Category: Thame news

THE trial of a motorcyclist who killed an elderly Kingston Blount woman and her dog whilst they were out on an early morning walk, began today.
Caroline O’Keeffe, 70, was crossing the road in Kingston Blount, near Thame, with her two dogs when she was hit by Michael O’Neill’s Suzuki bike in October 2006, the jury at Oxford Crown Court heard today.
SEE FULL STORY
FROM THE OXFORD MAIL

IN response to what the founder of Thame Youth Theatre called “a moment of personal idiosy”, when the group’s base was destroyed by an arsonist, a fund-raising appeal to build a replacement has been launched.
Yesterday an invited audience witnessed the handing over of a cheque by two Thame Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who organised a fun day at Thame police station to raise money towards a new building to be known as the Phoenix Performing Arts Studio.

PCSO Jackie Madden, who with her colleague Diane Jackson was there on the night of the fire that destroyed the Lord Williams’s school drama studio in June last year, recalled the event.
“It was very distressing for us,” she said, ” and we realised the effect it was having on the community. We do care what happens in our town and the surrounding villages and we are glad to be here tonight to help ‘kick off’ the fund-raising.
“We decided that the fire had such an impact on the community that we wanted to do something and came up with the idea of a fun day at the station. We relied on donations for prizes etc from local shops. The afternoon included ‘splat the rat’, a tombola and stocks where wet sponges were thrown at ‘willing’ volunteers and the local fire service were in attendance. Some of our own relatives took the day off to help and without them, the event would not have been possible.”

Last night (31/01), in the Upper School hall, an invited audience was welcomed by Headteacher, David Wybron, who recalled getting the call about the fire whilst on a Duke of Edinburgh Award walk in Derbyshire. “However, after all the trauma of losing the drama studio,” he said, ” we are now starting to feel excited about building something special to replace what we have lost, an enlarged space with an enclosed corridor between it and the school, a place that not only people from our school can use, but people from the wider community.”
He said that although a lot of the money would come from the school’s Capital grant, negotiations were on-going with the Insurance Company and that the school would need a further

THERE are to be sweeping changes to Oxfordshire’s secondary schools according to the county’s education chief.
Oxfordshire County Council’s Janet Tomlinson has pledged to deliver huge improvements to Oxfordshire’s state schools.
According to a statement today, despite steady progress in many results, she believes that the pace of change is still too slow, saying that Oxfordshire lags behind similar counties such as Cambridgeshire, adding, “even Slough’s GCSE results are better. “

A former headteacher, Mrs Tomlinson was head of education in Slough before coming to Oxfordshire, where she achieved impressive results. She believes that while there are many good teachers in Oxfordshire schools, there have been pockets of complacency, with some staff having been ?in denial? about their school’s overall performance.

Mrs Tomlinson said: ?It is a striking fact that at the moment, in general children in Slough have a higher chance of getting good GCSEs than children in Oxfordshire. Given the social and economic profile of Oxfordshire, our schools should be doing much better.

?Analysis of current schools? test and exam results show Oxfordshire to be at around the national average. But if you look at other relatively affluent counties with similar blends of market towns, cities and rural areas, Oxfordshire is at the bottom.

?Not a single secondary school in Oxfordshire has yet been judged as outstanding by Ofsted and that isn’t good enough, ? she said.

“We cannot achieve this improvement alone – it needs the support of parents and carers – but we must ensure that we help Oxfordshire children to achieve better results in the future. We should aspire to see results that are at least as good as those in similar counties and eventually even better.”

Proposed changes:

Decisive early intervention when schools are in danger of failing, or are considered to be ?coasting? rather than improving.

Teams of specialist subject teachers and advisers will be brought in to support schools that are not progressing sufficiently.

Head teachers and their staff will be encouraged to visit successful schools elsewhere to learn from examples of best practice.

An accreditation scheme called ?Excellence in Oxfordshire? will be launched to recognise and reward successful schools.

The council?s School Improvement Service will be completely overhauled, with new experts appointed
multi-agency support teams, including health workers, will be sent into schools in areas with high levels of homelessness or other social problems, to give greater support.

Photo: Janet Tomlinson

OXFORDSHIRE County Council?s Fire and Rescue Service has been ranked as one of the best in the UK with an ?excellent? rating for emergency response.
A report published today by the Audit Commission states that the fire and rescue service is performing consistently above the minimum requirements, with a maximum rating of four for emergency response.

The annual assessment rates fire and rescue services across the country, judging their management and performance across eight categories.

These include how the service responds to emergency calls, community fire safety initiatives, financial control and value for money.

John Parry, Chief Fire Officer and Director for Community Safety at Oxfordshire County Council, said: ?We are delighted to be recognised as one of the best fire and rescue services in the UK.
?The assessment process highlights the commitment from all our staff and our many partners in delivering a first-class service to the people in and around Oxfordshire.
?I am convinced that we will be able to continue to make great strides in the future and ensure that excellence is embedded in the organisation.?

County Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said the Audit Commission?s report was something everyone in Oxfordshire should be proud of.

