THAMES Valley Police is advising drivers that the M40 northbound is currently closed in Oxfordshire.
The motorway is closed between junctions 8 and 9 following a report just after 3pm of a road traffic collision involving one vehicle.
Officers are currently on the scene dealing with the incident.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area. For updates please follow us on Twitter @tvprp
LATEST: On the M40 northbound between junctions J7 and J8A, there are currently delays of 20 mins caused by congestion due to an accident closing one lane between junctions J8A and J9. Normal traffic conditions expected from 9:30 pm.
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a burglary and theft from a vehicle in Thame.
Between 2pm and 8pm Thursday (26/02) offender(s) gained access to a property in Southern road, by smashing a double glazed rear door panel. An iPad Air with a red case, CANON digital camera and cash were stolen.
Between midnight and 7pm Saturday (21/02) offender(s) gained access to an insecure vehicle parked outside a property in Cotmore Gardens. An MIO sat-nav was stolen.
If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101.
Alternatively if you have any information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
THAME’S County Councillor has warned that the publication of the Serious Case Review into Child Sex Exploitation in Oxfordshire, expected next week, is likely to be ‘a blood bath’ for the county council in the press and media.
Thame Town Hall – Image Courtesy of Mark Percy
Reporting to Thame Town Council on Tuesday, Cllr Nick Carter told councillors that the report, set in motion after the county council became aware of criminal gangs of men grooming and sexually exploiting young, vulnerable women in 2011, was ‘not likely to be on the scale of Rochdale’ but would no doubt point out failures, lessons learned and ‘some precise actions’ to prevent similar occurances in the future.
OXFORDSHIRE County Councillors’ expenses are due to rise from £8,500 to £10,000 per year. Cllr Nick Carter, answering a question from Town Cllr Mary Stiles at a town council on Tuesday (25/02), said that the rise was justified because, the re-drawing of boundaries recently, and a reduction in the number of councillors, meant that councillors were looking after a bigger area. The redundancy of the post of Chief Executive also meant big savings could be made. (UPDATE: OCC said today, decision to get rid of Chief Exec. may have been ‘too hasty’)
A TRI-PARTITE alliance between the three county councils, South Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northampshire, could mean savings of £30million a year and a reduction in council tax, said Thame’s County Councillor, Nick Carter this week. A feasibility study is being carried out on the proposal which will mean that the combined local authority could work together in areas such as transport, planning, and big infrastructure projects like the East-West Rail Link+. An Order of Parliament would to be needed before any such arrangement could be formally established. Cllr Carter revealed that Oxfordshire County Council had already appointed a strategist.
AFTER a heated discussion in the council chamber, Thame Town Council has voted to reinstate free use of meeting space at the town hall, for the Thame Conservation Area Committee. The Town Council revoked the advisory group’s free use of the town hall, where it met before planning committee meeting, to scrutinize planning applications for anything that might contravene the Conservation Area. The decision evoked some strong feelings in the town and among councillors themselves, who could not agree whether the group of volunteers were ‘a self-appointed group’ or had been appointed by the town council several years ago to support the planning committee.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the town council, Cllr Champken Woods said: “They should apply to the grants committee like other voluntary groups. Both the Sinaia group and Thame Twinning were refused free use of meeting rooms and I don’t see why this group should be treated any differently. If we give in to them, others will come knocking on our door.” The Mayor, Cllr Jeannette Matelot Green, pointed out that they need space to examine the plans before meetings. Cllr Mike Dyer said that the plans are available to view online.
An angry Cllr David Dodds responded: “Thame Town Council set the Conservation Advisory Group up itself! There is absolutely no reason why we should say ‘on yer bikes!’ ”
Cllr Mary Stiles proposed that the council vote in support of the TCAC retaining free meeting space in the town hall, and the ‘yes’ vote was carried.
A COMMUNITY CHARTER for Thame moved closer to becoming a reality this week, when Thame Town Council voted to support the proposal going forward, following a presentation from one of the Charter’s architects, Phil Stratton. He explained that from the suggestions so far from local people, several main ideas had emerged to frame a Charter. These were; Inclusiveness, a safe place to be, Partnership, Welcoming, Support, a place that thrives and a focus on Environment. Phil told councillors: “Thame is a special place. If we have an effective charter, it will help Thame move forward in several ways. We could use it as part of a Good Neighbour Scheme and it would give clarity to why Thame is a good place to live.
The draft Charter will now be disseminated around the town for consultation with schools, churches etc and the feed back help to form the final Community Charter.
