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Category: Thame news

  • Work to start on refurbishment of Thame playground

    WORK on the refurbishment of the Churchill Crescent play are in Thame, is due to start on February 19, and is expected to take around two weeks.
    The cost for replacing the equipment and the playing surface is in the region of

  • Thame trees to be felled following complaints

    A row of beech trees on the boundary between gardens and the Queen Elizabeth Circle in Thame, are to be felled, following complaints from residents about loss of light, leaf fall into gardens and root damage to buildings along the boundary line.
    After rejecting a plan to have the existing trees pollarded, on the grounds that it would only be a tempory solution and an on-going expense, Thame Town Council’s Culture and Leisure commitee voted to remove the existing trees and plant new trees 30 feet into the recreation area.
    It is expected that the work would be phased in over three years.

    Photo: a row of beech trees – for illustrative puposes only

  • Ancient Saxon settlement discovered on Thame development site

    THE discovery of an ancient, Saxon settlement on the site where a new football stadium is proposed, has excited Thame historians.
    The identification of the historic site on the far side of the town’s Eastern by-pass, means that a team of archaeologists will move in to dig very carefully around the area before building work can begin on Town United’s proposed new football stadium.

    The plan, submitted by the Thame Football Partnership, will be considered by the district council’s Planning committee early in April.

  • 1.5 million allocated for new Thame fire station

    As well as a

  • Thame Therapist Committed to Crown Court

    A THAME therapist, who has denied seven counts of Sexual Assault, had his case committed to Oxford Crown Court by Magistrates last Thursday (February 7).
    Mr Praminder Mankoo, aged 46, of Oakley, Buckinghamshire, was charged on December 13, 2006, with the offences against five women over the age of 16.
    Mr Mankoo’s trial will begin on February 29.

  • Focus on food for Thame Festival 2008

    PLANS for this year’s Thame Festival are well underway and events for the week, themed around food, will include a Beer festival, a Quiz night, a Festival food market, a Parade, a Fete and a Rock Night in the town centre.
    21st Century Thame are taking the lead in the organisation of the Thame Festival this year and would warmly welcome help from other Community groups and individuals in the town. The Festival week will commence on Monday, June 9, culminating with the Parade and Fete on Saturday, June 14, 2008.

    21st Century Thame are hoping to involve all food and drink outlets in the town and the organisation will be split into a number of working groups to cover the various events during the Festival week.

    If you would like to join one of the working groups then go along to the next meeting on Wednesday, February 27, at 7.30pm, at Lord Williams?s Lower School Sports Hall Classroom. If you are unable to attend this meeting but would like to be involved then please contact Alison Isherwood, 21st Century Thame Project Officer e-mail: ai@21stcenturythame.org.uk, mobile 07944 175633.

    Local charities and organisations who would like to receive a donation from the proceeds of the Festival should contact Alison Isherwood, as above, with details of their request.

    Photo: Courtesy of: www.wildhealthfood.com/cooking-classes

  • Bjorn Lomborg – Europe’s leading realist (Contributed)

    BY Nicholas Newman www.oxfordprospect.co.uk.
    Dr. Bjorn Lomborg aged 42, heads the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, is adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School Denmark, and author of the best selling books ?The Skeptical Environmentalist? and ?Cool It?. Bjorn was named one of the “50 people who could save the planet” by the Guardian newspaper in 2008.

    Bjorn Lomborg has been described as one of Europe?s leading scientific and political realists, who has brought courage to those that wish to discuss and debate environmental issues in a scientific rational, compassionate and logical manner.

    Bjorn?s work has brought a breath of fresh air to the debate for he has challenged many of the almost dogmatic claims about global warming, overpopulation, energy resources, deforestation, species loss and water shortages using scientific methods of evidence, analysis and assessment.

    It is not generally realised that Dr. Bjorn Lomborg does not dispute the existence of climate change, but questions the priority given to specific solutions, in particular, co2 emissions, put forward by the likes of the former American Vice President Al Gore. In so doing Lomborg is providing Europe?s politicians, like Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy with the public policy toolkit on which to determine government priorities to tackle the problems Europe faces.

    Bjorn Lomborg ? the man
    Dr. Lomborg is the sceptical environmentalist, and probably the most famous Dane since the Viking Eric the Red? It is a pleasure to listen to this impressive friendly Danish academic. Bjorn looks like a professional tennis player; there is hardly a trace of his Danish heritage in his bubbling Californian accent. Of his friends Bjorn says: ?they are always happy to share a pizza and play with my X-box.?

    Global Warming is not our first priority
    ?Gore?s film ?An Inconvenient Truth? makes three points; global warming is real, it will be catastrophic and addressing it should be our first priority. Inconveniently for the film?s producers, however, only the first statement is correct.? Bjorn says.

    Not only does Lomborg question the solutions put forward to deal with the problems involved but is also sceptical of the often simplistic correlations made between physical phenomena and the degree of effect of such phenomena.

    To take one example the recent flooding in Prague and Dresden are simplistically often attributed to global warming, though other scientific hydrological studies of historical records, tend rather to indicate that these events are well within normal parameters.

    Another example is where the doomsday scenario predicts that the sea level rise consequent on climate change will mean that the Netherlands will be submerged under 6.5 metres of water. Such exaggeration, Lomborg points out, is not backed by IPCC (UN Climate Change Committee) research. In fact, they expect a more manageable 38.5cm, which means cities like Amsterdam and London will easily be able to improve their flood defences.

