IN the first of two recent burglaries, on Friday, February 7, between 7am and 6pm offender(s) attempted, unsuccessfully to gain entry to a property in Southern Road, Thame.
Between 4pm and 12.30pm on Saturday, February 8, a property in London Road, Milton Common was broken into. Offender(s) gained entry by smashing and forcing a rear window. Items stolen include jewellery, cash and a TV.
Anyone who may have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message, are asked to call the police on 101.
Alternatively if you have 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.
MONTHLY talks at Thame Museum are beginning this week, on Thursday, February 13, when the subject will be Henry Boddington, Part 2 – the larger-than-life, 19th century Thame resident .
Henry Boddington, Brewer, who was born in Thame in 1813, and lived here for many years
The talk is being given by David Bretherton and begins at 7.30pm. There are still tickets available, price £5 / £3 for members. They can be purchased on the night, but if you want to be sure of a seat for these popular talks, it’s best to reserve your place, either by telephone to Thame Museum : 01844 212801 or by emailing : publicity@thamemuseum.org
HALF-TERM in looming so a great time to both occupy the kids and help them keep fit all in one go at Raquets Fitness Centre, in Thame, where they are running two great courses for kids.
Junior half-term fitness camp is running on February 18, where they can learn how to train in the gym or anywhere, safely; how to train specifically for sport or just for health and well-being.
Racquets very popular Squash Camp for Juniors is running for kids ages between seven and eight years-old, on February 19 and 20.
A Thame resident has spoken of his fears for the consequences of building on the old pig farm in Oxford Road, Thame, one of the designated sites in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.
Photo taken from Ford bridge on Oxford Rd looking west across Cuttle Brook field towards by-pass 11 am this morning – by Barry Yates
Barry Yates, a member of the Oxford Road Residents Association, which opposed Site F, as it is known in the TNP, to being adopted as suitable for development in the district council’s Core Strategy, said the following:
“We have lived here for 30 years and myself in Thame for nearly all my life. This is the worst flooding ever [I am too young to remember 1947]. The entire bank of the Cuttle brook has never been broken before. The water is up to the top of the Oxford Road bridge, with nowhere else to go but into the field! The field next to our house in Cuttlebrook Gardens is completely flooded up to the edge of our garden fence.”
“Water is flowing at the foot of the hill in the Oxford Road out of drains and from a manhole cover by Waterloo Cottage. There is raw sewerage, mainly on the path, spilling out. It happened last time it rained heavily; the drains cannot cope. This is one of the main reasons we opposed any development on site F, and so vigorously against 600 houses there under the initial SODC core strategy. With 203 allocated under the Thame Neighbourhood Plan as a minimum, with this possibly increasing to 326 if the Lord Williams’s amalgamation does not proceed, the impact on more widespread flooding cannot be overestimated. “
The adoption of Site F was very controversial during the consultation stage of the Core Strategy and the TNP, particularly when Thame Town Council switched its preference from Site D to Site F, attracting opposition from residents groups such as The Oxford Road RA and residents of The Renaissance (Rycotewood site), over flooding fears.
The Developer has always maintained that flooding on the proposed site could be prevented with the use of containment ponds in the lower corner of the site.
WITH the recent heavy rainfall in the area and more predicted over the coming days, Thames Valley Police is warning drivers to take extra care on the roads. Many local roads are already flooded and this is likely to get worse if the weather forecasts are correct for the coming days.
Several motorists have already been caught out trying to drive through floods – only to find that they are much deeper than they initially appear, leaving them (and their vehicles) stranded. The advice is:
Please do not ignore ‘Road Closed’ signs – they are there to keep motorists safe. Much more information and advice HERE and HERE to; (Useful if a flood should occur)
Local radio stations put out regular traffic updates, so please listen in to find out up to date information on flooding and traffic conditions and for Thame related incidents, HERE
Thame’s own firecrews have been extremely busy today. Watch Manager, Andy Ford, told Thame.Net: “Thame Fire fighters have had a busy day responding to flood related incidents, rescuing drivers from cars stuck in floods, assisting residents in Postcombe and Chalgrove in pumping out and diverting water that had flooded their houses.
“The Fire and Rescue Service has been very busy dealing with flood related incidents including rescuing drivers who have tried to drive through floods and got stuck. Please take note of Thames Valley Police’s guidance not to attempt to drive through Flooded roads and take note of Road closed signs. The depth of flood water is unpredictable and even those in large 4 x 4’s end up causing a wave which can wash into adjacent houses or damage other cars on the road. With more rain forecaste allow extra time for your journeys and be prepared for large puddles and floods in unexpected places.”
