Category: More News

IF you’ve been getting tax credits, you should have received an annual review pack (called a ?renewals pack?) from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Make sure you look at this pack and fill in any forms you need to as soon as possible ? the deadline is 31st July.

You must do this even if you are no longer getting any money or expect payments to end soon.

If you don’t do this by 31st July:

? you may have to repay any money you’ve received since 6 April
? if you’re still getting payments, these will stop.

HMRC need you to look at the pack so that they can work out how much your payments should be for the current tax year and make sure they paid you the right amount for the last tax year.

Read through the pack carefully to check that all the information about you is correct and whether you need to contact HMRC – you can either do this by phone, or by sending your form back by post to the Tax Credit Office.

Sometimes it can be difficult to work out what information to put on the form. If you need help filling in the form, there are videos to help you. You can watch the videos online at: www.direct.gov.uk.
If you don’t get anything about your tax credits, contact the tax credit helpline on 0845 300 3900.
For more information about the tax credits annual review pack, go to http://www.direct.gov.uk

There is also more information about tax credits on the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.uk

Talk to a CAB adviser if you need help with understanding or completing your annual review pack.
CAB adviceline 08 444 111 444 or 0300 3300 650(mobile)
For general advice visit: www.adviceguide.org.uk

Your local CAB is in Market Square, Thame,

PHOTO: Courtesy of www.investmentsense.co.uk

RACQUETS Fitness Club in Thame are entering a team for the great ‘Phoenix trail stretcher challenge’ to raise money for the Scannappeal, on Saturday, May 7, and needs sponsors.

The Racquets team will have to cover 6 miles carrying a “body” on a stretcher and undertaking various challenges along the route. Follow the link for more information to find out how you can support them and the Scannappeal cause. LINK

PHOTO: courtesey of Glen Mitchell Photography

A fun, sponsored stretcher-carrying race along Thame’s Phoenix Trail, on May 7, will help raise much-needed funds towards medical equipment for local hospitals.

Enter your team now for the race, which will start and finish at the Three Horseshoes pub in Towersey.

WHAT is thought to be the first ever public talk about science in Thame, is being promoted by Thame Thame Council.

The council, in association with www.pulse-project.org, is sponsoring the event, a talk on The Origins of Science by Dr Stuart Clark, to be held at the Town Hall On Monday, June 13 at 7.30pm.

Dr Clark will relate: ??how the fractious birth of science in the seventeenth century was driven by some of the hottest blood of all. People like Galileo, Kepler and Newton dreamed of finding a ?theory of everything? ? a way to explain all things in the ?language of God?: mathematics.?

Journalist, award-winning author and broadcaster, Stuart Clark is apparently an engaging storyteller and fiction or non-fiction, his work is written with conviction and with passion. He holds a first-class Honours degree and a PhD in astrophysics and has devoted his career to presenting the complex and dynamic world of astronomy to the general public.

His latest work is the pioneering trilogy, The Sky?s Dark Labyrinth, which blends gripping, original historical fiction with popular science to tell the story of astronomy.

Tickets will be available from the end of May.

SOURCE: Press release

THE Henley constituency, which includes Thame, has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the country according to figures based on those claiming Job Seekers Allowance.

The figures that were released on April 13, indicate that 752 people were claiming JSA in March 2011, which is 18 less than the previous month.

According to Thame’s MP, John Howell: ?There are only four constituencies in the country which have a lower rate of unemployment.?

John particularly welcomed the fact that there has also been a drop in unemployment amongst young people aged under 24, from 195 claimants in February, 2011, to 180 in March, 2011.

?I am glad to see the youth unemployment figure beginning to fall,? said John, ?But I fear that many young people unable to get work may simply not be claiming JSA but are scraping by on shift work.?

That is why he hopes that the public sector organisations will continue with and grow their apprenticeship programmes, as the private sector makes up 80% of the constituency’s economy.

PHOTO: John Howell MP

THE famous Chiltern bluebells are just starting to come out and by Easter there should be carpets of blue in our woods. What better excuse to get out and enjoy our glorious local countryside!

The recent warm weather means that the bluebells are flowering slightly earlier than normal. In the next few days many local woods will turn into a sea of blue, one of the most famous spectacles in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Some of the best bluebell woods in the Chilterns are:

? Wendover Woods, near Wendover
? Adams Wood, near Lane End
? Bradenham Woods, near High Wycombe
? Ashridge Estate, near Berkhamsted
? Cowleaze Woods, near Watlington
? Ipsden Heath, near Henley-on-Thames

There are also lots of wildlife and heritage events taking place in our local countryside this Easter to keep the whole family entertained. Easter egg trails, woodland safaris, guided walks, country fairs and working windmills are just a few of the fun things happening in the Chilterns over the next two bank holiday weekends.