OLDER residents of Thame with mental health needs, can no longer meet locally at the Thame Barns Centre’s, Dovecot Day Club, as it has now been merged with Sharecare at Holton. The club is run by Age UK Oxfordshire, where older people with mental health needs can enjoy a day out with friends. Cllr Mary Stiles told fellow town councillors that some of the members are upset at there not now being anything for them in Thame. She was concerned, she said, for the future of these people as Thame is expanding.
Cllr Stiles asked if the Dovecot Day Centre had applied to the town council for a grant towards some sort of provision, but was told by the Clerk that it had not.
THAME’S top police officers have made it clear that illegal parking in the town is not a priority for them. Reporting to Thame Town Council at its meeting on Tuesday (24/02), Inspector Mark Harling and Sgt Aidan Donohoe told councillors that with a beat of 110 sq miles, and with just four Constables and seven PCSOs, their priorities had to be talking to victims of crime, child protection issues in the area, dealing with shed and garage break-ins, Road Traffic Collisions and visiting vulnerable elderly and other people with mental health issues.
This car was caught parked on zig zag lines, illegally, while its driver went shopping – Photo Frank Millar
“We do however, deal with parking enforcement issues when we can,” said Sgt Donohue, who said that he personally was a strong advocate of the Decriminilisation of parking, with the use of dedicated parking.
“In November we issued 30 Fixed Penalty Notices, and more recently, 12 in two days during January, and I am confident that between 20 and 30 will be given in February. But it can only be ad hoc, when we have the time and the resources,” he added.
DROP IN CRIME
Insp Harling said that, after a £40 million cut as part of austerity measures, there was ‘no hanging fruit’ and that the force was going through a ‘quality-based’ budgeting exercise. “I have no idea what the force may look like in a year’s time,” he told councillors. Despite the challenges, he said, crime in the Thame Sector had dropped by 18% since April last year, with 851 crimes last year, to this last year’s 696. There had though, he said, been an increase in ‘Calls for Service’ – relating to such things as Missing Persons, and Child Sex Exploitation, this latter which had increased ‘exponentially’.
“So, although we have time from the reduction in crime, that time is filled up with these other areas.” he explained. Two or three people are reported missing everyday, he went on, and although most of them are found, they tend to be either very old or very young, and therefore of high risk, so every resource will be used to a specific location to find them. He went on: “On top of all this, we are picking up the slack of other public organisations. Because they do not necessarily operate 24 hours a day, we are the organisation that will be telephoned, and we have to respond even though it is not our sphere of responsibility.
“I cannot make any promises but just explain our position. In six months time, we may be able to come back to you and explain what Thames Valley Police is looking like.”
ZIG-ZAG LINES & PARKING IN RESIDENTIAL STREETS
In answer to a query from Cllr Vaughan Humphries, Sgt Donohoe explained PCSO’s cannot give tickets to drivers who park on zig-zag lines etc, only Constables. So far, he said, eight had been issued. When Cllr Mary Stiles asked about parking in residential streets around the town, she was told that the police did tend to concentrate on the town centre and that, when they did try to catch people parking illegally in residential streets, the culprits had very often gone, having only parked there for a short time.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Cllr Lambert asked about the force’s recent taking up of using social media, particular twitter, where they had published photographs of offending vehicles. He asked whether they would be actually replying to tweets in the near future or was it just a tool for saying ‘we are here; this is what we are doing’ ? Sgt Donohoe explained that he was indeed tweeting as part of a force-wide initiative of public engagement, but that the training was not to get into a back and forth discussion. He added that he does look at twitter and takes note of the postings. For rural crime particularly, he explained, such tweeting was seen as a deterrent.
Cllr Laver asked if the police were able to use the CCTV cameras to identify persistent parking offenders and was told that, although officers did not have the resources to do that, they do target persistent offenders. “We know who they are,” he added. Cllr Lambert then asked whether, if local people tweeted pictures of offenders, could the police doing anything? He was told that the best thing is for people to email such pictures to the Neighbourhood team via ThameWatlingtonChinnorNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
NO CHANGE ANY TIME SOON
The Town Clerk reported that Civil Parking Enforcement (that was supposed to replace the use of traffic wardens and become the responsibility of local authorities) had been put on hold, mainly because of the expense.
NB Civil Parking Enforcement was supposed to be discussed at SODC Cabinet meeting in January, which was cancelled. It does not appear to be on the agenda of February’s Cabinet meeting, and the link to the ‘cabinet report’ does not work. (Could be due to disruptions to the website after the fire at SODC HQ in January)
FOLLOWING representation from a group against a proposed superstore on the edge of Thame, Thame Town Council has voted to support an independent study of the impact of a supermarket on the viability of the town’s High Street.
