Thame.net

Category: Thame news

  • Has the Ox-Cambs Expressway been cancelled?

    THE government is to shelve plans for an extension of the Oxford – Milton Keynes – Cambridge Expressway.

    Image courtesey of https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/18670

     

    This is according to Iain Stewart MP, who announced the news on Friday, February 7, to a packed meeting of leading local Parish and Town Council representatives in the Milton Keynes area.

    He confirmed he had received the news from George Freeman MP (Secretary of State at the Department of Transport) and that some of monies originally earmarked for the project would now be transferred into speeding the delivery of the much anticipated East West rail link and into locally decided road improvement schemes.

    The extension was originally planned to run from Junction 13 of the M1, through Milton Keynes and onwards across Buckinghamshire to Oxford.

    Opposition parties to the Expressway, including CPRE, feared that the planned route threatened to destroy homes, blight neighbourhoods and destroy countryside. CPRE had stated: “The new road ……will unleash a tidal wave of development. 200,000 houses, or 4 new cities the size of Oxford, are being planned for Oxfordshire.” http://www.cpreoxon.org.uk/campaigns/ox-cam-expressway-growth-corridor

    Depite this news, this decision is not official until an announcement is made by the government. However in PMQs on Tuesday, February 12, Daniel Zeichner MP for Cambridge asked a question about cancelling the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. Boris Johnson failed to give an answer. SEE VIDEO. So, still no official statement. But could there be news in March 11, 2020 budget – if it’s still happening after the resignation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle?

    NB LINK HERE or previous reports from Thame.net

    STORY SOURCE: https://totalmk.co.uk

    And https://www.noexpressway.org/

  • Thame Museum re-opens

    AFTER being closed for refurbishment, Thame Museum will be re-opening on Saturday, February 15, with a brand new, reception area and a fantastic new shop.

    As you venture through the doors, you will be welcomed into a new, contemporary reception area by the museum’s very friendly team who will be there to answer your questions and help make your visit as pleasant as possible.

    The new shop has been restocked with all sorts of gifts for adults and children, including handmade books, original art by local artists and hand-made jewellery – perfect for birthdays, anniversaries and all other occasions!

    And for more family fun, don’t miss Naturetastic at the museum on Wednesday, February 19 (Half term week).

  • The Glenn Miller Orchestra swings in to Thame

    AS part of Thame Town Music Festival, this year’s Friday night concert will feature the world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Ray McVay.

    Tickets are on sale now (and already selling fast!) from the Information Centre in the Town Hall. Full price tickets are £20 each and there are a limited number available for over 65s at the reduced price of £18.

    The concert, which will be held in St Mary’s Church, is on Friday, July 10. Doors open at 6.30pm and the concert starts at 7.30pm, finishing at 10pm.

  • Temporary Road Closure and “No Waiting” restriction at Thame, Chinnor Road B4012,B4445

    Temporary Traffic Regulation Notice – S14 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

    IN the interests of public safety, it will be necessary for Oxfordshire County Council to close the road and impose a ‘No Waiting’ restriction as detailed above to facilitate carriageway resurfacing works.

    A temporary Notice is being made to implement the temporary closure and will operate from 10 March 2020.

    The anticipated completion date is 11 March 2020. The closure will operate between 09:30 and 15:30 daily.

    A Temporary Traffic Regulation Notice is being made to implement the temporary closure and restriction and will operate on the days shown above.

    Please note that Notices for urgent works can last up to 5 consecutive days only.

    Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for those frontages within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works and liaison with the works supervisor. 

    A copy of the drawing showing the extent of the closure and restriction and also the alternative route for traffic is attached. 

    Further information regarding the works may be obtained by contacting Tim Belton -Oxfordshire County Council -Skanska on 0345 310 11 11 or 07812237621

    T7523 / RAG

  • Help solve Midsomer murders over dinner!

    FOND of good ‘Who dunnit?’ Now’s your chance to help Inspector Barnaby solve two more murders in ‘Midsomer County’!

    Mingle with the cast, act as witnesses, and decide who’s guilty! And you get to do all of this while enjoying a delicious three-course dinner!

