Author: Sonja Francis

A public meeting is to be held in Thame to discuss the potential imposition of an extra 600 houses on Thame, as part of the New Local Plan 2032, currently out for consultation.

Thame Town Council is hosting the meeting which will be held at St Mary’s Church, Thame at 7:30pm on Thursday, August 4, 2016, to which all residents and businesses of Thame are invited.

The Local Planning Authority for Thame, South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC), has come up with its ‘Preferred Options’ for the New Local Plan for development in the town up to the year 2032. The new plan will replace the Local Plan 2026, and if adopted will require the Thame Neighbourhood Plan to be revised and the new plan adopted by 2018 – a legal process for which there is no provision for as yet!

More retail and more employment land too!

Those preferred options include a suggestion of 600 additional new houses for Thame, along with 1500 square metres (net sales area) of additional convenience/food retail space, and an extra 2.5 hectares of employment land, on top of all that is already provided for in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, as adopted in 2013. And a nearby reservoir.

A growing Haddenham

At the same time, the Vale of Aylesbury is consulting on its Local Plan proposals (VALP) which include an additional, approximately 5,500 new dwellings in and near Haddenham, which will have consequences for Thame, given its proximity to the local services of the centre of Thame.

The Town Council will be responding to both consultations (by the SODC deadline of 4:30pm on Friday, August 19, 2016, and the VALP deadline of Monday, September 5, 2016).

Thame Town Council has called the Public Meeting for a variety of reasons, including;

• To provide additional specific information for the residents and businesses of Thame on what is being suggested.
• To encourage all residents and businesses of Thame to respond to either or both consultations.
• To help inform the consultation responses that the Town Council will itself make, as the elected body, on behalf of the town.

‘Thame has enough!’

The Town Council’s initial view is that: “The adopted Thame Neighbourhood Plan already provides all that is needed to ensure Thame’s continuing vibrancy and vitality. Even if the defined additional needs are real, there are more appropriate (and sustainable) places for their delivery in South Oxfordshire. But the Town Council is prepared to be persuaded otherwise. Can Thame cope with what is being proposed? Would some or all of what is being proposed be of benefit? The Town Council is keen to hear as many people’s views as possible, and we are sure that the Planning Authorities are also keen to hear those views.

“We must ultimately all work together,” states the council, “to ensure that South Oxfordshire grows in a sustainable way for the benefit of its existing community, and this Public Meeting is a step towards that.

“We do hope that many people will attend the public meeting to both listen to what is being proposed and to express their views.”

LES Stocker MBE, HonAssocRCVS, the founder of the famous Wild-life rescue centre, St Tiggywinkles, in Haddenham, Bucks, has died.

A statement on St Tiggywinkes’s website announcing Les’s sudden death, reads:

“It is with great shock and immense sadness that we announce the passing of Les Stocker. Les passed away after a short and sudden illness on the return journey of his holiday.

“First and foremost, Les leaves his wife Sue, son Colin, daughter in-law Verity and two beloved grand-daughters Amelia and Alexia. Our thoughts are with them, his two sisters and rest of his family at this very difficult time.

“The loss will be greatly felt to the world of wildlife. Les was a steadfast ambassador, achieving his goal to turn wildlife rehabilitation into a profession, to have it recognised by other professionals and to ensure wherever possible, that all casualties have the best treatment in order to return back to their natural habitat.

“Over the lifetime of his work Les has inspired other individuals and organisations to rise to the challenge of rehabilitating wildlife. In addition to working very long hours hands-on, he wrote books, papers and attended conferences to establish the importance and furtherance of rehabilitation. His tireless dedication has changed the way the world sees and deals with sick and injured wildlife. He has built an incredible organisation, one that will strive to continue his legacy. Amongst his many achievements were an MBE, being honoured by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as an Honorary Associate, the title of Rolex Laureate, two bestselling books, a regular newspaper column, he was an invited member of the New York Academy of Science and was widely recognised as one of the World’s leading authorities on British wildlife.

“The wonderful team at Tiggywinkles will continue through these sad times. As a Charity with a family feel, the loss of this truly remarkable man will be immeasurable.”

The centre is currently open as usual, but will close for the day of Les’s funeral. Keep an eye on the website for updates. http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

FOLLOWING an armed robbery in Thame earlier today (15/07),  (SEE LINK) Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses.

Officers were called at 11.20am following reports of the robbery in High Street. Two men wearing face-coverings attempted to steal a box containing cash from a security van which was making a delivery. One of the offenders is believed to have been carrying a shotgun.

The men left the scene in a car which appeared to travel towards the southbound M40.

Officers are currently at the scene carrying out their investigation.

Investigating officer Det Con Antony Maddison of Abingdon Force CID said: “I would like to reassure people that we are carrying out an extensive investigation into this incident, which is very rare for the area, and we are currently pursuing a number of leads.

“However, we would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who has any information which they think could help us, to contact us via the non-emergency number 101 quoting URN 515 15/7.”