Thame Town Hall – Image Courtesy of Mark Percy
Clare Nickless, speaking on behalf of the recently formed ‘Thame Centre First‘ group and Thame4Business, told a meeting of the full council last night (24/02), that the independent retailers in the town were ‘overwhelmingly against’ the proposed large supermarket on the DAF site, fearing that it would have a major impact on the vitality and viability of Thame Town Centre. Both the Thame Centre First Group and Thame4Busniness had carried out informal surveys among the independent retailers, she said, and read out some of statements that they had made in response to survey questions about how they thought an edge of town, superstore would affect their business:
“…..detrimental impact on the town and would cream off our trade”; “We would seriously look to relocate”; “I will have to close”; “Proposed site to far from town centre to keep shoppers in Thame”; “A negative impact onThame, I have seen it in Buckingham where small business suffered due to a Tesco opening”; “It will destroy the sense of community”; “An out of Town store would kill off the Co-Op and negatively effect business in the town”; “Thame would die, look at Abingdon, Princes Risborough and Gt Missenden”
“There is already uncertainty in the High Street, with some shopkeepers wondering whether they should be renewing their rental agreements,” Clare told councillors, “They need our support.”
She continued: “Can we work together to produce a Thame-lead, independent assessment; one set of data to support the Neighbourhood Plan, to support and endorse Town and District planning policy, and to use for the whole of the High Street going forward?”
Cllr Don Butler congratulated Clare Nickless on the work her organisations were doing and her presentation, adding: “Great job! Keep up the pressure!”
THE THAME NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
Clare reminded councillors what the Neighbourhood Plan states: “A large superstore on the edge of Thame would undermine the town’s vitality and the viability of town centre shops. This would be detrimental to the overall sustainability of the town and would reduce the accessibility and choice of services and facilities available to the community.”
And the SODC Local Plan 2031 refined options – “..a town centre first approach, directing new supermarkets and other shops to town centres rather than out of town sites, is government policy and is important to help retain the vitality and viability of the town centres.”
‘TIPPING POINT’
The Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, said that the subject of carrying out such a study came from discussions with the council’s Neighbourhood Plan group, with regard, not only to Tesco, but from worries about when would be the ‘tipping point’ that another supermarket would be needed, and to look at all suitable sites. Other studies may need to be carried out, including one on parking, she added. In answer to a question about time scales from Cllr David Laver, the Clerk said that there had been pre-application discussions between Tesco and SODC, but that because of personel changes at Tesco there was some uncertainty over when and if an application would go forward. “A decision would be unlikely before the election,” she added.
It was pointed out during the discussion that followed that if it were to submit a planning application for a supermarket, Tesco would be likely to submit its own version of a Town Centre Impact Assessment to the planning authority, who would then ‘test’ it. “Tesco’s version will say what Tesco wants it to say,” said Cllr Mike Dyer. “Our’s needs to be an independent study,” added Cllr Champken Woods, so that we can make an informed decision.”
Cllr Vaughan Humphries said: “It is the integrity of our Neighbourhood Plan that is at stake here.” Cllr Helena Fickling said: “This is not just about a supermarket. We should have an idea about what retail we need and have a strategy so that we can be pro-active in supporting the town centre.”
The council voted unanimously in favour of an independent study ‘of the impact of a supermarket development’ on the town centre, to be carried out.
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following theft from a vehicle in Thame.
Between 4pm Saturday (21/02) and 1.30pm Tuesday (24/02) offender(s) gained access to an insecure vehicle parked at a property in Kings road. A TOM TOM sat-nav was stolen.
If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101.
Alternatively if you have any information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
FOLLOWING last month’s hugely successful, fifth birthday bash, Thame’s First Thursday Music Club will this month, maintain the momentum by featuring The Nikki Loy Trio in its much coveted 10 o’ clock spot.
Nikki Loy
Nikki is celebrating the release of her album ‘Naked – Part 1’ as the first of four solo albums that will feature the results of her self-imposed challenge to write a new song every week for a year. She is now 30 weeks into the challenge and writes a new song every Tuesday. She then records the song, videos it and uploads it by the evening!
Each of the tracks on the new album were then rehearsed and polished to make them part of this intimate but exquisite solo acoustic album, showing songs in their naked forms. Nikki will appear at First Thursday Music Club’s regular venue, The Stables at The James Figg in Thame, on March 5, with bass guitarist Pete Sherman and drummer Phil Heard.
Another big crowd is expected and will be entertained throughout the evening by over 15 different acts producing sounds from across the music genres. A fantastic evening of live music is guaranteed – and it’s all FREE!
Anyone can play by signing up at the venue before 7.45pm. Check out the First Thursday Music Club on Facebook HERE
THAME Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following theft from vehicles in Thame.
Between 6pm Saturday (21/02) and 8.30am Monday (23/02) offender(s) gained access to an insecure vehicle parked at a property in Towersey drive. Golf balls and a golf cap were stolen.