WHAT better way to leave the grey and damp behind and join the Mayor of Thame and the Mayors of all the other local authorities, for a fun night with scrumptious food, entertainment and good music, to raise useful funds for the Mayor’s Thame charities.
The Mayor of Thame, Cllr Peter Lambert
Tickets for the Mayor, Peter Lambert’s dinner are still available from the Information Centre in the Town Hall. So get yourself a partner or a group of friends, or come alone (there’ll be plenty of lovely people to team up with on table) and join the Mayor for an evening of dinner and dancing plus live entertainment from magician, Sylar.
The Mayor has been supporting SAFARI, a charity working with adults with disabilities, and Thame Players’ Build a Better Theatre campaign throughout the year and the Charity Dinner is another opportunity to raise vital funds for these two good causes. Tickets are priced at £45 which includes a three course meal, drinks on arrival and an evening packed with entertainment at the Oxfordshire Hotel.
The Mayor told Thame.Net: “My appeal is double barreled in fact as I’m also looking for donations by local businesses for the raffle.
“Times are tight at the moment and I’m aware that our retail outlets are bludgeoned constantly for donations (like myself) and I’ll understand if they can’t give any more away, but if you don’t ask…
“I realise £45 is, for some, rather a lot of money – especially if two of you are coming, but the price reflects the cost per person plus £10 for each charity. The dress code is black tie or lounge suit and I would like to stress that a lounge suit is perfectly adequate. I look forward to seeing you there!”
For more information about the Mayor’s Annual Dinner on March 1, visit the Information Centre or contact Rosie Collins on 01844 260495.
…… is the title of this month’s presentation at The Late Breakfast event, at The Spread Eagle, Thame, on February 13.
Christine Raynor, of Tangram Ltd
The presentation and open discussion on Marketing in the 21st Century will be given by Christine Rayner of marketing consultants, Tangram Ltd.
How does contact with 1.4 billion people really work? How does global access help you to stay local? Has the clarity come after the revolution?
These are some of the questions that Christine will tackle at the meeting. More information and booking details HERE http://www.thelatebreakfast.co.uk/thame.html
‘Hats Off To Laurel And Hardy’ is a brand new play about the lives of the most famous comedy duo of all-time. It has been written with the assistance of some of the leading historians and the support of The Laurel and Hardy Museum to present the most accurate stage show about The Boys to date.
The play recounts their early lives, their fledgling careers, their meteoric rise to fame and the decline of their success in film being replaced by a new-found popularity on international tour. Besides including some of their best-loved routines (including ‘The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine’ and the famous dance from ‘Way Out West’) the play also includes many interesting anecdotes about what happened when the cameras stopped rolling; the relationship between the pair, and their colleagues, wives and fans.
‘Hats Off To Laurel And Hardy’ promises to give audiences an evening of laughter that will teach them the facts about the iconic pair and send them into the night smiling – and a little wiser than Stan and Ollie.
Lucky Dog Theatre Productions ‘HATS OFF TO LAUREL AND HARDY’
At ThePlayers Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame; At 7.45pm on Saturday, February 8. Ticktes £10 and £9 with £1 off for concessions; Available from Tickets Anywhere, Greyhound Walk, Thame, tel: 01844 217228 or online from www.thameplayers.co.uk
Lucky Dog is a professional company from Surrey consisting of actors Tony Carpenter and Philip Hutchinson and actress Kelsey Williams.
WHAT are you going to do when you leave school?’ It’s a question every teenager dreads. To answer this, you need to know what courses and careers are out there and what is going to suit you best. So, where do you find out about careers? What is an apprenticeship and how do you get one? What is the difference between college and Sixth Form? What do you do with your History/Maths/ Psychology degree?
The answers to these questions and much more can be found at the Lord Williams’s School Future Fest careers event held on Wednesday 26th February from 6pm – 8.30pm in the Lower School Sports Hall. This is a public event, open to everyone. Come along and meet local employers, find out what they are looking for in new recruits. Pick up a prospectus from the local colleges and talk to course tutors. Listen to the talks on apprenticeships, then talk to the training providers and employers providing apprenticeships. Hear what it’s like from the apprentices themselves.
Professional careers advice is on hand together with expert advice on job applications and CV writing.
Apprenticeship talks are scheduled for 6.30pm and repeated at 7.30pm. Parking will be limited, so if you are local, please come by foot. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information, please call Nicky Stallwood on 01844 210524 or email: n.stallwood@lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk
A WAR of words, over part of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, has developed between Thame Town Council, a local developer and a group of Thame residents opposed to building news homes on an open space in the town.
