Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

A controversial planning application to build 37 new homes on land at The Elms, Upper High Street, Thame, will be considered by South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee on April 22, when Planning Officers are expected to recommend that the committee approves the application.

After acknowledging the large number of objections lodged against the plan, including objections from English Heritage and the Conservation Officer, the Planning Officer, Emily Hamerton, concludes:

” However the site is allocated within the TNP for up to 45 dwellings. The site is in a sustainable location within the town centre and proposes a high quality contemporary design. In addition this development will deliver 40% affordable housing, improvements to the park and will mitigate any impact through the S106 contributions. Therefore balancing all these issues, I am recommending that planning permission is approved.”

If SODC follows the advice of its officers and gives the plan the go-ahead, such a decision will fly in the face of the recommendation made by Thame Town Council, to refuse the application (See LINK for report and the reasons for Thame Town Council’s recommendation to refuse the application) and would be against the views of a petition group of several hundred signatures, and many other objections lodged against the plan.

Cllr Mary Stiles will be speaking at the meeting on behalf of Thame Town Council and there are expected to be several more representations made against the plan, as well as representations for the applicant, Simon Vickers, who owns the land at The Elms.

The meeting will start at 6pm in Wallingford Town Hall, Market Place, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 0EG. The full agenda and all related papers can be found HERE

A copy of the officer’s report can be read on SODC’s website SEE LINK

Anyone wishing to speak at this meeting must apply by 12 noon on April 21, by emailing: planning@southoxon.gov.uk

Full details of this application can be found on SODC’s website HERE

NOW that the lists of candidates for the Elections 2015 have been published, Thame.Net is inviting all the candidates for a short profile, and the first are from the two Labour candidates for both Thame District and Town Council,  Mary Stiles (Thame North Ward) and  Tristram Maclean (South Ward).

MARY Stiles has lived in Thame for 46 years, now retired from a 40 year career in education. She was elected as a Thame Town Councillor in 2011, having previously served as a councillor on both TTC and SODC between 1995 and 2003. She is active in and supported by the Co-operative movement and currently is working hard as a town councillor to investigate the possibility of co-operative housing schemes.

Mary is a trustee of three local charities, Chair of a school governing body, Chair of the local Children’s Centre advisory group and a Director of the local partnership, 21st Century Thame. Having worked with young people for much of her working life, Mary was appalled when the Thame Youth Centre closed in 2011 and the qualified youth worker was made redundant. Having secured a one-off grant from Thame Town Council, she is now delighted that the Youth Café is open one day a week after school, but she would much prefer to see a county youth service reinstated in Thame and the surrounding villages.

Married to Colin, she has two daughters, who both attended Thame schools before moving elsewhere for university and work. In her spare time Mary enjoys spending time with her family, theatre visits, reading, walking and the latest exercise craze – Zumba!

TRISTRAM Maclean is a retired senior police officer. After leaving Scotland Yard he worked as an adviser delivering police reform in Africa. He has now settled in Thame; he has two children at Lord Williams’s and he runs a security business in the town. Tristram wants to play a part in preserving the character and integrity of the town. Like Mary, he is part of the Co-operative movement.

Tristram’s goal is to increase local accountability – he would like the abandoned councillor surgeries to be restored and he wants to see a greater transparency about the Council’s work. He has declared his opposition to the Elms planning application and pledges to provide a voice for local residents in the decision process. He argues that the Neighbourhood Plan was rushed out too fast, and the Elms is just the most prominent example of how residents are not being listened to.

A Thame solicitor will, today (April 14), be sworn in as the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, the oldest secular office in the country outside of the monarchy.

Tom Birch Reynardson, who lives in Adwell, near Thame, will take over from Tony Stratton, and serve for a year. He served under Tony as Under Sherrif.

Tom was brought up in South Oxfordshire and founded the law firm, Birch Reynardson & Co, which has an office in both Thame and London. He is a solicitor specialising in international law and is a trustee of the Comité Maritime Internationale Charitable Trust, which promotes education in international law.

He is married to Imogen and has four children.