    As for Possible Solution?
    Turning to possible solutions for dealing with the effects of climate change, Lomborg argues that rather than concentrating almost solely on reductions in CO2 emissions, attention should rather be given to what might be called social/political alternatives. It would be more effective if we spent our scarce resources on human happiness (which, after all, should be the point of environmentalism), such as poverty alleviation, anti-malarial programs, and similar measures.

    For example, anticipated costs of ?1 trillion to reduce carbon emissions sufficiently to have a global effect, might be more efficiently applied to the prevention and treatment of HIV/Aids, the elimination of malaria and the provision of clean drinking water to the world?s poor?

    In other words attention should be given to a cost benefit analysis approach, which would have more certain results in both the short and long term.

    What Bjorn Lomborg has achieved is to provide Europe?s decision makers with a set of policies, including increased spending on research and development, in particular nuclear power, on which to base informed rational decisions. Such policies Dr. Lomborg suggests, will not only be more cost effective, but provide greater economic development opportunities than Gore?s policies which are likely to significantly limit future opportunities to deal with future problems.

    Perhaps this explains why the Kyoto Protocol has not been fully implemented and adopted by the world?s nations and as Bjorn observed about the recent IPCC conference in Bali in December 2007: ?that little concrete progress had been accomplished, despite the theatrics. In fact since 1995 little has been achieved.?

    Finally, perhaps the greatest irony is that whilst the EU enthuses over the Kyoto Protocol in contrast to the US hostility the reality is, Lomborg observes is that: ?since 1990 the growth in EU?s emissions have tended to increase ahead of the US.?

    Seems actions speak louder than words?

    Dr. Bjorn Lomborg http://www.lomborg.com/

    Bjorn Lomborg : video talk on ?Our priorities for saving the world? http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/62

    Copenhagen Consensus Centre http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/

    IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://www.ipcc.ch/

    Eric The Red http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_the_Red

    Guardian Newspaper http://www.guardian.co.uk

    Al Gore http://www.algore.com/

  • Town council confusion over Cattlemarket plan

    CONFUSION over a planning decision made by Thame town councillors, means that the applicant and members of the public are left believing that councillors had refused an application to build a Cattlemarket in Rycote Lane – when in fact they had changed their minds, once the public had left, over a point of procedure.
    Following representations made by the applicant, Charles Castle, and Peter Bailey, speaking against the plan for Thame Farmers Mart Ltd, the casting vote of the Planning committee Chairman, Cllr Don Butler, meant that the committee recommended refusal of the plan, 4 votes to 3.

    However, when Cllr David Dodds and Cllr Beatrice Dobie returned to the meeting, having left because of personal interest in the application, the committee decided that on a procedural matter, they would have to propose ‘No strong views’ on the application. Cllrs Dobie and Dodds then left the Chamber again and the committee registered its change of mind. By this time, all but two members of the public had left the meeting unaware of the committee’s change of mind.

    Strong views about the proposal to move Thame Cattlemarket to a new site on Mr Castle’s land in Rycote Lane, were expressed by both speakers and councillors who disagreed about the possible increase of traffic at the Aylesbury Road roundabout, whether there would be enough space for a cattlemarket and whether or not there had been consultation with Thame Farmers Mart Ltd or Thame Show.

    Twelve letters of opposition had been sent to the town council, typically raising the same issues a that sent by the Chiltern Vale Association, which included the following additional points:
    * The location…would detract from the rural
    landscape – Mr Castle maintained that there are
    already industrial units adjacent to the proposed
    site.
    * The need to address the matter of effluent drainage
    caused by the proposed ‘washdown’facilities

    The letter expressed the view that the Thame Showground site would be the most appropriate site if the traffic difficulties could be overcome by a set of traffic lights and the proposed roundabout.

    Mr Castle maintained that moving the cattlemarket to his land would relieve the pressure of traffic in the Aylesbury Road, that his plan provided ample space for expansion if required, and that the proposal would “make a visual statement to the market town ambience.”
    He also said that South Oxfordshire District Council had told him that it had no intention of selling the Cattlemarket site.

    Peter Bailey called the proposal “purely speculative” and said that it did not have the backing of either the farmers or the Thame Show, and would not benefit the agricultural community.

    Whilst several councillors said that there was very little difference between this application and that to move the cattlemarket to the Thame Show ground, Cllr Jeanette Green said: “The major difference is that the farmers do not want this one!”

  • Mayor welcomes Thame to Haddenham cycle route news

    THE Mayor of Thame, David Bretherton, today welcomed the news that a feasibility study has been commissioned into the building of a safe cycle route between Thame and Haddenham.
    Darren Divall, Cycling and Walking Team Leader at Buckinghamshire County Council, announced today that the

  • Trial of four Accused in Thame ‘suit case’ murder to begin

    THE trial of four people accused of involvement in the murder of an elderly woman whose burned remains were dumped in a suitcase near Thame, is to begin in ten days time.
    Jolanta M Kalinowsica, 41, of Cavendish Avenue, Ealing, is charged with murder, Monilca Sienkiewicz, 19, Adrian Ryszard Lis, 23, and Lucasz Gajda, 25, also from Ealing, are charged with assisting an offender in the commission of murder.

    The body of 94-year-old Thea Zaudy from Nottinghill, London, was found by a farm worker in a field off Rycote Lane, in July, last year.

    The trial is expected to last 4-5 weeks and will begin at Oxford Crown Court on February 18.