Author: Sonja Francis

A LOCAL man received burns to his body on Friday, when fire crews were called to a fire in a garage, in Thame Road, Toweresey.
AT around 5pm on Friday, November 23, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, including officers from Thame, were confronted with a well developed fire starting to spread to the adjacent house. The man who received burns to his body was treated at the scene by firefighters and then by paramedics.

Station Commander, John Nixon, said:”Contained within the garage were gas cylinders. Therefore crews did not enter.Initially the main priority was to prevent the fire affecting the occupier’s home and cooling the cylinders. Due to quick actions by initial crews this was achieved”.
Appliances attended from Thame, Wheatley, Haddenham and Kidlington.

If you would like advice on any aspect of home Fire Safety or would like to arrange for a Home fire safety visit please ring our freephone Helpline on 08000 325999.

THE Essex House Hotel, in Chinnor Road, Thame, is to be demolished and replaced by a modern block of apartments.
The planning application, which was objected to by Thame Town Council, has been passed by the planning authority, South Oxfordshire District Council, with a stream of conditions. (See Link)

Thame Town Council unsuccessfully tried to get the building itself and the Bridge Terrace cottages, listed with English Heritage.

The Victorian building was originally built as The Railway Hotel, at a time when Thame Railway Station was intended to be in Chinnor Road, and Bridge Terrace was constructed as cottages for the railway workers.

NOTE: Enter the words “Essex House” in the Search facility on home page of https://www.thame.net to read background articles.

Has Christmas become too commercialised is a question that is often asked at this time of year. That is for individuals to decide but the Thame and District CAB report that every year in January and February they see an increase in the number of people seeking debt advice. Christmas credit card bills are usually the last straw for people who are already struggling to cope on a tight budget.

We live in an affluent part of the country but hundreds of local people seek advice each year with debt problems. In some case, things have got so out of hand that bankruptcy may be the only way out. Perhaps it?s because we are surrounded by such obvious wealth that the pressures on ordinary people to spend are much greater. It is especially difficult for parents when their children clamour for the latest expensive gadget. Citizens Advice has five tips on how to keep out of debt this Christmas.

Be realistic about what you can afford.

Work out how much you are going to spend on each person – and stick to it. Try shopping just with cash and not using your credit cards.

Don’t just run up an overdraft without talking to your bank – this will be much more expensive than if you arrange it beforehand.

If you do need to use credit, shop around for the lowest rate.

If you do get into difficulties, get advice as soon as you can from Thame & District CAB. Tel 01844 217186

Photo: Courtesy of www.masternewmedia.org

FOLLOWING the disappearance of discs containing details of 25 million people who claim child benefit, Thame Valley Police have issued the following advice:
Please take care with personal documents, bank statements etc.
Also check internet security is in place for online banking and purchasing. If you are concerned, please call 0845 302 1444, the helpline number at Revenue and Customs.
A leaflet on Identity Theft, produced by the home office, is available from:
LINK

A PLANNING application for a new Cattle market and associated facilities has been recommended for approval by Thame Town Council’s Planning Committee.
This new plan is for a single storey building with additional landscaping, designed to reduce the building’s visual impact, which was a problem for planning officers and some councillors at SODC, when a previous application was turned down – decided by the casting vote of the Chairman.

An additional major difference with this, the third application to be submitted for a new cattle market, is a proposal for a new roundabout close to the proposed new entrance, off the A3129 in Thame. This, said David Butcher, speaking on behalf of the Developer, Bob Williams, would help reduce the speed of traffic along that stretch of the by-pass and would make it easier for people to exit the site.

As a response to concerns expressed about the inadequacy of the previous plans for drainage on the new site (on Thame Show ground), a new, self-contained drainage system has been designed to be situated down-stream of Lee Park.

David Butcher told committee members: “Since the last application, the situation for Thame Cattlemarket has worsened following the Foot and Mouth crisis, and with Blue Tongue, the problems have not gone away. The market needs to expand to ensure its security for the future.
“The Thame Show also suffered this year from the weather, and the Foot and Mouth crisis. It has been a tough year for both the market and the show.”

