coming from pupils from John Hampden School, Thame, and Aston Rowant primary school.

“We were blown away by the quality of all the entries,” said Towersey Festival Director Joe Heap. “Picking just two winners was a tough task as they were all so imaginative!”

The two winning designs have been turned into T- shirts, available from the festival, which is headlined by Joan Armatrading and Bellowhead, and takes places at Thame Showground from Friday, August 28 to Monday, August 31. Profits from sales of the stylish garments will go directly to the individual schools.

Also, all the entries will be laminated and displayed in the festival’s showground area for all to see.

Tickets to the showground area of the festival at Thame Showground, Kingsey Rd, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3JL , which includes access to a variety of family-friendly workshops and performances, plus Marketplace stalls, gourmet street food and much more, cost just £8/£9 (adult) and £4 (child) for the day (10am-6pm) with under 5’s and car parking free.

For more information see: www.towerseyfestival.com

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for information after eggs were thrown at vehicles. At about 6.45pm on Tuesday (4/8) eggs were thrown at vehicles travelling on the A418 from Thame to Aylesbury. Police now want to speak to anyone whose vehicle was hit or damaged in the incident.

A 23-year-old man from Bampton has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and released on police bail.

Anyone with information can contact PC John Belson from Amersham Roads Policing via the 24-hour Thames Valley Police enquiry centre on 101.

If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers (opens new window) anonymously on 0800 555 111. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

PCSO Natalie White, has good and not-so-good news this month in her report on Community Policing in the town, for last month, July.

A local woman has been issued with a £90 Fixed Penalty Notice for a shoplifting offence at Petals, The Flower Shop in Thame, and Thame PCSOs successfully located and assisted in the apprehension of a shoplifter who had fled shop security in the town. This man was later identified to be part of an organised gang from Aylesbury who were found in possession of a number of stolen items, having committed offences in a number of Thame’s stores.

FEWER DISTURBANCES AT SOUTHERN ROAD RECREATION GROUND

The Southern Road Recreation Ground, which has been an area of concern for some time now regarding low level anti-social behaviour, especially outside the football changing rooms, has seen fewer disturbances from young people gathering in motor vehicles, since more patrols have been carried out in the area.

“However,” reported Natalie, “there is still a significant number of young people frequenting within the recreational area. We would like to reiterate that this area is a designated ‘No alcohol zone’ and we continue to challenge young people and seize alcohol when seen.”

THE POWER OF TWITTER

PCSOs were recently called to Naseby Close, Thame, following a spate of stone throwing at objects and windows on some of the properties. Thanks to an anonymous caller who had seen a Twitter post by PCSO Jacky Madden, they were able to identify the people involved, and as a result the victim’s window damage was paid for and an apology letter written.

THEFTS FROM VEHICLES

The local police have seen a slight increase in Thefts from Vehicles (vehicle parts) and are advising residents to take care when locking their vehicles and where possible, to park vehicles on a driveway or somewhere that is well lit.

OPERATION NETS MOBILE PHONE AND SEAT BELT OFFENDERS

On Thursday, July 23, the Thame neighbourhood team and traffic police ran a motor operation in Thame town centre focusing on drivers using their mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts. As a result, tickets were issued to 30 individuals for seatbelt offences, three mobile phone offences, and three vehicle seizures for no insurance/no tax.

You can read PCSO Natalie White’s full report HERE

THIS week at the Oxfam bookshop in Thame, they are celebrating all things music!

The window features books, CDs and vinyl from various artists and genres. Inside the shop, the Classical CD section has been moved centrally and expanded.

This is the result of a very large (500ish) donation of classical CDs from a donor in Buckingham, as well as a recent donation of Cliff Richard Vinyl.

THAMES Valley Police and Thame Town Council are hoping that someone has information about an act of vandalism at Elms Park yesterday.

The council’s Maintenance Team discovered that the safety surfacing in the play area had been purposely damaged. As a result the area has had to be closed off for safety reasons.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number, 101.