It?s a fantastic time of year to make the most of our beautiful local countryside and enjoy all the signs of spring. You can find lots of information on local events plus the best places to see bluebells in the Chilterns at www.chilternsaonb.org

THE following are the Planning Applications to be considered by Thame Town Council?s Planning Committee on Tuesday, April 19.

8870
P11/E0355 THE ELMS BARN, 32 UPPER HIGH STREET
Barn conversion to form residential dwelling.
Amendment No 1 shows internal alterations, as advised by the Conservation Officer. TTC recommended approval on the original application in March 2011.

8871
P11/E0356/LB THE ELMS BARN, 32 UPPER HIGH STREET
Barn conversion to form residential dwelling.
Amendment No 1shows internal alterations, as advised by the Conservation Officer. TTC recommended approval on the original application in March 2011.

8877
P11/E0284 LEYS FARM, MORETON
Two-storey rear extension, single-storey side extension, single-storey porch and roof alterations. As amended by drawing number B12 10 02b and letter
received from the Agent dated 28 March 2011.
Amendment No. 1 shows the rear ridge height matching the front ridge height, as discussed with SODC.

8878
P11/E0500 1 PICKENFIELD
Proposed single storey rear extension.

8879
P11/E0518 32 CROFT ROAD
Proposed conservatory at rear.

8880
P11/E0446 YOUENS DRIVE
Change of use from Public Open Space to residential gardens.

8881
P11/E0471 54 QUEENS ROAD
Erection of two storey rear extension to provide new kitchen and additional bedroom with ensuite facilities.

IF you are educating your disabled child at home, why not learn together with other families at Thomley Activity Centre near Thame?

For varying reasons many families with a disabled child have found it difficult to find the right school for their child and have chosen to home educate. For some families this is their first choice, whilst for others it is their only choice.

On Wednesday, April 27, in Worminghall, Thomley Activity Centre will be holding its first activity day to support families who are home educating disabled children and siblings. This will be the first of many fortnightly home education days at Thomley, the aim of which are to provide a safe, understanding and sociable environment in which disabled children can enjoy their learning experience together with peers.

?Jay is home educated and we would love to come along to an event for home schooling families – we are fairly new to home education so meeting other parents and children would be great,? says Sian Turnbull.

Thomley staff will support children to participate in a variety of activities for children of all ages and abilities. The ethos of the day will evolve and develop according to popular demand within the group and may include creative and sensory activities, cooking and life skills, interactive social games, early vocational skills, sports and outdoor adventure. The variety of activities will be enhanced by Thomley?s brand new facility designed specifically for disabled teenagers which offers a social den, mini gym, kitchen and life skills area and hobbies room.

Thomley home education days will also provide an invaluable support network to parents, enabling them to share experiences and build confidence in issues of home education, disability issues or parenting as a whole. Emma Rissen who is home educating her son said: ?My son has now not accessed full time school since September and I have no outside help, despite it all being promised to me. It would be useful to have someone other than me help for a day, and help Paul with some school work I haven’t had to invent for him to do! It will also be helpful to meet other parents who may be having similar problems.”

Thanks to recent funding from Aiming High for Disabled Children and South Oxfordshire District Council, Thomley also has a new spacious and fully compliant ?Changing Place? which offers a hoist accessible toilet and changing area meaning that home schooled children with widely varying needs can access all facilities at the centre.

For all home education enquiries or bookings, contact 01844 338380 or email bookings@thomleyhall.org

BACKGROUND

Thomley Activity Centre is a recreational facility which supports disabled children, their families, friends and schools. The Centre is a lifeline to over 3,000 different children who travel from 20 different counties merely to access a facility which understands and meets the needs of their children. ?It is so hard to find somewhere that isn?t judgmental, where you can have the freedom to get on and do whatever is appropriate. It?s a shame there aren?t more places and people like yourselves? ? Parent

In a perfect world, disabled children should have the choice to play and learn in the same places as their friends, yet in reality this is not the case. Thomley Activity Centre is the only fully accessible facility of its kind within a 35 mile radius and received 5,745 visits from over 885 different children last year.

Thomley?s fully enclosed 7-acre rural site gives disabled children rare opportunity to enjoy space, freedom, safety and choice. Thomley is currently open 5 days per week throughout the year and enables children to learn through freely exploring a 1km cycle track, outdoor play and music equipment, play rooms and a soft play area, reading area, art and craft, IT and music activities. Thomley holds community days when any child within the community is welcome, with aim to encourage understanding & social integration with disabled peers.