The meadow land at The Elms in Thame where a development of 45 homes is proposed
The row over the ‘how,’ and ‘whether’ the proposed Elms Field development was legitimately included in the TNP has now reached the point of threats of legal action following letters published in the local media.
The leading opposition group, which calls itself The ‘elmspetition’ Group and claims to have hundreds of signatures, has today issued the following statement about the situation as they see it, hoping to raise more awareness of their case and stimulate wider discussion. The statement reads:
“Our main reaction is ‘methinks he doth protest too much’. There is nothing wrong with Rectory Homes proposing development on land they own but it seemed a bit strange that originally the Elms was supposed to have been purchased as a retirement home for Mr and Mrs Vickers, and that surveyors turned up so quickly after the purchase to survey the field – in preparation for a housing proposal?
“It helps with any presentation to the planning authority to show that the public have been informed and that there is little opposition to a scheme. However, the Developer’s November presentation in Thame town hall, can surely not be considered a success from Rectory’s point of view. Rectory’s latest planning consultants, who are based in Solihull, were there, together with Mr David Ullathorne, a Directory of Rectory Homes, to answer questions.
“Witnesses state that, following adversarial questions fromP members of the public, Mr Ullathorne ‘exploded’, saying ‘The Elms has always been in the Town Plan, and was not slipped in out of nowhere, as I keep hearing today. It all comes from a man called Peter Webb, who has been misleading people.’
“Mr Webb has confirmed that, when challenged on this slur, Mr Ullathorne was unable to substantiate his assertion, but he did not deny that he had made it. All this is on record. We counter by saying that the site was not ‘always in the plan’.
“The Planning Group within Thame Town Council were charged by SODC with selecting a site or sites for the building of 775 houses over the next 20 years. To assist in this task, the planning authority of South Oxfordshire provided a detailed analysis of several potential sites, with a capacity well in excess of what is said to be needed. They clearly examined the merits and disadvantages of each. Elms Field was not one of these sites and thus there has been no analysis in regard to it. Also, we say that the Council exceeded its remit in allocating housing to a site other than those on the original list.
“While Mr Vickers claims to be ‘doing exactly what the government is urging’ by building houses in what he says is a ‘sustainable location’, what the government has actually asked is simply for land to be identified for 775 houses to be built in Thame over the next 20 years. Fulfilling this task does not need Elms Field which, with access and services problems, is the opposite of sustainable.
“In regard to access, the council rejected seven houses on the Old Dairy site on Southern Road, Thame, due to the extreme congestion already existing on Southern Road and Nelson Street, so how can it justify 45 using the same streets?
“Mr Vickers’ letter to the local paper said that there had been accusations that he and the Town Council had acted improperly. Our counter to that is, that there has been nothing published to this effect, so far as we know, so this suggestion is from Mr Vickers himself. There is actually nothing illegal or wrong with offering a site, so why so sensitive? Maybe it has to do with the way things were done.
“Could it be related to the fact that the Mayor and Town Clerk have refused to supply minutes of a meeting that took place in November 2012, where development on Elms Field was discussed? The Clerk wouldn’t even say who attended, or who set up or initiated the meeting. This clear refusal has been reported to a higher authority, as a contravention of the Freedom of Information Act.
“This town hall meeting followed an earlier site meeting held to discuss a ‘Heritage Assessment’ concerning the field’s historical relationship with The Elms. This assessment was not the work of English Heritage but that of a firm of planning consultants, the Nash Partnership. They were commissioned and paid by Rectory Homes. Nothing wrong with Rectory using all means available to try to ease through the idea of building on a site which the planning authority, some years ago, designated as ‘important open space’, but people should be aware. It is called “openness” and is supposed to be government policy relating to the behaviour of Parliament and Councils.
“English Heritage itself has been more forthcoming than Thame’s Town Clerk. Two, named representatives of English Heritage, and the Conservation Officer from SODC, attended both the site meeting and the town hall meeting that followed. The others present, say English Heritage, were the Town Clerk, the Thame Council Committee Services Officer (to keep the minutes which we are not allowed to see), three persons from The Nash Partnership and Simon Vickers himself. No Councillors?
“At this meeting, English Heritage and SODC Conservation conceded, on the basis of the aforementioned assessment, that maybe the field was not historically so closely connected to the house as they had previously thought and conceded that, subject to seeing detailed plans, possibly 35 houses on the site might be tolerable.
“Having closely examined the report, we find that much of it is ‘filler’ material. More importantly, the historical facts are frequently, we believe, plain wrong and the bias in regard to conclusions questionable. A thorough analysis of the report has been sent to English Heritage, with a request that they thoroughly review the matter.