Peter Bailey, Managing Director of Thame Farmers Auction Mart Ltd, which operates Thame Cattle market, said: “We need to have this new market as soon as possible. We have looked at the plans and addressed all the concerns. We have done our utmost to overcome all the objections.
“We really must secure the market’s future for the farming community that depends on it.”

In response to a question from Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods as to how the proposed move would assist Thame Show, Peter Bailey explained: “The new facilities that would be provided will enable stock brought in for the show to be housed properly and securely for washing and preparation, bio-security being such a major concern these days.”

Answering questions posed by Cllr David Laver, it was explained that the site would include temporary office facilities for transient visitors, like vets and suppliers etc. Assurance was given that there would be no permanent agricultural engineers with large machines or similar types of businesses, based on the new site.

Cllr Champken-Woods doubted that the provision of a roundabout would make ‘a jot’ of difference to the problems of some Lee Park residents exiting on to the by-pass, and concerns about extra noise at the new roundabout were expressed by a resident of Pennington Place in a letter.

A lengthy discussion about how much extra traffic would be generated ensued, ranging from ‘four-fold’ according to Cllr Champken-Woods, and ‘marginal’ according to Cllr David Laver.
The Chairman, Cllr Don Butler, quoted bits of the Local Plan where it referred to “Protect and enhance the built environment” and “protection of the countryside” and how developments should be “integrated into the landscape”, and the Mayor, David Bretherton, quoted other bits with referred to “circumstances that could out-way the general requirments of the Local Plan” and about “promoting a healthy economy in rural areas” where there is “no adverse effect.”

Cllr Champken-Woods said that he was in full support of the Cattle market moving, but not in the proposed particular area.

Eventually, the committee voted by five votes to four to recommend the plan be approved.

Developer, Bob Davies, whose company submitted the plan, said today: “We are very pleased that Thame Town Council have supported us once again and hope that the level of support will continue and SODC responds appropriately.
“The future of the market and Thame show depend on it.”

Mr Williams is awaiting the results of an Appeal against SODC’s refusal of the former application. He said that if his company wins that appeal, they will withdraw the latest application.

This latest application will now go to South Oxfordshire District Council’s Planning committee in the next few weeks.

THE Future of the waste collection service in South Oxfordshire will include the collection of food waste in a separate bin for households.
South Oxfordshire District Council considered the Cabinet?s recommendations at its meeting last Thursday (15/11) regarding the case for changing the way in which the Council collects waste from 2009, when it will enter into a new contract for waste management.

The rationale behind collecting food waste and then composting it is that by doing so, the amount of rubbish sent to landfill can be reduced – in South Oxcfordshire’s case, by up to 5,000 tonnes a year.

Food waste is:
fruit and vegetables
vegetable and fruit peelings
cooked and uncooked food
plate scrapings (scraps)
meat and fish (including bones)
egg shells
dairy products (for example cheese and yoghurt)
tea bags and coffee grounds

Thame District Cllr, David Dodds moved and Mr P Greene seconded the recommendations of Cabinet and resolved to:

1. approve the following collection services as part of the new waste collection contract to start in 2009:
a) weekly separate collection of food waste from a kerbside bin
b) fortnightly residual waste collection from a wheeled bin
c) fortnightly opt-in charged for garden waste collection from a wheeled bin
d) kerbside collection of dry recycling (at least fortnightly collection)
e) kerbside collection of glass (at least fortnightly collection).
2. approve the Household Waste Action Plan, which forms part of a report of the Head of Environmental Services to Cabinet on 1 November 2007.
3. authorise the Head of Environmental Services, in consultation with the Cabinet member responsible for environmental services, to draw up the detailed contract specification within the broad scope outlined in the report to Cabinet on 1 November 2007.
4. approve the advertising of two separate contracts for Waste Collection and Street Cleansing whilst still enabling contractors to bid for a combined contract.
5. add