Author: Sonja Francis

RAMBLERS using a popular bridleway route have given the ‘thumbs up’ to a new bridge installed by Oxfordshire County Council?s Countryside Service.

The bridge, used regularly by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, is on a route near Thame, linking Sydenham village to Aston Rowant, Kingston Blount and Chinnor. The bridleway is locally known as Sewell?s Lane.

Construction work involved replacement of the old bridge ramps using cost effective plastic ?railway sleepers? as bearers to help prolong its life. Drainage in the surrounding area has also been improved to tackle flooding issues which had been causing access problems at certain times of year.

Costs for the project, including materials and machinery came in at under

HERE is the latest Thame neighbourhood update from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Thorne and PCSO Jackson.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) Info:

The most common way we can deal with incidents of ASB is by issuing ASB warning letters, acceptable behaviour contracts (ABC?s), anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO?s), Section 27 orders ? direction to leave locality, and Section 59 orders – contracts issued for using a vehicle in an anti-social manner.

During May, no ASB warning letters have been issued to any member of the public and no alcohol has been confiscated. No Section 59 warnings and no Section 27?s have been issued.

It has been highlighted that ASB is occurring at the cricket pitch therefore this will be closely monitored.

We are still receiving complaints regarding litter and broken glass on Southern Road recreation ground. This area is on our Patrol Plan and offenders will be dealt with accordingly. There are plenty of bins provided, so please use them!

We have noticed fresh graffiti around the town. This is not tolerated and carries a heavy fine.

Priorities:

Our Local Priority for Thame is ASB. As stated above, we conduct high visibility patrols in and around the town, engaging with members of the public, listening to local people?s community concerns/issues. Where problems are brought to our attention, we conduct home visits with parents present, issue warning letters and work with offenders to encourage them to move forward.

Following a Have Your Say (HYS) meeting, residents of Chilton Vale estate have voiced their concerns over parking opposite a junction. PCSO Jackson has liaised with Highways and Traffic Management, who are attending the location to assess the situation with the possibility of suitable road markings being put down.

Offenders brought to justice:

Eight offenders have been brought to justice

1 x Criminal Damage
1 x Threats to Kill
5 x Shoplifting Offences
1 x Harassment
Crime Mapping:

The Home Office national crime mapping website gives the public access to street-level crime information as well as information on their Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Neighbourhood Priorities and Events – details of Have Your Say and other neighbourhood activities. Log on to www.police.uk, type in your local postcode or neighbourhood name and then click on ?Find out more?.

Partnership Activity:

We continue to work with our partners, ensuring that we liaise on a regular basis with the schools on our sector, who we have good rapports with. We conduct monthly site inspections with Soha, South Vale Housing and Sovereign Housing, tackling low level neighbourhood disputes. We engage regularly with the local Town Council, picking up any local concerns people raise and events which are taking place over coming months.

Pubwatch meetings continue to be held every two months and Country Watch meetings are held quarterly.

Non Partnership Activity:

PCSO Jackson attended Barley Hill School on 6 May to deliver a short talk to the foundation year group. This was very enjoyable. She also met with a small child care group to introduce herself and say hello to the children.

Due to us providing a visible presence for the majority of our shifts, we engage with our local community daily, allowing us to talk with people and deal with any issues they have.

Planned Activity:

We have participated in the following operations during May:

Maginot – this operation continues to run, tackling travelling criminals entering and leaving our area.

Due to an increase in thefts from vehicles in the Thame area and surrounding villages, we have been deploying the Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) device at dedicated times and providing a highly visible police presence aimed at deterring and preventing offences taking place, offering reassurance and assisting in the capture and prosecution of offenders.

ANPR is a powerful tool that can help prevent crime by identifying flagged vehicles.

Benefits of ANPR

ANPR identifies suspect vehicles that may not normally attract police attention.
Unlicensed or uninsured vehicles are likely to be seized on the spot by ANPR equipped officers.
It can be used to gather intelligence on known criminals, and for running pro-active operations using dedicated Roads Policing intercept teams.
ANPR cameras are not safety cameras – they are not used by Thames Valley Police to catch speeding or otherwise law abiding motorists. ANPR cameras are not used to generate money for the Government or other agencies.

Magpie – this operation involves checking parked vehicles in local car parks for valuables left on display.

Mangrove – this is running initially for eight weeks as a result of fuel thefts from heavy goods vehicles over recent weeks in our local area. This operation involves us carrying out static patrols in key areas at key times in marked vehicles.

Good News Stories:

We were pleased that the local Music in the Park event was well received and enjoyed by all those who attended. Police were not called to any incidents throughout the day, and it was nice to see many local people coming together in good spirits to enjoy the music.

