Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

TRUST for Oxfordshire’s Environment, TOE2 for short, Oxfordshire’s independent environmental funder, is seeking ‘creative, ambitious and visionary projects that will deliver real, strategic and lasting benefits to Oxfordshire’s environment’.

 

 

Since 2011,  TOE2 has provided more than £1.25million to more than 250 projects across Oxfordshire, supporting better wildlife habitats, better access to green spaces and better ways of reducing our carbon footprint.

If you have a partly developed project or even a good idea for a project, they would love to hear from you. They may be able to put you in touch with individuals or organisations to help you take your project forward.

TOE2 is also looking for biodiversity projects to offset the loss of woodland and scrub habitats associated with the electrification of the Greater West Line. The Trust is working with Network Rail to make funds available for woodland and scrub biodiversity projects in Oxfordshire, South, City and Vale, and in Berkshire (West, Reading, Wokingham, and Windsor and Maidenhead).

Stepping up to invest in a sustainable future for Oxfordshire

“With so many development pressures, this is the time to invest in a sustainable future for the county,” believes TOE2, and it is planning to expand by developing a designated Environment Fund so individuals and organisations can invest in the future of Oxfordshire’s environment. The first step will be to increase the small staff team by recruiting a part-time Development Officer; contact the Trust for further details; 01865 407003.

As a place based environmental funder, TOE2 believes that it knows about and understands local needs and priorities, and seeks to ‘secure sustainable funding for a sustainable future for Oxfordshire and its communities’. Current funders include Grundon Waste Management (through the Landfill Communities Fund), Network Rail, Whittard of Chelsea, Brakspear, Oxfordshire County Council and the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC).

Celebrating the impact of TOE2 funded projects

During 2017, TOE2 provided more than £100,000 to projects across the county. These projects give a flavour of what they support and of what local groups and communities are achieving:

• Supporting access to green spaces and the countryside – better rights of way with better access points and signage at Sydenham in the South, Buscot Estate in the Vale
and Adderbury Lakes in Cherwell. Better boardwalks along the Thames Path at Cholsey and a new access point on the River Cherwell so boat users can enjoy the
meadows at Marston Hamm.

• Supporting richer wildlife habitats – Restoring ponds at Heyford meadow near Sandford, improving wetland habitats for curlew and other waders at Balscote Quarry
in Cherwell, improving the biodiversity of limestone meadows on the edge of Oxford through fencing and grazing and supporting the RSPB’s innovative Swift City
Project in Oxford City.

The Trust has also supported BBOWT in the purchase of 113 acres of farmland to add to their Chimney Meadows nature reserve, the first nature reserve on both sides of the Thames. Here the river will be allowed to flood the area and water will be held in ponds and pools providing habitats for waders and other wildlife.

• Supporting the Low Carbon Agenda – A whole raft of energy efficiency improvements in community buildings across the county, from South Newington and Bodicote
in Cherwell to Uffington in the Vale and Wallingford and Sutton Courtenay in the South. We were delighted to work in partnership with the Low Carbon Hub to
support energy efficiency measures at the Abbey in Sutton Courtenay.

To find out more about TOE2, visit the website HERE

A Memorial Ride, hosted by Bike Life, Oxford, is to be held on August 28, 2018, on the anniversary of the death of Luke Portmouth, of Thame, whose inquest was heard today.

 

 

 

The inquest was told that Luke, who died when he crashed his father’s motorbike, was travelling at over 60 mph before losing control of the bike and colliding with a lamp post.

The Oxfordshire Coroner, Darren Salter, was told by 18 year-old Luke Portsmouth’s father, Tom Portsmouth, that on the day of the tragedy, August 28, 2017, his son took off on his father’s black, Kawasaki ZX series motorbike, without his permission, while he, the father, turned away to make a phone call. The two had been out riding together, before pulling into the car park of the Thame skate park.

The only witness to the crash that killed Luke, Dr Emma Montague, said that she was driving to a friend’s house along the A4129, Tythrop Way, Thame, when she saw the teenager approaching in the opposite lane and that ‘his front wheel began to wobble’. She then described how the bike was ‘thrown into the air’ and the driver thrown from the bike.

Collisions investigator, Stephen Moffatt, reported that CCTV footage indicated that Luke was travelling at between 63 and 65mph in the moments before the crash. He added that it was likely that Luke had been in too low a gear when he accelerated, causing the front wheel to lift and the motorcycle to become unstable.

While he was an experienced rider, Luke was not used to such a powerful motorcycle, said Mr Moffatt.

The Coroner recorded death by road traffic collision.

THAMES Valley and Hampshire’s Joint Roads Policing Unit have begun a week of activity specifically targeting drivers using hand-held mobile phones, with the aim of drawing attention to the risks posed by being distracted while in control of a vehicle.

The enforcement activity will run until Sunday, January 28, 2018, in line with the National Police Chief Council’s campaign. On motorways in the area today, 16 drivers were caught using hand-held mobile phones.