Thomley Activity Centre was established in 2002 by parents of children with autism. These parents found that their children were excluded from other play-schemes due to unavailability of appropriate activities and facilities, as well as their child?s considered inappropriate behaviour. These parents also observed the need to cater for the siblings of disabled children as they are often disadvantaged by the fact that attention is focused on the disabled child. In response to their own experiences, they were eager to lessen the feeling of isolation in the challenges of bringing up disabled children.

Thomley Activity Centre was therefore established to achieve the following outcomes:
o To increase the self esteem, health, confidence and social skills of disabled children and their siblings through accessible play and recreation.
o To provide parents with an opportunity to meet others who have disabled children, to lessen their isolation and to increase their ability to support their children through play.
o To help the community gain understanding and acceptance of disability issues so they can include disabled children within their own community activities.

Thomley?s first home education day will be held from 10am to 3.30pm on Wednesday, April 27. All visitors will need to book in advance.

For further information, contact Claire Acworth on 01844 338380 or claire@thomleyhall.org

CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has asked the High Court to rule on South Oxfordshire District Council?s claim that it can ignore its own policies to protect the countryside.

The Oxfordshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says that it is challenging South Oxfordshire District Council?s (SODC) claim that it is entitled to: “… flout its own planning policies when it is in its own interest to do so.”

?SODC acknowledged they were breaching their own policies, but they went ahead anyway,? said Michael Tyce, Chairman of CPRE Thame District. ?If the Council thinks it is OK for them to flout the policies to protect our rural environment, then it leaves those who care for the countryside no option but to take them to the courts.?

BACKGROUND

The campaign group says that: “In 2006 South Oxfordshire District Council, without any consultation, erected commercial advertising signs on its roundabouts in the countryside, in flagrant contradiction of its own policies prohibiting advertising in our rural area in general, and particularly to protect the Green Belt, AONB and Conservation Areas. They deliberately evaded seeking the permissions they knew all along were required.

“Even after the Council had admitted that it should have applied for advertising consent, it took them five years to do so, during all of which time they left the advertisements unlawfully in place. Only late last year did the Council decide to comply with the planning controls which it is entrusted to enforce.

“Even though the advertising was accepted to be in flagrant contravention of the Council?s own policies to keep South Oxfordshire ?advertising free?, the Councillors then went ahead and granted themselves permission.

“Apart from being contrary to its polices, this was also in clear defiance of ?localism?, as thirteen of the fourteen affected parishes eventually consulted by the Council had joined CPRE in opposition to the scheme.”

Michael Tyce continued: ?Threatened by CPRE with legal action, the Council?s defence was that it considered itself under no obligation to conform to its own policies, explicit though they are, when it suited it.

“Not only are the signs damaging to the rural setting of South Oxfordshire, which had up until then been an ?advertising-free? area, and a deliberate distraction to motorists and therefore a traffic hazard, but it is surely unacceptable that policies we rely on our Councillors to uphold should simply be flouted at will in this way when it suits them.?

CPRE has now asked the High Court for a Judicial Review of the Councillor?s actions.

Michael Tyce concluded: ?We are confident that the Court will quash the planning consents. Even if, however, the Court finds that there is some technical loophole which allows Councillors to contravene their own Council?s policies, it is surely a betrayal of voters that they should have done so. If they can cast aside a core policy for the protection of the countryside in such a cavalier manner, which policies can they be relied on to uphold?

“We should all stop to think, as we cast our votes in South Oxfordshire next month, how much our present Councillors can be trusted to uphold their own policies to protect our environment and amenity.?

GREEN DRAGON. The pub in Churchway has recently been taken over by Oak Taverns Ltd, which also runs the Rising Sun in Thame Rd. The new manager is Clare, who was previously deputy manager at Wetherspoons in High Wycombe, and the chef is her partner Steve, who trained as a chef but has also worked in removals for several years. Meals, which are all home-cooked (apart from the puddings – at present), using seasonal produce, are served 12-2.30pm and 6.30-9pm. Plans are in progress for a hog roast, with Pimms tent and English Cider table, which will be held on the Royal Wedding Day, and there will be regular Sunday roasts. The phone number is still 01844 291403.

Thurs 14th MIDSOMER MURDERS. Bentley Productions will be filming for series 14, episode 5 ?The Sleeper under the Hill? at Church End. The Parish Council has given its permission and received a contribution of