Author: Sonja Francis

THE long awaited, brand new library for Thame came a step closer today, when demolition of the old toy shop in North Street began this morning (02/03/09).

The site of the old Pied Pedaller toy shop, which finally closed it doors last April, was chosen by Oxfordshire County Council who are responsible for libraries in the county.

Building work is expected to begin in April and the target date for the opening of the state-of-the art replacement library is early summer 2010.

The design of the new library has been controversial with the town council rejecting the plans twice over design concerns.

THE Police are appealing for witnesses after a man exposed himself to separate women in Chinnor on Wednesday (25/2).

At around 9.45am the man exposed himself to a woman in Riders Way. Fifteen minutes later, the same man exposed himself to another woman in Estover Way.

The man is white, thin and around 6ft to 6ft 4ins. He has short, fair or light-brown hair and is aged between 20 and 30 years old.

Sgt Chris Hazell, investigating the incidents, said: “These are two disturbing incidents. I ask anyone who might have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area to contact the police.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact PC Mick Goodenough at Thame police station via 0845 8 505 505, or if you don?t want to talk to the police or give your name, call Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

THAME has been warned that a Local Development Framework for future housing, due to be published soon, is likely to affect the town.

South Oxfordshire District Council’s Chief Executive, David Buckle, told town councillors recently that the Framework, due out in April, will list preferred sites in the district for housing development, and “is likely to create much debate.”

Public meetings throughout the district and other consultations have been held for both developers and the public to help identify where new housing could go. SODC has also identified thirteen larger and more sustainable villages, which it considers could accommodate more housing.

Whilst it is expected that the majority of the 47,200 new homes needed to be built in Oxfordshire between 2006 to 2026 (according to the Draft South East Development Plan – Oxfordshire County Council’s figures) in Didcot, Wantage and other towns, Thame is unlikely to be immune. Though how, and if, these plans will be affected by the current drop in house sales, is not known.

10,000 new homes are expected be built in South Oxfordshire itself by 2026. This includes a possible 1,000 for the Thame area.

A THAME woman who had sex with a 14-year-old boy who contacted her over the internet to help with his learning difficulties, will not go to jail.

Catherine Armstrong, 33, had admitted three charges of sexual activity with a child and was today given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Oxford Crown Court.

In sentencing Armstrong, Judge Julian Hall told her
that he did not think she posed a danger in the future and that female prisons did not have the facilities to help sex offenders.

“You have been given the chance to rebuild your life,” he added.

A PLAN to ensure the future economic health of Thame should include better facilities for young people, a community centre and facilities to attract visitors to the town.
These are just some of the findings presented to the town council on Tuesday (24/02/09) by economic development officers from South Oxfordshire District Council.

The Market Town Action Plan For Thame, designed to help “create vibrant market conditions” in the town is all part of a strategy to help the three struggling market towns in South Oxfordshire. It has been arrived at following a series of local events and feedback from workshops involving all interested groups or ‘stakeholders’ across the district.

It was made clear that the priorities for the next three years, starting in April 2009, were for the district council to work with partnerships and higher bodies through training and other events, and using consultants, to gather data about who visits Thame, why they come, what makes Thame distinctive from other towns, what are its good qualities and its weaknesses and to look at economic indicators of the town’s economic health.

A Town Centre Co-ordinator is to be employed for the three market towns, Thame, Henley and Wallingford to look at things like a possible Mid-Somer Murders trail to attract visitors to Thame and Wallingford, and look at other ways of marketing the towns.

The cost of the initial actions are:

Tourism survey –

FOLLOWING the announcement of a below inflation rise in South Oxfordshire’s Community Charge this year, the authority’s Chief Executive says that his council’s income faces huge pressures.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of Thame Town Council (24.2), David Buckle explained that the causes of a downturn in South Oxfordshire District Council’s income included a drop in land charges caused by the fall in house sales, a reduction in income from car parking and less planning applications being submitted.

Another area of extra expense for the authority explained Mr Buckle, was the Concessionary Fare scheme that came in this year, which requires the authority to pay 55% of each fare.

Mr Buckle was answering a question about the cost of the recent merge of SODC’s financial services with those of the Vale of White Horse District Council. He said that the merger would save SODC