She added: ?I am very pleased with our excellent response to emergency incidents throughout the county and the ground-breaking prevention work we carry out in the community.?

The Audit Commission’s report states:

OVERNIGHT between Monday 28th & Tuesday 29th January, a property in Van Diemans Road, Thame, was the target of an attempted burglary. Offender(s) have tried to gain entry by forcing the rear patio doors and frame.
Please remind all watch members to be extra vigilant. Check all doors and windows are properly secured and keys removed from locks. Make sure security lighting is working and check the security on any access points to the rear of your property. Also ensure any sheds, outbuildings and gates to the rear of your property are locked.

If you have any information relating to this message, please call the police on 08458 505 505 and quote URN 252 of 29/01/08.

A NEW planning application has been submitted to move Thame’s Cattlemarket to land adjoining Rycote Lane, on the edge of Thame.
The plan is for the relocation of Thame cattle market and the development of a new single storey cattle market, car parking, new access and ancillary activities. The applicant is the land’s owner, farmer and ex town councillor, ‘Chubb’ Castle.

Three proposals to move the cattlemarket to the Thame Show ground have been rejected by South Oxfordshire District Council, one of them currently the subject of an Appeal which will be held as a Public Enquiry. A date has not yet been announced for the Enquiry.

Full details of the latest plans can be viewed on the district council’s website: LINK

THE plan to demolish the Pied Pedaller toy shop in Thame, and build a new library, is not supported by everyone in the town and this week, two separate letters have been sent to the ‘powers that be’ expressing objections.

Thame Cattlemarket Action Group, CMAG, has written to the county council voicing its concerns. The letter, addressed to John Hamilton, Oxfordshire County Council’s Principal Planning Officer, reads:

“I am writing on behalf of the Thame Cattle Market Action Group regarding the application by the County Council to knock down the existing building in North Street, currently the Pied Pedaller toy shop and replace it with a library.
From speaking to some of our members and other members of the public we would like to voice the following concerns.
1. This site is limited in size, as a building with no ?elbow room? either side, it will always have limitation of light. Thame?s population is inevitably going to grow in the next few years as outlined in the SODC core strategy document. As the population increases, it is likely that the town will outgrow the size of this library again. There is also little potential for adaptability to this building to accommodate changes in requirements of a library in future.
2. There is no parking for this planned library, although it is close to the market place parking, there is very little parking on Tuesdays and often no free spaces all week as shoppers use the market place car park. This will inevitably limit the amount the library will be used.
3. This plan does not concur with the advice from the National Library guidelines where a library should be part of a mixed use space.
4. Our concern is that this move will be a short-sighted approach to the problem and thus a lost opportunity to provide an excellent library for Thame.
5. There is an ideal site on the current livestock market site which we know the farmers mart wish to vacate. This site is owned by SODC and is an ideal site to develop a much needed community centre along side a library such that parking and visitors can be shared as well as running costs. We advocate a combined approach between Oxfordshire County Council and South Oxfordshire District Council to find a way to build a new library that is purpose-built with enough light, good access and its own parking, it would be worth the wait.”

The Financial Director of ToyZone, which owns the Pied Pedaller, Ed Tilley, told ThameNews.Net today: “This is a very emotive issue in the town and there are a number of people who believe we either have closed or are just about to close. In addition to our original petition containing over 2,000 names, we have received a petition from the children of Barley Hill school containing almost 300 names. I attach a letter from Emma Fotherby, a young customer of the Pied Pedaller which we all found very charming.

“We have agreed with OCC to extend our lease at the Pied Pedaller. Unfortunately this is only a temporary extension to 30 September with the landlord having the right to break from 30 April. This lease is far from ideal for ourselves and, as previously mentioned, we will lose money if we do not have Xmas trading. However, we believe there is such uncertainty over the whole issue that it would be wrong of us to leave Thame at the expiry of our current lease on 31 January. We continue to believe that the siting of the new library at 3 North Street is not in the best interests of the town. We also believe that any planning permission to change the Pied Pedaller from retail to non retail would be in direct contravention of the SODC planning policy for Thame town centre.”

Emma’s letter, which is illustrated too, reads:

“Do not destroy our toy shop because we have all ready got a library down the bottom of North Street. The toy shop is the only one I know of in Thame and the toy shop has everything I can use for buying presents for my friends.”

THAME POLICE will be offering advice on preventing burglary in Thame next Saturday, February 2.
A Crime Reduction Roadshow will visit the town Hall, between 10am and 12pm, as part of a month long campaign by police to cut down on burglaries in South Oxfordshire.
Lesley Nesbitt, local crime reduction advisor, said: “If you have any questions pop in and see us, sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective in keeping yourself, your families, and your home safe and secure. We will have a limited number of ultra violet property marking pens to give away, and will give advice on property marking your bicycles and other items.”

Lesley will be joined by Neighbourhood Watch administrator, Carol Rudd, and officers from Thame Fire Station, who will give advice on home and personal security, fire prevention and Neighbourhood Watch schemes.