Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • 12/10/10…..Town council criticised over development consultation

    Dear Sir or Madam, In the past stories have been run about how Thame was threatened by another 850 homes in the next 15 years. Now the district council has said that this number will be cut to 530 although there will be additional windfall sites. Now people are being asked whether they support 530 homes and employment on the pig farm or on land in Thame Park Road. The reasons for the consultation is that Thame Town Council now want the homes on the pig farm rather than the district council?s preferred option in Thame Park Road.

    I, my friends and neighbours are really surprised that Thame Town Council has not consulted us on this before. Having looked at the town council?s web site, I see that it states: ?The town council is a service provider for the Thame community, an influencer and conduit for local views, working effectively and efficiently in partnership with other organisations.? All well and good but it is a pity that they did not go out to the public before the councillors changed their minds about where the new homes should go. If the town council believes in having a dialogue with local people this has to be two-way and the general public should be told about potential decisions before they become a fait accompli.

    It seems the town council is now backing the site of the pig farm opposite Lord Williams? Upper School since it supports the idea that the Lower School should go there too and there would be a combined school on both sides of the road. (This plan appears to have been kept particualrly quiet – what will happen to the existing Lower School site? More housing no doubt.) The traffic on Oxford Road is already high and placing not just the homes and employment there but the Lower School as well will make the road very dangerous for people to cross.

    Also the land is partly in a flood plain and rises to a high level between the by-pass and Oxford Road, so a large area of land would be concreted over, making any flash flooding worse for Thame and most worrying, threaten existing homes further down the Oxford Road.

    South Oxfordshire?s professional planners had supported the site in Thame Park Road. Time and again at Local Plan inquiries the inspectors have refused homes on the pig farm for sensible planning reasons, (for example the very real risk of flooding). Now it seems that Thame Town Council and certain residents? association representatives want to make a decision on political grounds rather than for sensible planning reasons.THIS IS NOT RIGHT!

    The deadline for comments are only a couple of weeks away ? Friday, 29 October. What is really bad, is that virtually everyone, other than those who have already made these decisions, are being kept in the dark and it appears the ‘consultation’ process is being rushed in order to limit the public’s response in terms of contribution and volume. THIS IS NOT RIGHT!

    Yours faithfully
    Julie Jenson (Mrs)
    Old Union Way, Thame
    12/10/10

  • 12/12/10…..Thame’s new football stadium to launch with Oxford United match

    A DECEMBER 1st launch is planned for Meadow View Park, Thame’s new football complex, and as part of the celebrations during the month, Thame United have secured a friendly against Oxford United on Tuesday, December 21 at the ASM Stadium.

    The kick-off will be at 7.30pm. Thame are hoping to play their first Hellenic Premier League game on Saturday, December 4, against Wokingham & Embrook at Meadow View Park.

  • 12/10/10…Residents unhappy about housing development consultation

    FOLLOWING the launching of a public consultation about future housing development in Thame, some residents are unhappy about the publicity for the consultation, from both the district council and Thame Town Council.

    See: LINK to previous news item about the consultation.

    Two residents have today written letters to ThameNews. Net expressing their concerns. See: LINK

    PHOTO: Concept plan of what is proposed for site F, the favoured site of Thame Town Council and several residents’ Associations in the town. (The site is the pig farm adjacent to the Oxford Road, Thame)

  • 12/10/10…Date annouced for Thame to get super-fast Broadband

    THAME is to get super-fast (up to 40Mbps download and 10Mbps upload speed) fibre optic ( FTTC ) broadband by December 2011.

    By that date, BT have said, Thame’s exchange is due to be enabled for Fibre to the Cabinet technology and from that date, they will be able to accept orders for BT Infinity.

  • 11/10/10……Big ‘Thank you’ from Thame Day Centre Chief

    A Funding SOS sent out by Thame and District Day Centre a month ago has raised

  • 11/10/10….Thame United beaten on penalties

    GIVEN their mounting number of fixtures to be played in the League, United will not have been too disappointed to have been beaten on penalties (7-6) by Flackwell Heath in the league Challenge Cup on Saturday, following a nil, nil score.

    Manager Mark West took the opportunity presented by the game to rotate the squad, with James Way, Paul Searl and Mitchell Meredith all starting, and Sam Cowan making a welcome return. The first half was largely uneventful with the game contained in the middle of the park with few goal scoring opportunities, albeit the centre back pairing of Nik Rhodes and Meredith were kept occupied by Riccardo Cannon, the talented Flackwell Heath striker.

