Author: Sonja Francis

THREE schools in Haddenham, near Thame, are in the running to win one of two fantastic school prizes (up to the value of

THE Mayor of Thame has expressed his delight at the success of the annual Thame Mayor’s ‘Big Bash’ which he has described as ‘breaking the mould’ for civic events.

The Mayor, Nigel Champken Woods, said that with a smart/casual dress code and buffet-style dining this year, the event was much more informal than in previous years but had proven to be equally as successful.

The event, held on Friday (22/03) raised essential funds for the Mayor’s chosen charities, SERV (Service by Emergency Riders & Volunteers), of which the Mayor is a volunteer driver, and Sharing Life Trust, a Thame-based charity providing practical and emotional support for local people.

In all,

COUNCIL Tax arrears accumulated over five years, have result in a suspended prison sentence for a Chinnor man.

Stephen Bowker, 51, of Station Road, Chinnor, was sentenced to a 42 day prison sentence, suspended upon receipt of fortnightly

A dozen or so hardy Moreton villagers braved the cold and tackled the litter in and around the village on Sunday, as part of Mucking Out Moreton Day. Over thirty large sacks of rubbish were filled and collected along with several car tyres, bread basket crates and an assortment of old traffic cones. However most of debris collected was drink cans, bottles and fast food wrappers.

A special thanks must go to the Stephens family for collecting the many filled bags from around the village ready for the councils collection.

Much of the litter was found in the hedgerows and ditches upon entering the village as well as gateway entrances.

Its a sad fact but many of those armed with litter pickers on the day, exchanged stories of how motorists had been seen discarding litter. It was recounted that one lunchtime visitor was seen throwing a Waitrose cooked chicken carcass into the hedge. Maybe the man in question thought it was free range and sadly his numberplate was not recorded.

Villagers are now keeping a determined eye in and around Moreton, so litter louts be warned.

It’s a sad fact but as you venture along the country roads around Thame there is an increasing ammount of ever present litter and fly tipping debris. Old fridges, air conditioning units, carpet, asbestos sheeting and piles of tyres have all recently been seen. A hotspot seems to between Worminghall and Boarstall adjacent to the aptly named Hell Coppice near Oakley and York’s wood.

If you see large ammount of litter please contact the relevant local councils.

SOURCE: Contributed by a Moreton resident

AS a result of Thame’s growing population, four additional consulting rooms will be part of extensive refurbishment work that began yesterday (25/03) at Thame Health Centre, in East Street.

The provision of two new rooms for Trinity Health and two for The Rycote Practice will allow the centre to cope with the increase in patients and enable both practices to take on an additional GP registrar in August 2013.

A series of projects to improve and refurbish Thame Health Centre is being jointly funded by the two practices that share the building, The Rycote Practice and Trinity Health, supported by grants from the health authority and the deanery.

Pauline Tighe, Practice Administrator at The Rycote Practice, explained: “The works will be completed in phases and we will not be back to normal until August, but the changes will bring dramatic improvements to the surgeries. In total we will be investing over

MANI Abreu from Thame was delighted to receive a phone call from the Tidy Thame Team on Sunday (24/03) to take away hundreds of old cans that local residents groups and scouts had removed from around the town.

Mani is one of the many local, unsung heroes that can be seen out and about in all weathers, all year round helping to keep Thame tidy by litter picking while they are enjoying one of the many walks around the town.

Mani, the man who CAN, collects discarded cans and then takes them to a supermarket recycling centre in the return for a few vouchers!

Despite the freezing weather the Tidy Thame Team, organised this year by Councillor Mary Stiles, was delighted with the support and the amount of rubbish collected and would like to thank everyone involved in making the third Tidy Thame Day such a success.

THAME Town Council is continuing to dispute that by not providing a side access gate to the entrance of Elms Park in Park Street, it is endangering the safety of children.

Criticism of the council?s decision to leave an open access way, contrary to plans originally submitted and approved by the district council, has attracted criticism including from residents close by.

The town council is now seeking retrospective planning permission to leave out the pedestrian gate. In its application, the town council states: ?No access or highway safety implications arise from the lack of gates to the pedestrian entrance and, indeed, if it was anticipated that such issues may arise, it is reasonable to have expected that a condition requiring the provision of such would have been the subject of a condition of the original planning permission. It was not, and thus the proposals are also considered acceptable in access terms.?

Speaking at a meeting of the town council?s Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee on March 19, the Clerk to the Council, Helen Stewart, said: ?There are no issues with regard to safety whatsoever in the area nor has the Highways department any problems with the application.?

The Mayor, Cllr Nigel Champken Woods, said: ?We could install a barrier but we would have to look at the costs.?

Cllr Mike Dyer said that he had been approached by a resident living opposite the park and that he had written back to him inviting him to come and talk, but that the resident had never done so.

The full application and various letters and correspondence from local people in relation to this planning application can be read HERE

IMAGE; Courtesy of Thame Town Council – Plan drawing of the park access as it is now, as submitted by Thame Town Council to SODC for Retrospective Planning permission.