Community Messaging:

This free service provides information to subscribers about crime and police activity in their area via phone or email. It also includes information on what we and our partner services are doing to bring offenders to justice or combat anti-social behaviour, and information on opportunities for local residents to raise concerns with their local policing teams. More information can be obtained via our website, and you can sign up here too: http://www.tvpcommunitymessaging.org/rmwebportal/startup.aspx

Have Your Say online

You can now send non-emergency messages to us using the online form that is available on the Thames Valley Police website. A number of people have already sent their concerns using this method. For you to do that please follow the link: http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh/yournh-about-nh-pol/yournh-tvp-pol-area-n235-hys. Please allow some time for us to get back to you as we do check our mail box only at certain times of the day.

There is also the opportunity to attend Have Your Say meetings in person. Upcoming ?Have Your Say? meetings are:-

Thursday 16 June 2011, 2pm ? 4pm at Thame Town Hall with PCSO Jackson
These meetings are an ideal opportunity for local residents to speak to their local police officers and PCSO?s about any local issues, no appointment is necessary just turn up and speak to your local officers. Further meetings will be publicised locally and on the force website at www.thamesvalley.police.uk

If you want any advice or would like to contact the neighbourhood team you can call us on the police non emergency number 0845 8 505505 or email ThameNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk. Please note this email address cannot be used to contact Thames Valley Police to report crimes or for any urgent matters. Alternatively you can visit the force website at www.thamesvalley.police.uk to view information on your neighbourhood.

SOURCE: Contributed

THAME Town Council has recommended approval of a replacement planning application to move Thame cattlemarket to the Thame show ground in Kingsey Road – despite some reservations!

The new plan is very similar to a previously approved planning application which runs out in a few weeks, except that the applicant, R G Williams (TCM) Ltd, propose to move the entrance a few metres along the Kingsey Road.

The application has however, attracted over 100 letters and on-line representations from local residents and others, which can be viewed on SODC’s website at:
http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/ccm/support/Main.jsp?MODULE=ApplicationDetails&REF=P11/E0622 where details of the application can be viewed.

At Tuesday’s meeting of Thame Town Council’s Planning & Environment committee, Cllr Nigel Champken Woods said that he felt the plan still does not address problems that could arise because of the access, and that he feared the development would add to existing problems for vehicles leaving Lea Park.

Cllr Mike Welply was concerned that foul water drainage into currently unadopted drains on Lea Park, from the Cattlemarket could cause problems.

Cllr David Dodds said that he thought the associated buildings would be “decidedly more visible in the landscape” than the previous plan.

Cllr Helena Fickling pointed out that a Bund was included in the plan, but that there appeared to be no provision for pedestrians and cyclists to the access.

Councillors were also concerned that there was insufficient parking for the regular big sheep sales and other larger events.

The plan will next go to SODC’s planning committee shortly which will decide whether to approve the plan or not.

Sainsbury’s are currently consulting the public before submitting a plan for a supermarket on the site of the current Cattlemarket in North Street.

PRELIMINARY talks about building additional new homes that may be required, on land currently part of Lord Williams’s school, have been taking place.

Comments from the Government Inspector looking at the proposed Core strategy for future development in South Oxfordshire, have indicated that more than the so-far estimated 530 new homes for Thame may have to be allocated to the town because so-called ‘windfall sites’ (unplanned for sites that may become available for housing in the future), may not be taken into consideration when estimating the number of houses planned for.

If that was to happen, the planning authority’s preferred site, Site F where the old pig farm in Oxford Road opposite Lord Williams’s Upper school was, would not be big enough and other alternatives would have to be looked at.

Jake Collinge, Consultant to Thame Town Council, speaking at a meeting of the council’s Policy and Resources committee last night, revealed that talks are “on-going” between Thame Town Council, the county council, the school and South Oxfordshire District Council about the possibility of “a super-site” school being built at upper School, leaving the lower school site available for additional housing.

The Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, in answer to a question about timing from Cllr Vaughan Humphries, pointed out that any proposed site would have to be shown to be available for development, within the next couple of months before it could be considered in the Core Strategy.

Cllr Adam Buckland suggested that a new primary school would be needed if the possible new figure of around 850 new homes were to become a reality.

Some town councillors had wanted the Core strategy to be delayed until the Localism Bill had been published and its own Town Plan produced but this could take 18 months. The pressure is on SODC to get its Core Strategy in place very soon before the current CS expires and there is a loss of planning control over development in the district.

The Inspector’s examination continues and there will be more public meetings and consultations before the matter is settled.

PUT ‘Core Strategy’ in the search box, top right home page of Thamenews.net to see all background stories and useful links on this subject.

THAME’S Member of Parliament, John Howell, has spoken about his pleasure at meeting the President of the United States, when Obama visited Westminster Hall last week.

In his blog, John says: “I had an opportunity for a hand-shake and a brief discussion when President Obama came to visit Parliament on May, 25. The President addressed both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall and spoke about the shared values between the UK and the US. The President also covered the role the two countries have played in a range of international situations.

On leaving Westminster Hall, the President stopped to speak to a number of MPs and Peers. The Speaker introduced me to the President. It was a great pleasure to meet the President and to exchange a few words on his speech. The speech had covered wide ground and it was good to have a chance to show my appreciation for it.

This was the first address in Westminster Hall by a President of the United States to Members of both Houses of Parliament.”