    Whilst the second half started in similar vein, the game gradually became more open as both sides pushed forward for the elusive first goal. Indeed, it was United who created the first clear goal scoring opportunity when Aaron Rogers, playing against his former club, found space inside the box following a goal mouth scramble and saw his shot beat the home keeper before being cleared off the line. Flackwell responded with a series of dangerous crosses in to the Thame box with Searl pushing a goal bound header around the post before Alex MacDonald on the wide right crossed for Alex Stewart whose powerful header was heading for the top corner before being pushed over by the home keeper. Moments later Rogers was put clean through and, just as he was about to make contact with the ball, was pulled back by the retreating central defender. Whilst this forced the striker to place the ball just wide of the post, United looked to the referee in anticipation of a foul, only to see the official wave play on.

    This was the last real chance of the 90 minutes and the game went in to extra time with both teams again looking for the inspirational moment that would turn the match. This was not forthcoming, despite an excellent Searl save from a corner, and a header from MacDonald that went just wide of the post. With the score still tied, the match went down to penalties and with some interesting officiating, that saw the experienced Flackwell Heath player, James Pritchard, sent from the field of player, it was Flackwell who finally edged through 7-6 after nearly two hours of play.

    United are again without a league games this coming Saturday (16th October) as they face Woodcote and Stoke Row at home (AFC Wallingford) in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup, a competition where they will be looking to make significant progress.

    Thame United: Searl, Newell, Cowan, Meredith, N. Rhodes (Fisher), Braun, A.Rhodes, MacDonald (Lovell), Rogers, Stewart, Way

  • 11/10/10…….Thame bridge player wins prestigious award

    A Bridge Player from Thame has been awarded the Dimmie Fleming Award, 2010, in recognition of his hard work in promoting the game of bridge locally.

    Bill McCarthy has been a Thame Bridge Club member for over seventeen years, many of those as club team captain. He has also been a committee member for the Aylesbury Bridge Club for at least 10 years. Bill was the sole scorer until Bridgewebs came into use and has set up his own website to show the Aylesbury Club results and ladders. He is also stand in scorer for the Thame Club.

    As well as duplicating board for both Aylesbury and Thame Bridge clubs, as well as Oxfordshire Bridge Association home county matches, Bill directs at both clubs and has taken on responsibility for movement cards. He regularly directs and/or scores various charity events.

    Bill ran the OBA county championship for at least two years and was an active member of the OBA Tournament Committee for several years and has maintained the websites for the results of all the County league competitions.

    Bill himself told Thamenews.Net: “It is very pleasant to be awarded recognition for something you enjoy doing.”

    PHOTO: Bill receives his certificate at the English Bridge Union?s AGM from the Chairman, Sally Bugden.

  • 08/010/10…..Founder of Thame Family business dies on holiday

    THE founder member of Thame’s nationally acclaimed family butchers, died yesterday while on holiday.

    Michael Newitt, who in 1965 with his wife, Susan started the business in the seventeenth century butcher’s shop on the High Street, Thame, was on holiday in Antigua when he died

    The family business he founded, M. Newitt & Sons, has since grown into a nationally renowned food producer, achieving numerous awards and accolades, including the Britain’s Best Butcher’s Shop Award, just weeks ago.

    PHOTO: Michael Newitt and his son Tom, photographed after receiving their award for Best Butchers Shop in Britain, at the 2010 Meat Management Industry Awards ceremony back in June. The guest of honour was the England World Cup goal keeper, Gordon Banks.

  • 08/10/10….Full report on Crime fighting in Thame during October

    Here is the latest Thame neighbourhood update from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Diane Jackson and PCSO Lucy Thorne, relating to everything from anti-social behaviour and alcohol, to shoplifting and criminal damage:

    Crime Info:

    CRIME mapping shows a decrease in anti-social behaviour (ASB) from 24.7 to 23.7 between the period of May ? July 2009 and the same period for 2010. This is a 4.1 percent decrease. By providing high visibility patrols at key times in key areas, we work to deter/prevent ASB in the town. We engage regularly with the young people, and conduct home visits with parents present when necessary if individuals are coming to our attention.

    More information on the above categories can be found on the Thames Valley Police website under local crime mapping Thames Valley Police

    Anti-social behaviour (ASB) Info:

    DURING September, PCSO Lucy Thorne has had two alcohol seizures. The first from a young person under the age of 18 in Southern Road Rec. The second seizure was from a large group of young boys and girls at Priest End River. Following this incident and the concerns based around the young people gathering in this area, we will continue to patrol and tackle any ASB issues at the Riverside. This is a very dark, secluded area, far away from the town centre and is extremely dangerous for young people to gather.

    ONE SECTION 59 (S59) has been issued to a local resident, following reports of alarm and distress from other residents and police officers. For those of you who are not aware a S59 Warning is a first response in dealing with anti social use of a vehicle and it?s a warning that is recorded on the police database. If the person or vehicle is seen again to be using a vehicle in an anti social way then this will be seized.