TESCO’S outline planning application to build a supermarket on the DAF site, known as kingsmead Business Park, in Howland Road, Thame, is to be considered by Thame Town Council at a special, full council meeting on Tuesday, August 25.

The meeting will begin at 7.30pm in the Upper Chamber of Thame town hall. The application is for demolition of all existing buildings and erection of a foodstore (A1 food), car park, Petrol Filling Station and Employment Development (B1).

The Agenda and papers will be published in due course on the town council’s website HERE , as well as paper versions on the council’s notice board in Montesson Square, Upper High Street (opposite Prezzo).

An on-line petition against the proposal can be found HERE and a petition for the plans can be found HERE. The full plans and associated documents can be found HERE

TO mark the retirement of Mrs Denise Walters, John Hampden Primary School’s much loved and long standing Foundation Stage Co-ordinator, the Thame school has revamped its mud kitchen in the Early Years garden.

Mrs Walters has worked at John Hampden Primary School for over 20 years and pioneered the mud kitchen years ago. As a surprise retirement gift to her, the staff, parents and children worked together to build a new mud kitchen with re-loved and colourfully painted kitchen equipment.

Fellow teacher, Rachel Butler said: “In the last week of term the children were able to play in the mud kitchen and it has become a very popular feature!

“The Foundation Stage team look forward to welcoming new children in September when they will be able to prepare, mix and cook all sorts of muddy treats in the garden!”

So, what exactly is a mud kitchen? Rachel explains: “.A mud kitchen is an outdoor role play area where children use mud and equipment to make potions, pies, paint, cupcakes and anything else they fancy! It is an exciting way for children to develop their understanding of capacity and consistency, practice the motor skills of digging, scooping and pouring, extend their communication and language through the vocabulary they use, build friendships and develop their imaginations.”

Sounds fun!

PLANNING permission has been granted for a new housing development at land north of Oxford Road, Thame (site F), by Planning Officers without having to be considered by South Oxfordshire District Council’s Planning committee.

The permission is for the erection of 203 dwellings, with new allotment plots, public open space, new pedestrian and cycle routes, construction of internal access roads, foul water pump station, surface water attenuation, ancillary enabling works, together with the formation of new vehicular and pedestrian access points.

Currently, planning permissions can be granted by planning officers, as long as there has been no objection from Thame Town Council. The proposal was the subject of much concern during the consultation period, including from some Oxford Road residents worried that the water drainage system in that part of the town would be unable to cope with additional quantities of waste water. SEE LINK

The planning approval is subject to 30 conditions, including measures to protect trees during construction, and a proviso that no properties can be occupied until an acceptable drainage sytstem is in place (see full Officer’s decision notice HERE ) and is not without some criticism of the plans by the Planning Officer. In the decision notice, although the officer commends the plans, stating that: “The proposed layout in particular delivers a network of green links, pedestrian and cycle routes that will ensure good sustainable connectivity for this site, which does lie on the outskirts of Thame,” he adds:

“However, the proposed layout does have poor connectivity for cars, with an over-reliance on cul-de-sacs. Furthermore, officers are concerned that the bias towards larger market units has not been properly evidenced. However, for the reasons outlined in the main report, these issues do not warrant a refusal of planning permission when weighed against the clear benefits of bringing forward 203 homes in line with the Neighbourhood Plan allocation. Particular weight is given to the overall support of Thame Town Council and also the provision of 81 affordable homes.”

Developer contributions (Section 106 monies) that will benefit Thame, will include £12,800 towards a new club house at the Thame cricket ground, money for additional affordable housing off site and contributions to improvements at Southern Road recreation ground.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS & HERITAGE

During an archaeological investigation of the site, many interesting things were found including three almost complete vessels associated with burials, a late Bronze Age – early Iron Age vessel with a finger fluted rim, iron-age flints, an almost complete intact dish from the later Iron – early Roman age, a third century finger ring, Roman coins and a Roman burial pit that appears to have been disturbed at some time, containing a body minus much of its torso and head and burial pots. But perhaps most exciting of all was the unearthing of a Neolithic road  of which only 13 have ever been found in the country apparently.

