THAME Town councillors voted narrowly to recommend approval of new signage for a High Street Off Licence, after a heated exchange about the use of vinyl lettering.
Whittalls Wines, who have taken over the old Unwins shop at 94 High Street, Thame, want to re-paint their fascia above the door and place a timber projecting sign in place of the existing one, using vinyl letters.
Cllr Rob Parker, who used to run a retail business in the Buttermarket, Thame, said that he didn’t think the lettering would be offensive as long as the lettering used looked hand pained and used a suitable font. He said that sign-writing skills were no longer available for hand lettering, and that what the applicant was asking for was nothing more than is already common around the town.
Cllr David Dodds however was among those councillors who objected, and said that many unsuitable signs for a Conservation had ‘crept in’ and that he felt sure South Oxfordshire District Council would take account of the Lockwood Report on the town centre and would: “…reitterate this town’s policy for painted wooden signs.
The Planning committee voted 5 – 4 to recommend approval of the plans, with the proviso that Cllr Parker’s amendment about the suitability of the font chosen for the signage, was taken into consideration.
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