    THE ASB meeting was a success. Individuals that have been coming to our attention more over recent weeks will be dealt with accordingly by the ASB team. We have received reports of broken glass bottles in the baseball field backing onto Churchill Crescent. We would like to remind people how seriously we take this behaviour. The areas suffering with this type of ASB will be patrolled regularly and any offenders will be dealt with appropriately.

    THAME FAIR passed with little crime or disorder, which we were very pleased about with improvement on last year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dkte5B1BFg

    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:
    LINK

    Offenders brought to justice:

    IN September, there have been 12 offenders brought to justice. Four of these were related to shoplifting incidents, three were for the possession of Cannabis, one was related to criminal damage to vehicles and another for criminal damage to dwellings. Three offenders were brought to justice for selling alcohol to young people aged under 18 years.

    Comments on all priorities:

    THR Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) priority for Thame is:
    1. Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) – Key areas are patrolled when on duty and any ASB is dealt with and youths are moved on if necessary. Where needed, home visits are carried out with parents present.

    Partnership Activity:

    DURING September, we have worked closely with housing associations, carrying out site inspections and home visits, tackling very few neighbourhood disputes.

    WE were delighted to be invited to Barley Hill Primary School on 28th September to attend the opening of the new teaching block. This provided us with a great opportunity to engage with other invited guests and staff.

    We are also working closely with Lord Williams Upper School, where we will be holding our Distraction Burglary Day on Wednesday 13 October between 09.00-12.30. The event will take place at the Leisure Centre on the school site. Some years ago, the police held a well received presentation aimed at trying to target bogus callers. As distraction burglaries continue to plague us, we will be running another presentation morning, involving a local drama group, other agencies and partners etc. Our target audience will be the elderly and vulnerable. Free transport will be available from the town centre for residents who require it. Posters will soon be placed around the town and leaflets will be available and distributed as necessary. If you would like more information on this event or would like to confirm attendance, please call 0845 8 505 505 and ask for PCSO C8966 Lucy Thorne or PCSO C9610 Diane Jackson.

    PCSO Lucy Thorne would like to take this opportunity to inform young people looking for work, or looking for assistance with finding employment, that from Wednesday 13th October, there will a Connextions representative available to speak with at the Young Persons Centre in Thame from 14.00-16.30. This will be held weekly on Wednesdays from 14.00-16.30.

    COUNTRY Watch meetings are being held quarterly.

    Planned Activity:
    There are monthly operations for Country Watch.

    WE will continue to deploy the Speed Indication Device (SID) in the area on a monthly basis, on roads which have been highlighted for speeding. We will also be looking to deploy the Automatic Number Plate Recognition Device along with the SID to tackle travelling criminals entering and travelling through our area.

    PCSO Thorne visited the Beavers on Friday 24 September at the Scout Hut.

    PCSO Thorne and PCSO Jackson will be visiting the Rainbows on 13th October to provide a talk to the young girls on safety.

    Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) Activity:
    We continue to support our Neighbourhood Specialist Officer with any priority actions set by the NAG.

    Good news stories:

    In September PCSO Jackson and PCSO Thorne carried out the routine drug swabbing in all Public Houses in Thame. The results were presented at the Pubwatch meeting at the beginning of the month. Any premises that need re-swabbing following the results will be swabbed again when Licensing request them.

    PCSO Jackson assisted with the arrest of an offender for Theft. She identified the offender from a previous incident.

    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: LINK 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.

    Have Your Say Meetings

    ? PCSO C8966 Lucy Thorne, Monday 11 October 2010- 3pm -5pm at the Co-Op Caf

  • 08/10/10………Teacher battles arthritis for Great North Run triumph

    THAME primary school teacher, Fiona Dyer of St Joseph?s Catholic Primary School, has shown her true grit and determination by achieving one of her lifetime dreams by completing the recent Great North Run.

    What is remarkable about this achievement is that whilst at University, Fiona was told that she would be crippled and in a wheelchair by the age of 30 because of her arthritic condition.

    Wanting to demonstrate that if you follow your dreams anything is achievable, Fiona asked her consultant at Stoke Mandeville if her body was up to the run. Her consultant said knowing Fiona?s personality, anything was possible and she was a great inspiration to us all; the consultant was also inspired to train and run with her.

    ?The experience was truly amazing, almost overwhelming,” said Fiona. “The race had a great atmosphere and the support from spectators and fellow runners was fantastic.”

    At times the race was difficult but Fiona remembered how the children at St Joseph’s had arranged a special assembly in her honor singing Chariots of Fire!

    ?Determination is what makes me the person I am,” she continued. “We can all achieve our dreams if we try.?

    So far, over