You can read the whole Archaeological Evaluation report here Archaeological Evaluation Report The Heritage Statement too (see Heritage Statement (1) ) makes facinating reading for anyone interested in Thame’s history

ROAD sweepings from across Oxfordshire are to be processed at a state-of-the-art new treatment and recovery facility in Ewelme in South Oxfordshire, a move designed to boost recycling rates and help cut costs for the county council.

The specially-designed facility, built by Grundon Waste Management at a cost of £1.3 million, is one of the most technically advanced in the UK and will be able to process and recycle the 5,000 tonnes per year of road sweeping waste including leaves, sand and grit, and metals collected from Oxfordshire’s roads by operators working for each of the five district councils.

BACKGROUND

Three years ago, the Environment Agency banned the composting of street leaf sweepings because of concerns about the high levels of contaminants such as nickel, copper and zinc. This move left many local authorities worried about the impact on their recycling rates and having to find alternative disposal methods for the waste.

Keen to maintain its place as one of the top performing county councils in the recycling performance league tables, Oxfordshire County Council had to put in place interim measures, while looking for a more sustainable and local alternative.

Rebecca Harwood, service delivery manager at Oxfordshire County Council’s waste management group, said: “After the legislation changed, we had to send some road sweeper waste to landfill, while the remainder went to an alternative facility outside the county.

“Obviously we were very keen to look for alternatives which would be closer to home and more environmentally friendly. Grundon’s new facility is not only very impressive, but it offers the capability to handle all of the county’s road sweeper waste in one central place.

“We see it as a win-win situation, using the facility is half the cost of sending waste to landfill and we’re also cutting down on transport costs and carbon emissions. Above all though, it’s the fact that Grundon is able to recycle and recover all elements of the sweepings that makes the biggest difference. We anticipate this will help us boost our recycling performance rates by nearly 2%, which is a great result.”

While Oxfordshire County Council makes the decisions on where waste will be disposed, each of the five district councils is responsible for managing the actual collection. Operators acting for the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils, together with Oxford City Council, will deliver the waste directly to Ewelme at the end of each clean-up round.

Further afield, road sweepings from West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils will be ‘bulked up’ at waste transfer stations at Banbury and Cassington before being transferred to Ewelme in larger vehicles.

Owen George, tender manager at Grundon, said: “Our decision to invest in the new facility was born out of finding a sustainable and suitable solution to the problems local authorities had in recycling their road sweeper waste. Oxfordshire County Council has been very supportive throughout the development stages of the project and we’re delighted to be able to play our own part in helping the county fly the flag for excellence in recycling and recovery of waste.”

Three new jobs have also been created at the plant which, once fully operational, will be able to process around 25,000 tonnes of road sweepings a year – roughly 10 tonnes every hour. As capacity increases, Grundon plans to work with other local authorities and private contractors across the region.

HOW IT WORKS

On arrival, the road sweeping material goes into a giant tipping area where excess water is drained and stored for treatment and re-use later in the process. A giant magnet then removes any metallic objects, such as nails or bottle tops, before the material is thoroughly scrubbed and washed.

Screening removes larger aggregate materials (gravels of 5mm-40+mm) and these are sorted and stored by size, while the remainder goes into a Hydro cyclone – effectively a giant washing machine – which separates out organic material such as leaves and litter, from sand and grit. Each is then stored in different bunkers.

All the waste water is treated with a polymer which separates out the clean water from the sludge and, after further processing, the sludge forms a ‘filter cake’ which can be used in land restoration projects.

Thanks to the sophisticated recovery process, both the sand and the larger size aggregates qualify for ‘end of waste’ status, allowing them to be sold to the building trade, and sand and gravel businesses, where demand for recycled products is high as they are cheaper than virgin aggregates.