You can read more about the history of the office, and the duties of a modern High Sherriff here: LINK 

ALL the names of the candidates for the general  election 2015, for the Henley Constituency (which includes Thame) have now been published, and they are:

Sue Cooper – Liberal Democrats
John Howell – Conservative Party
Christopher Jones – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Sam Juthani – Labour Party
Mark Stevenson – Green Party

The candidates for the Parish Council elections for Thame, Also on May 7, are as follows:

Thame North Ward

David BRETHERTON – Independent
Don BUTLER – Conservative

Peter William BUTLER – UKIP
Nigel Guy CHAMPKEN WOODS – Conservative
Paul Francis COWELL – Independent
Adrian James Ambrose DITE – Independent
Nichola Mary DIXON – Conservative
Michael L DYER – Conservative
Mary Honora STILES – Labour
Tom WYSE – Independent

Thame South Ward

Bob AUSTIN – Independent
Carol Elizabeth BRADBROOK TAYLOR – Independent
Mike DEACOCK – Conservative
David William DODDS – Conservative
Linda Elsie EMERY – Independent
Helena Mary FICKLING – Independent
Richard GRAYDON – UKIP
Catherine JONES – Independent
Peter Christopher LAMBERT – Independent
Tristram Gordon MACLEAN – Labour
Ann MIDWINTER – Independent
Ergul SAHIN – Conservative

All the Thame Candidates for the Thame ward District Council elections on the same day, can be found here: LINK 

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a burglary in Thame.

Between 10pm Friday (10/04) and 6.30am Saturday (11/04) offender(s) forced access to a property in Cedar crescent, by smashing glass to the conservatory at the rear of the property. Nothing appears to have been taken.

If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101.

Alternatively if you have any information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

AFTER the quick thinking of a home owner averted a BBQ fire spreading to the thatch roof of a cottage at Tiddington, near Thame, a fire officer has warned of the importance of checking BBQ equipment after long periods of non-use.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue were called at 18:13 on Friday, April 10, to a BBQ that had caught fire, involving the gas cylinder that fuelled it. Two fire engines from Thame and Wheatley were quickly on scene and found that the fire had been extinguished by the owner, stopping the flames from going near the thatch roof of the property. The owner had also isolated the gas cylinder.

“This prompt action kept the fire from spreading, but this did put the owners at an increased risk of burns,” said CM Terry Williams from Thame fire station. “Cylinders that have been exposed to heat can also explode.”

He warned: “It is extremely important at this time of year to make sure all barbecue equipment is working properly before it is used and that all residents are aware of the dangers of using both gas and charcoal barbecues, especially after long periods of non-use. The rubber hoses for Gas BBQ’s can perish if it has been exposed to sunlight or frost over the winter period. This incident could have led to a much larger fire, so I would urge people to follow my advice below:”

Tips for gas barbecues:
· read the manufacturer’s instructions on how to check for leaks in the cylinder or pipework
· make sure your barbecue is in good working order
· make sure the tap is off before changing the gas cylinder and do it in the open air
· don’t over-tighten joints
· when you have finished cooking, turn off the gas cylinder before you turn off the barbecue controls – this way any residual gas in the pipes will be used up
· don’t keep more cylinders than you need
· gas cylinders should be kept outside, away from direct sunlight and frost
· change cylinders outdoors if possible or in a well-ventilated area

Tips for all BBQ’s
· make sure your barbecue is standing on a flat surface and away from buildings, fences, trees and sheds
· never use petrol or paraffin to start, or re-ignite your barbecue
· use only barbecue fire lighters or starter fuel on cold coals
· be careful with fatty foods and never poor oil onto meat when it is cooking
· if you’re the chef try not to drink too much alcohol whilst cooking
· keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby
· keep children, pets and garden games away from the cooking area
· don’t leave the barbecue unattended
· never use a barbecue indoors or in an enclosed space – a warm, smouldering barbecue gives of plenty of poisonous carbon monoxide – if used indoors or an enclosed space carbon monoxide can build up to dangerous levels very quickly
· after you have finished cooking, extinguish the burning coals – leave for a period of time and then check that the fire is completely out
· make sure the barbecue is cool before trying to move it
· never put hot ashes straight into a dustbin or wheelie bin – they could melt the plastic and cause a fire

Remember always dial 999 for the Fire and Rescue Service immediately, if anything goes wrong.