    On Friday, March 20, Thame Players will be performing their very own murder mystery play, A Deadly Midsomer Business, featuring Inspector Barnaby & Co, at the Spread Eagle Hotel, one of Thame’s most celebrated Midsomer Murders filming locations. The audience is invited to watch the play while enjoying a delicious three-course dinner and then decide who committed both the murders at the end.

    Two murdered!

    The action takes place at the annual shareholders’ party of prominent local company, Cummins & Gowins. During the party it becomes clear that each of the guests has a guilty secret they’d prefer to keep concealed from the other guests. When the Chairman of the company is murdered and his demise is soon followed by another murder, retired policeman DCI Barnaby is called in to investigate.

    The plot involves lots of cunning twists and turns that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Towards the end, the audience are asked to help DCI Barnaby solve the two murders by acting as judge and jury and deciding who the guilty parties are.

    Search for clues

    Although in keeping with the Midsomer theme, the plot is highly murderous, this will be an evening of light-hearted entertainment, with plenty of corny jokes and innuendo along the way, while you watch for clues to identify the culprits.

    Thame Players have performed their murder mystery plays at a wide range of locations previously, but this will be the first time they have performed at Thame’s Spread Eagle Hotel. Bryan Williams, the hotel’s General Manager, said: “I’m delighted that Thame Players will be performing at the Spread Eagle, which is quite fitting as the hotel is a celebrated Midsomer Murders filming location. We invite Midsomer fans from near and far to come and sample our excellent food and wine on March 20, while they help DCI Barnaby solve the murders.”

    Historic setting

    Mike Rochford, Director of A Deadly Midsomer Business, said: “Our murder mystery plays have been very popular over the years and we have had a lot of fun devising this one featuring DCI Barnaby. When you come to watch it, you will not just be experiencing fine acting by members of Thame Players, you will also be enjoying the hospitality of our leading historic hotel in Thame. Please come along and have fun while helping DCI Barnaby catch the murderers!’

    How to book

    Advance bookings for the March 20, show are going well, and it’s been decided to hold a second performance of A Deadly Midsomer Business, on Friday, June 19, so there’s a choice of two shows.

    Book your place by calling 01844 213661 or emailing events@spreadeaglethame.co.uk. The all-inclusive price for a three-course dinner and entertainment by Thame Players is £35.00 per person. The bar is open from 7pm, and dinner is served from 8pm. The play is in two acts with a finale, and the action takes place between the three courses.

  • Work on ultrafast broadband boost for rural Oxfordshire

    INDEPENDENT broadband firm Airband has started work on its fibre network in Oxfordshire as part of the BiRO project, which delivers ultrafast broadband to businesses in rural Oxfordshire.

    L-R: Airband Engineer Tony Horton; Digital Infrastructure Director Craig Bower; Airband Project Manager for Oxfordshire Andy Brain; Oxfordshire County Councillor Nick Carter; Airband Engineer Sascha Hobbs – Image Credit: Andrew Walmsley

    Work commenced on the project the first week of February 2020, with night works on Thame High Street. The Worcester-based firm specialises in bringing high-speed broadband to hard-to-reach rural and urban areas and has recently completed the second phase of a fibre roll-out in Herefordshire as part of the Fastershire project.

    Airband Project Lead, Andy Brain, said: “This first cluster stretches from Thame to Chinnor. We’ll also be working on other clusters at the same time including the second cluster which goes from Henley-on-Thames to Lower Shiplake and Sonning Common and a third cluster from Childrey to Kingston Lisle, west of Wantage. We expect all of these clusters to be finished by June 2020 if not before.”

    Oxfordshire County Councillor, Nick Carter for the Thame & Chinnor Division said: “Faster broadband is a game changer for rural areas and access to ultrafast connectivity will help so many of rural businesses to prosper and grow. A lot of time, money and effort has gone into the BiRO project because providing better connectivity for our rural areas is so important, both now and in the future.”

    In order to provide ultrafast connectivity for businesses in rural Oxfordshire, Airband uses existing infrastructure where possible. Sometimes access to the infrastructure is via privately owned land.

    Ryan Bezuidenhout, General Manager of The Oxfordshire Golf Club, said : “We are happy to enable Airband to have access to infrastructure on our land via a structured business arrangement, making the roll-out of their business broadband network possible.”