If you do not want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

THAMES Valley Police are currently at the scene of an armed robbery in Cornmarket, Thame.

According to an eye witness, the incident occurred at around 11am this morning, when he saw a commotion opposite his shop in Cornmarket, outside the Chinese Take-Away. He saw a man, described as black, wearing something over his face, with what appeared to be a shotgun held at the head of the driver of a security van, carrying a box.

Then, said the eye-witness, the offender jumped into a blue car containing two other men, which then sped off in the direction of North Street, ‘cutting up’ another driver as it did so.

The car is reported to have been found on fire in Ludlow Drive, Thame, and the offenders absconded. A police helicopter was involved in the search for offenders.

It has not yet been confirmed whether or not the offender(s) have been located yet.

More information to follow, once a statement has been released by Thames Valley Police.

A GROUP of Thame residents who supported a proposal for a large, edge-of-town Tesco in Thame, have today responded to the news that planning permission has been refused by South Oxfordshire District Council.

The group’s representative, Rachel Lester, today said: “In our view the decision made was not looking to the long-term future of the town and its actual residents, but more the kudos of its shopkeepers and for their benefit rather than considering the bigger, all round picture of those that actually live here and have daily
needs, both in their shopping requirements and job opportunities, and for its growing population.

“The current supermarkets in the town won’t meet demands and the roads into the town centre won’t meet demands.”

She added: “We agree Thame is a unique town which is why it should be kept so – by maintaining the centre as it is with no more supermarket development within – by building a supermarket on the outer edge would help preserve it as it is and detract any increase in traffic congestion and parking issues which will simply be to its detriment, especially if the Council wishes to build on its attractiveness as a ‘jewel’ for tourists – instead of its ‘heart being saved’ it will simply choke itself!”

Whilst recognising that the development might reduce car journeys out of Thame, and would offer more choice to shoppers, the Planning Officer had, he said, decided that on balance, it (the supermarket) would have a significantly adverse effect on the ‘vibrancy and vitality’ of Thame by diverting trade gained from linked shopping away from the town centre.

In recommending refusal, he also cited a net loss of employment space from the site at Kingsmeade Business Park, currently occupied by DAF and other businesses.

Cllr Helena Fickling, speaking for Thame Town Council who objected to the plan, said that Thame is a ‘real’ town with a low vacancy rate compared to other, similar towns, and a flourishing weekly market, whose traders had seen other towns’ local shops’ trade taken by supermarkets. She referred to a report by Carter Jonas which had reported that the proposal was for twice the amount of Convenience retail space than was needed to meet an identified need.

Sue Gilbert, representing Thame Residents Associations, referred to a petition with over 3,500 signatures, including the majority of retailers in the town, who were against the plan, seeing it as a threat to the town centre shops and the market. She said that Tesco had ‘under-stated’ its projected Turnover and that its evidence to try to demonstrate a need was ‘inconsistant’.

Chris Lindop, who runs a kitchen design shop in the town, spoke of how he had looked at other towns in the A40 corridor to set up his business, and that Thame had stood out above the others. “Thame has a cohesive town centre, full occupancy and, you can come any day of the week and it is busy; people are moving around making pedestrian trips; there is a buzz about the place. Thame is historic and distinctive.”

Peggy Long, who used to be the town Traffic Warden, told the planning committee: “Just because we use a supermarket elsewhere, doesn’t mean we don’t use shops iin the town centre and not everyone wants to shop on line. There are not enough parking places in the town. a Tesco would relieve parking in the town.

“Please give Thame the chance to provide something for all pockets,” she pleaded.

Cllr David Dodds criticised the Planning Officer’s report for omitting to mention the fact that the proposed plan did not include any staff parking, and that it had ignored the ‘great inconvenience’ and ‘disturbance’ to the residents of Cotmore Gardens and Towersey Gardens.

“Thame town centre is a jewel that has won many awards recently,” he said, “It is precious and we must protect it!”

Cllr Jeannette Matelot Green also referred to the town centre’s ‘Rising Star’ Award in the Great British High Street competition, and that it had been voted the second best place to live in Britain. “Our High Street depends on independent retailers,” she said. “The town has great transport links and anyone who wants to visit another big supermarket can do so by car or bus. Yes, we will be getting more and more housing and we will need another supermarket but not one of this size.

“The Thame Neighbourhood Plan will soon be going through a review and it will be up to the residents to decide when and if we need another supermarket. Above all, we must ensure the vitality of the town centre.”

Cllr David Nimmo Smith said that Henley had a Tesco and it continued to thrive, so he didn’t go along with the recommendation in that regard, but he said: “This is not the right site. It will mean the loss of traditional employment which will not help wealth creation.”

Cllr Bland however said that parking had NOT been made easier in Henley, and that the town had lost three butchers, a greengrocers and other shops and that its town centre did suffer for a long time. “Your other three smaller supermarkets are doing well. We cannot put a nail in the coffin of this beautiful town,” he concluded.

The Planning committee voted unanimously to reject the plan, which included a fuel station.