You can read more about the affect of using a mobile phone while in charge of a vehicle, and the stories of families devastated by the tragic results of such actions (including from the family of one of two people killed by this lorry driver (pictured), who was using a mobile phone)  HERE

RESIDENTS of Moreton, concerned about an increase in large lorries on an already ‘dangerous’ A329, Rycote Lane, packed the public gallery of Thame’s council chamber on Tuesaday (16/02).

 

 

 

Up for discussion during a meeting of Thame Town Council, was a planning application to relocate Thame Livestock Market, with buildings for agricultural sales, as well as offices, welfare facilities and other associated facilities.

Addressing councillors, Sarah Taylor, who lives at Rycote Manor, a mile from the proposed site in Rycote Lane, was concerned that a traffic survey had only covered a small area either side of the proposed site entrance and that more heavy lorries using a narrow and bendy stretch of road by the gates to her property, would add to the tally of previous accidents there. She was annoyed that she had not been officially notified about the proposal by the planning authority. Her main concerns about the plans were that they constituted ‘unplanned development on green fields, with no reference in the district council’s Local Plan, or the Thame Neighbourhood Plan. She was not convinced, she said, that the Rycote Lane site was the right one for the cattlemarket.

Foul drainage and light pollution

Mrs Taylor was also worried about how drainage of foul water and effluent would be dealt with; She was also unhappy with what she described as ‘a dramatic rise in light polution on the site from existing industrial buildings over the last 15 years, because they keep the lights on all night, presumably for security.”

Ken Burch, a resident of Moreton, said that he was broadly in support of the cattlemarket move, but sad that a previous proposal to move it to Thame Show Ground had not progressed. His view was that as the majority of the market’s users come from the Bucks side of Thame, a site East of Thame would have been better.

He explained how it was already difficult for traffic trying to pull out of Moreton Road onto Rycote Lane, the A329, with a vehicle passing every 4 seconds at present – a point he felt had not been considered by any of ‘the very limited traffic surveys’.

‘A death-trap’

“That road will become a death trap,” he said. “In fact, it already is! As a doctor, I had to deal with fatalities there”

Mr Birch’s other concern was the possibility of, what he called, ‘mission creep’ on the site – i.e. adding to the present two market days, as well as other uses besides livestock auctions, to help pay for the new site. All this, plus the activities – unknown at this time – that may go on in the two new, commercial buildings also being planned, would increase traffic and disruption, he asserted.

In conclusion, Mr Burch said that although broadly in support of the application, he hoped that the council would look at traffic issues and egress from Moreton Road in particular and secondly, look at usage in more detail and, if needs be, consider caveats.

Will Taylor, of Bidwell’s then spoke on behalf of the cattle market applicant. He said that the Thame Neighbourhood Plan did have a policy about movng the current cattle market, to make alternative use of the site, and that a previous application had failed because of problems over a ransom strip.  Mr Taylor added that a Professional, specialist had put forward a proposal to deal with slurry, grey water etc, and that nothing ‘detrimental to the environment’ was proposed.

‘Enough traffic-calming’

With regard to the associated plan for two separate commercial units, and in response to Mr Burch’s concerns, Will Taylor said that the they were intended as a revenue stream, needed to fund the running of the livestock market. The intention was not to take business from the town but would be agriculturally connected. About the traffic and safety concerns regarding the A329, he said that the plans did provide ‘enough traffic calming measures to avoid tail-backs on the road’.

Planning consultant, Jake Collinge, told the meeting that ‘the site was deliverable and represented a logical extension to the existing industrial site’. It related well to the strategic highway network, he said, and that the traffic generated by the scheme ‘would be comfortably and safely accommodated’.

The town councillors agreed to council officers present collating the comments expressed at the meeting and forwarding them to the District Planning Officer.

Have your say!

Cllr Helena Fickling advised any one with concerns to comment on the applications – there references are P17/S4415/FUL and P17/S441/O  on the district council’s website: LINK HERE 

NOTE: You can read the full minutes of the council meeting, including further notes on this particular item (s) on the town council’s website HERE

THAME Town Council’s precept, its portion of the  Council Tax, is set to go up this year, by 3.5%, that’s equivalent to 10p per week extra for a typical Band ‘D’ house, or around £5 extra per year.

 

 

Costs the council has to budget for include £5,000 to Thame Town Music Festival, £5,000 towards flood prevention measures for the Cuttle Brook, £10,000 for the Red Kite Family Centre and £10,000 for the Thame and District Day Centre. An additional £15,000 has been allocated towards funding a Youth Worker and funding for a bigger and better Remembrance Day and Town Awards events, which are both marking special anniversaries in 2018.

One of the biggest costs for the coming year will be £45,000 towards a new Neighbourhood Plan. Some funds will be covered by drawing down on TTC’s reserves and there are also grants / section 106 monies that will be applied for. Also an additional member of the council’s Grounds team will amount to around £5,000.

You can read the full Budget and Precept Report on the town council’s website HERE (scroll down to item 7)