    Airband was awarded Lots 3 and 4 on the BiRO project in October 2019, for £2,852,216. The company will supply 557 business premises and connect 619 incidental residential properties along the way, delivering total connectivity to 1176 premises as part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funded programme.

    The BiRO project is funded by £6.3m EAFRD funding through the Rural Broadband Infrastructure scheme to improve broadband for businesses in rural Oxfordshire and will provide ultrafast broadband to 970 SMEs across the region. The project is managed by the Oxfordshire County Council Digital Infrastructure programme in partnership with Airband.

  • Flood Alert in force: River Thame and Chalgrove Brook

    FLOODING is possible for: River Thame from Marsworth to Dorchester including, Long Marston, Rowsham, North Aylesbury, Cuddington, Thame, Shabbington, Ickford, Waterperry, Cuddesdon, Wheatley, Quarrendon, Drayton St Leonard, Overy, the Chalgrove Brook at Chalgrove and Stadhampton.

    Be prepared

    River levels have risen on the River Thame overnight as a result of heavy rainfall, particularly in the Thame Bridge and Dorchester areas. River levels are forecast to gradually rise throughout the day 11/02/20. Therefore, flooding of low-lying roads and farmland is possible today and may remain high for a few days. The weather forecast is for further unsettled weather, with lighter showers today. Flooding of properties is not forecast at this point.

    Flooded car park at CPM, Thame, during the height of the floods in Thame in Feb. 2014

    Thame Town Council is closely monitoring the situation. Refer to the ‘River and Sea levels in England’ webpage for current river levels and avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses.


    To check the latest information for your area

    * Visit the GOV.UK website to see the current flood warnings, view river and sea levels or check the 5-day flood risk forecast: https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/target-area/061WAF19Thame

    * Or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 using quickdial code: 171115 .

    * Follow @EnvAgency and #floodaware on Twitter.

    * Tune into weather, news and travel bulletins on local television and radio.


    What you should consider doing now?


    * Monitor local water levels and weather conditions.

    * Keep your staff and customers informed about the situation.

    * Get ready to act on your business flood plan if you have one.

    * Move cars or other vehicles to higher ground, if it is safe to do so.

    * Check that you know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water mains supplies.

    * In rural locations, farmers should consider moving livestock and equipment away from areas likely to flood.

    * Avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water. 30 cm of fast-flowing water can move a car and 6 inches can knock an adult off their feet.

    * Flood water is dangerous and may be polluted. Wash your hands thoroughly if you’ve been in contact with it.

  • Fancy seeing your photos in the Thame Green Living plan?

    THE Thame Green Living Plan is currently holding a photography competition www.thamegreenliving.org.uk/photos  to update the pictures in the 2020 Thame Living Plan document.

    There are five categories to be captured digitally, so grab your camera and get snapping around Thame:

    1 Open spaces, green routes, and our natural world

    2 Water and Drainage

    3 Air and environment – avoiding pollution

    4 Energy and energy efficiency

    5 Waste, recycling and waste avoidance.

  • Whose plan?….

    IN a very unusual move, Oxfordshire County Council today voted to accept an invitation from the Minister responsible for housing, Robert Jenrick MP – if he were to send it – to take over the production of South Oxfordshire District Council’s Local Plan 2034.

    The Liberal Democrat and Green coalition that has led the district council since May’s local elections, believed that the 28,500 new homes figure in the plan drawn up by the previous Conservative SODC administration, was excessive. So, they sought to amend the Local Plan back in October, to reflect more the climate emergency and fewer homes that they, the new administration, say they fought and won their mandate on in the May 2020 General Election.

    Tetchy Councillors

    After presentations from CPRE, several SODC Councillors, including their Leader, Sue Cooper, and a young mother of two, followed by an ill-natured at times, lengthy debate, the decision came with a vote of 39 for, 16 against and 4 abstentions. Two of the abstentions to the motion, to accept the invitation from the Minister, came from Thame and Chinnor’s County Councillors, Jeannette Matelot Green and Nick Carter.