“It might be thought strange that no member of the town council’s Planning Group was present at this November 8, meeting (English Heritage provided the date that the council refused to supply) but that 14 councillors were present at a full Council meeting called for on November 20, less than two weeks later. The minutes of this second meeting are totally inadequate and unsigned in the space provided for the purpose. It is not stated who was the chairman, who had initiated the meeting and there is no sign of an agenda. What any Councillors had to say is unrecorded except for the fact within the concluding summary that the meeting had agreed to increase the number of houses to 45. It is stated that one unnamed Councillor (this turned out to be Cllr Don Butler) said he was totally against any development on Elms Field. It is recorded that he was told: ‘This is not a Councillor matter’. When we later asked: ‘In that case, why were Cllr Butler and the other Councillors there?’ the Town Clerk replied, ‘It was not a Council meeting’. Since the minutes were headed ‘Meeting of the Thame Town Council’, this was challenged, and met by silence.
“Other questions arise from these so- called minutes. Councillors were guided to vote to accept the whole plan, now with 45 houses on Elms Field, despite any doubts they might have on specific parts. ‘The plan has been through rigorous testing with the community’ they were told; by whom is not stated.
“We have to ask whether this is correct. Surely any MP or Councillor can propose amendments for debate by his or her fellows. Not in Thame? The ‘minutes’ then go on to state: ‘This change (to 45 presumably) has been made as a result of both feedback forms from the community and a very late letter received from English Heritage, three weeks after the close of the consultation period’.
“Hang on! The feedback forms showed 82%+ against development on Elms Field. Also the ‘late’ letter, which is addressed to the Clerk, was in line with the original opinion of English heritage and concluded that development on this site would be ‘deeply damaging’. They strongly urged that alternative sites be pursued.
“It is therefore asked – Was the letter actually tabled? One has to suspect not, because it does not seem conceivable that all 14 Councillors would have ignored it.
“Incredible as it may seem, this whole meeting took just 27 minutes.
“Regarding minutes generally, it is revealing to look at minute format in West Berks. Just log on to – http://decisionmaking.westberks.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=15133 There is no need to read the lot but just notice how the subject matter is dealt with at the beginning and everything people said is recorded.
“In an original letter to Thame.Net from another correspondent, Richard Jeffries, mention was made of planning consultant Jake Collinge’s involvement with the Town Neighbourhood Plan, this paragraph being subsequently edited from the letter at the request of Mr Vickers. Why?
“That letter referred to the fact that Jake Collinge was a former employee at Rectory Homes. Well he was, as Planning and Development Manager. Subsequently, as an independent consultant, operating from an office at Rectory House in Haddenham, he has had Rectory as a frequent client, including in 2012 and 2013. Mr. Collinge was introduced by the Town Clerk as Planning consultant to the Council, when the Clerk set up a meeting with elmpetition group member, Peter Webb, at the request of Councillor Butler, to familiarise herself with the reasons why people were opposed to development in Elms Field.
“Mr Webb pointed out that the reasons were surely clear from the petition which hundreds of people had signed. Neither the Clerk nor the consultant admitted to having seen the petition. Mr Webb thought this strange because a copy had certainly gone through the door of Cllr Dyer, the leader of the Neighbourhood Plan Group, who lived in Park Street. Later, when checking the website of Mr Collinge and noticing his address, he realised that he himself had dealt with that street and put the petition through that letterbox.
“Whether or not it is ethical for Mr Collinge to advise the Council, given his previous connection to Rectory Homes, is for others to decide.
“In regard to the final distribution of leaflets urging acceptance of the town plan, why did the promoters think it necessary to remind people that a No vote was pointless and that 775 houses were coming to Thame anyway. The number was actually not the issue. Where the houses would be built was the issue. There was no mention of locations in that leaflet. Opponents observe that many people did not vote, having been told that Yes was the only answer. Others voted Yes as instructed. “Is it right that the subsequent Adoption of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan should now be represented by the Council as that Thame residents have agreed to the development of Elms Field? Plainly they have not.
“The scheme’s opponents point out that the Planning Manager at SODC has said that the plan can be modified but that this initiative has to come from Thame. Thus Elms Field can be taken out as a site without affecting the rest of the plan.
“Nobody seems to be positively in favour of development in Elms Field but Councillors need to be told to admit their error and to act to correct it. In doing so, they will uphold that part of the Plan which promises to protect existing open space. They will also be acknowledging that they are there to represent their constituents, who in any street survey, are firmly against destroying an important open space.”
The elmspetition Group elmspetition@hotmail.co.uk (name & address of correspondent supplied)
EDITOR: Do you agree with the elmspetition Group, or do you have a different view? We want to hear from YOU