Between 9am Saturday (21/02) and 7.45am Monday (23/02) offender(s) gained access to an insecure vehicle parked at a property in Towersey drive. A rucksack with personal items was taken.
Between 8pm Saturday (21/02) and 12pm Sunday (22/02) offender(s) broke into a vehicle parked at a property in Towersey drive. Cash, GARMIN sat-nav and charger, APPLE IPod and other personal items were stolen.
If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101.
Alternatively if you have any information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
THAME Barns Centre will quite literally becoming alight to celebrate like never before, as it plays host the town’s first ever fire walk to mark International Women’s Day.
Lottie Moore, fire walking
Multi award-winning local business woman, and founder of WISH Women, Lottie Moore, will be leading both women and men over hot coals as a way of marking International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8,
March, a day that is celebrated around the globe, focusing on women’s achievements while raising awareness for the need for a global call for equality.
Lottie has arranged a spectacular day for women, with world-class speakers, and exhibits from local women in business, before the men are invited in for the final seminar and the Fire Walk finale.
Lottie, who has walked over 100 fires in one evening, explained: “There are lots of reasons for people to fire walk, whether it be to build their self-confidence, motivate change, gain focus, or breakthrough fear, but with the theme of this year’s Women’s Day being Make It Happen, it seemed the perfect way to close the event.”
The event will also be supporting the Haddenham-based Christian charity, The Dignity & Hope Foundation Cambodia, that partners with groups in Cambodia, including those working with women and children who have experienced trafficking.
Lottie continued: “I know that the day will bring incredible opportunities for those who attend, as well as the huge challenge they will face when preparing to walk the fire. Fire walking is usually a really scary thing for individuals to face, but the huge sense of elation and achievement that you experience after the walk makes it all worthwhile. To face fear head on and step through it is an amazing experience – I think everybody should have the chance to fire walk at some point in their life.”
Lottie launched WISH Women three years ago to provide a space where all women could come together to recognise their unique qualities and strengths, and she hopes that Fire Walk event in Thame will inspire all those involved to ‘start living their lives with renewed positivity, passion, and purpose’.
Having previously led groups of women to the rooftop of North Africa for International Women’s Day, Lottie sets out to put on a truly unique event each year, ‘to celebrate all that women can achieve, and enable them to look beyond their personal limitations, to allow them to recognise the global impact they can have when they step out of their comfort zones with a fresh challenge’.
Pirate treasure aboard the good ship ‘John Hampden’ for Artsweek 2015
ARTSWEEK at John Hampden School in Thame, has been a swashbuckling affair with the pupils and staff enjoying a life on the ocean wave, on ‘The Jolly John Hampden’.
The pirate theme saw the school hall transformed into a desert island where ‘The Jolly John Hampden’ has been washed up and shipwrecked, spilling it’s cargo of jewels and treasures across the beach. The John Hampden shipmates attired themselves with homemade Pirate hooks, eye patches, swords, telescopes, compasses and even sewn their own parrots to look the part. They made their own pirate ships and filled class treasure chests with coins, jewels and pirate booty. They printed their own Jolly Roger flags to show their pirate intent, and formed clay skulls and fish to litter their sunken treasure under the sea.
The school’s Arts Co-ordinators, Jackie Nichols and Clare Field, have been very involved in organising ArtsWeek, which also involved finding out about the ‘not-so –romantic’ real pirates who roam the oceans of the world today.
They reported: “Yet again John Hampden has seen an army of parents, grandparents, governors, guardians, teachers and teaching assistants, old and new, volunteer to support the children in their pirate artwork, with a multitude of helpers (over 60!), who came to bring our ideas to life!
“Our PTFA provided the booty to fund the week, with a generous donation which enabled the school to provide a wealth of artistic experiences and resources for the children to enjoy. These have ranged from a woodwork project to make a pirate shipwreck, a mysterious, mod-roc skull cave, a sew-off of felt parrots, fish and jellyfish, a junk modelled challenge to create recycled pirate boats and much, much more!
“The staff also set the children the challenge of identifying which golden coin belonged to which member of staff, by matching the coin head’s profile to the right staff member in the ‘Treasure Trove Quiz’, with an arty prize for the winning entry. We dared all to enter our pirate world at the end of the week, to follow our treasure maps through shipwrecks and sand dunes, past beautiful mermaids and fearsome pirate folk, to find the jewel of our artistic endeavours at the Artsweek Fair-trade Café as a Friday finale.
“The week proved to be a voyage of pirate discovery and it took half-term to recover from our pirate antics, but we can enjoy our hall in weeks to come as a reminder of our swashbuckling adventure!”
in Oxfordshire.
