Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • What A Shambles!

    BUSINESS owners and tenants, with premises on a small piece of land between the Buttermarket and the Cornmarket, Thame, are trying to get support from the local authorites to tidy up the area, known as The Shambles.
    Part of the difficulty has been that there is no clear ownership of the area, a state of affairs described by Town Cllr, David Dodds, as being ‘a shambles’ in itself, as well as being an appropriate description of the area.
    A district council Conservation Area Officer described The Shambles as:”A rather forlorn area largely given over to car parking…and the presence of several unsightly rubbish bins.”
    Several of the owners have contacted the Town Council with a plan to taking a partnership approach to improving the area, for which they are prepared to pay, providing local authorities undertake not to take action to romove or prevent the proposals put forward.
    The residents’ plan includes a communal bin store and keeping some parking but South Oxfordshire District Council’s view is that there should be no car parking. They would prefer to see the area resurfaced and the rear of 3 Pump Lane used for something that would encourage pedestrians to linger, bringing activity to the courtyard. SODC recognises that rubbish bins may be necessary to the area but feels that they could be ‘rationalised’ or perhaps screened in some way.

    After much discussion about the problem at the town council’s Policy and Resources committee meeting on Tuesday evening, councillors voted to offer support to SODC, who may have some funding available, to move the matter forward.

  • Kicking Boxer To Train With England Squad

    LOCAL boy, Keiran Calvert entered only his second Kick Boxing competition last Sunday in Birmingham, and secured third place in his Class.
    The competitiion was the third of the Superleague series and also the selections for the England squad.
    Kieran’s success, in the boys over 5’5″, came after a slow start but he showed good movement and awareness but lost to a more experienced fighter in the semi-final.
    Having got a placing, keiran is now eligible to train
    with the IASKA (International Amateur Sport
    Kickboxing Association) England squad and according to his coach, Duncan Elliott, if he works hard
    could earn a place to represent England at
    international level.
    Chinnor kung-fu and kickboxing members will next be
    in action in June.

    PHOTO: for illustrative purposes only. (From Kick Boxing Championships in Russia recently). Courtesy of Internation Amateur Sport Kick Boxing Association’s web site.

  • Driver kidnapped In Lorry-Jacking Near Thame

    POLICE are appealing for information after three men kidnapped the driver of a lorry and stole around

  • Printworks Saved By Prompt Brigade Response

    WHAT could have turned out to be a massive fire, was prevented by the prompt response of fire appliances to an incident in Long Crendon on Monday.
    Fighting the fire, in which a printing press, worth hundreds and thousands of pounds, was destroyed, was hampered by the risks posed by highly flammable materials and ink used in the printing process.
    Thick, black smoke was pouring out of all the windows and doors at Windles Printing Service, in Drakes Way, Long Crendon, and 40 people had been evacuated from the premises when fire appliances from Thame, Watlington, Wheatley, Abingdon, Princes Risborough and Stokenchurch arrived on the scene. Fortunately, fire officers were able to use ‘Positive Pressure’ fans to disperse some of the smoke to get to the printing press that was on fire and some storage racking, and so prevent the fire from spreading to the rest of the premises.

    Station Officer, Andy Ford, told ThameNews.Net: “This could have been a very nasty incident had the fire spread from its source, but fortunately, although an expensive piece of equipment was destroyed, we understand that the company expects to be back in production very soon.”

    No one from Windles was available for comment today but it is reported that the company has expressed its gratitude for the prompt and professional way in which the fire service responded to the emergency.

    Photo: For illustrative purposes only

  • Council To Buy Police Bike

    THE ‘Bobby on the beat’ could soon be a familiar sight around Thame, following the town council’s decision to pay for a bike to be used by local police officers.
    The lack of bicycles at Thame police station came to light during recent discussions between the council and the police, about ways of curbing vandalism in the town’s play areas.
    One of the targets agreed was to try and increase the number of patrols to each play area, particularly in the evening.
    The council agreed, at a meeting of its Policy and Resources Committee last night, to provide

  • Another Successful Weekend For Thame Twinners

    FOR the fourth consecutive year, Thame has played host to its friends from Montesson, in France.
    The weekend’s activities included a trip to the River and Rowing Museum, and a boat trip on the river at Henley on Friday, and a trip to Claydon House, where Florence Nightingale lived for the last 30 years of her life, on the Saturday.
    Thame families, most of them members of Thame and District Twinning Association, took 32 French visitors into their homes for the three days, sharing their homes and hospitality.
    The highlight of the weekend for most was a 10 mile bicycle ride along the Phoenix trail, on borrowed bikes for the French, including two tandems!
    Anyone interested in learning more about Thame Twinning Association, can visit its website:
    Link