    Some County Councillors, mainly LibDems, held the view that it would be undemocratic to take the Local Plan away from the SODC, the designated Planning authority elected in May, elected with a mandate to look again at ‘excessive’ housing numbers in the plan and lack of consideration for Climate Change coming down the line. Others though, mainly on the Conservative and Labour side of the argument, were of the view that withdrawing and delaying the plan was wrong of SODC and the only way to get it through, and to get the £368 million infrastructure fund for itself to spend, would be to take over from SODC, if the minister asked it to.

    There was much debate as to the legality of the Minister’s proposed action and whether the county council would put itself at financial and/or legal risk by taking over the plan. Many Councillors veered off into what a good plan should contain eg more social housing. but eventually a vote was taken and the final result was to accept the Minister’s invitation, if it came.

    Afterwards, Cllr Sue Cooper said: “I regret the decision made by the county council today, and would like to thank those who came to the meeting to support the principle of local democracy and decision-making. We wish to continue working constructively with the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government and Oxfordshire County Council to keep local plan making with South Oxfordshire.

    “We would like to know more about the Secretary of State’s suggestion to propose changes to the plan through the examination process, with the aim of putting our plan at the forefront of the latest bold and far-reaching thinking on the climate emergency, rather than being the last of the environmentally damaging plans.

    “Our preference remains to discuss the mechanism to propose such changes in a face-to-face meeting with the Secretary of State, as he agreed in parliament in response to a question from Layla Moran MP. We are yet to hear back from the Secretary of State on our request to hold this meeting.

    “If we are prevented from withdrawing this plan and working on a new one ourselves, we must at least be able to uphold the principle of local democracy by proposing improvements.”

    Writing on OCC’s Facebook page, Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the council, wrote: ““This is a very unusual position we find ourselves in. It is something that neither I nor Oxfordshire County Council have proactively sought.

    “I thank county councillors for taking part in today’s debate and the vote that followed. The only way to have local input in to the progression of South Oxfordshire’s Local Plan was for us to take the difficult decision to accept an invitation if this is received from the Secretary of State.

    “This way forward would give the very best opportunity for South Oxfordshire residents to feed into the process as it evolves, as well as seeing the many infrastructure benefits that it could provide. By not progressing the Local Plan we could lose £368m for much required infrastructure.

    “We have a strong and longstanding partnership with our partners at South Oxfordshire District Council on many issues and we want to maintain that for the benefit of people of South Oxfordshire.”

    Oxfordshire County Council has not yet received an invitation from central Government.

    PREVIOUSLY: Link HERE

  • Four in a row for Chinnor RFC

    MATT Williams, Director of Rugby, was delighted to see his Chinnor side secure their fourth successive bonus-point victory when beating Old Elthamians 33-3 on Saturday.

    Tries from Jason Worrall (2), Joe Rees, Willie Ryan and Nick Selway helped the Thame-based club make it five victories from six games in 2020. With Richmond, Rosslyn Park and Rams also victorious, Chinnor remain fourth in National League 1, and four points off second place with eight games remaining.

    Playing with a strong wind to their backs in the first half, the hosts were only able to score two tries in the opening 40 minutes despite dominating possession and territory. But they went on to cross three times in the last 18 minutes of the contest to earn another five-point victory.

    Director of rugby Williams said: “Every week it’s about the game in front of us and it’s working for us. We’ve let the shackles off, we’re playing rugby and enjoying ourselves. You can’t ask for any more than 20 points out of 20.”

    Williams added: “Fair play to OEs. In the first half, their defence was really good, they kept us out a few times. Having to play against the wind as we did, anyone would have said that we were under pressure going into the second half, but the guys stepped up to the plate and OEs didn’t have opportunities to score. I’m delighted for the boys.”

    Tighthead prop, Rees, scored his first try for the club as Chinnor took the lead after 12 minutes.

    “I won’t get many of those in my whole career to be honest,” said the Welshman. “So a trundle over from two metres, I’ll take that every day of the week!”
    He added: “It was really tough. He added: “Obviously we’re thrilled with another four tries; that was the aim. We knew it was going to be a really attritional game, but we dug in there and got what we wanted.

    “Momentum is with us, but we know it can swing at any moment. This league is full of great teams, so we have to back it up again next week against Canterbury. We’ve just got to look forward again.”