  • New Development Plan For Essex House

    THE Planning committee of Thame Town Council will meet tomorrow, (Tuesday, May 16) at 6.30pm, and the plans under discussion will include an amended plan for the demolition of the Essex House Hotel and the building of two, 2.5 storey apartment blocks in its place.
    A previous, similar application was recently rejected by South Oxfordshire District Council on the following grounds:

    “That having regard to the size, height, bulk, massing and detailing of the proposed two apartment buildings and to their siting adjacent to the footpath in Cotmore Gardens and in close proximity to Bridge Terrace, the proposal would appear prominent, intrusive and out of keeping with the character of the area and would detract from the modest character of Bridge Terrace. In addition the proposal would result in the permanent loss of Essex House Hotel which is considered to be an important landmark building of local historic interest that should be retained.”

    The previous plan had met with the disapproval of Thame Town Council who subsequently applied to have the building and the ex-railway workers’ cottages in Bridge Terrace, included in the Thame Conservation Area, but was turned down by English Heritage.
    A letter to Tessa Jowell, the then Minister responsible for Heritage, was then sent by the town council appealing against that decision.

    NB The committee will also be discussing plans submitted by The Steamer Trading Company, who are taking over David Healey’s furniture shop from the end of the month, to erect a single storey rear extension, remove a tree, make internal alterations, provide a new shop front and erect new signage.

  • Plans To Move Cattle Market Submitted

    PLANS for a new Thame Livestock Market have been lodged with South Oxfordshire District Council today.
    The site of the proposed new cattle market is on the Thame Show Ground, on Kingsey Road, Thame.
    The owners of the flourishing, existing cattle market, Thame Farmers Auction Mart Ltd., are reported to be running out of space at their current site in North Street, Thame, and have been working with local Developer, Bob Williams, and The Thame Show, to draw up plans to move to a new, edge of town site.
    The present site, which is leased by TFAM Ltd from South Oxfordshire District Council, has been the subject of much interest in recent months by local groups, particularly the Cattle Market Action Group. It would like to see the site, if made vacant, turned over to community use, particularly for some sort of Community Arts/youth/community facility and affordable housing.
    The lease currently has around 16 years left to run.

    Bob Williams, the Developer behind the plan, told ThameNews.Net today: “The future of Thame’s cattle market depends on them moving to a larger site. It cannot operate efficiently where it is currently. The danger is that to do nothing will mean that the cattle market will suffer a slow, lingering death and that can’t be good for Thame.
    “The plan we have submitted today is only an outline plan for an Agricultural Centre with a couple of other agriculturally based business units.
    “We have spent a huge amount of time and money on this, including Transport Studies, and I am convinced that this planning permission will help us to get enough money in the pot, to make it happen.
    “I am convinced that, with everyone’s support, in six months time, we can come up with a deliverable solution that will be good for everyone in the town.”

  • Thame Councillor Elected To Cabinet

    FOR the first time ever, a Thame District Councillor has been become Vice Chair of the council’s Cabinet.
    Cllr Mike Welply, who was elected as one of Thame’s four District Councillors less than two years ago, signed up for the post at a meeting of the district council last Thursday, May 11.
    One of his major responsibilities is on the committee that looks after the new Licencing procedure that saw the introduction of new rules for the sale of alcohol.

  • Farmers Warned Of New Waste Disposal Laws

    FARMERS are being warned that laws on how they are allowed to dispose of waste are about to be tightened up.
    From May 15, farmers will no longer be able to burn any waste in the open, apart from crop residues. They will not be able to bury any kind of waste on their land.

    Farmers have 12 months to comply with a wide range of waste regulations when dealing with their waste. Farmers should call the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 if they need any advice about these new regulations.

    Some farms may decide to provide waste bulking or waste treatment facilities for other farmers and, as well as needing a waste management licence, will need planning permission from Oxfordshire County Council.

    Cllr Roger Belson, Oxfordshire County Council?s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: ?We are all having to think more carefully about our environment and part of this is the need to dispose of waste responsibly.
    ?Waste is getting more and more expensive to dispose of and the county council has the responsibility to recycle or treat household waste in the county. However, I am concerned that the increased cost of dealing with waste could lead to some of it ending up being burned or dumped out of sight in the countryside.?

    Mark Leonard, Waste Enforcement Officer for Oxfordshire County Council, added: ?Now that farm waste is covered by the same law as other waste, it will mean that illegal dumping will be easier to investigate.
    ?In the past you had to prove the waste came from a household or an industrial or commercial source. Now all you need to do is prove who committed the crime.
    ?This means that it will be easier to investigate fly-tipping as well as illegal waste dumping or illegal waste businesses operating on private land. You only need to prove who is responsible for illegally dumping, sorting, burning or burying waste.?