Category: Thame news

THE three new roads serving the Oxford Road, Thame development (formerly Rycotewood college), have been decided.
They are Union Way, Michaelis Road and College Close.

A 40mph speed limit along a stretch of the Thame by-pass is to be progressed during the next financial year.
The news was confirmed by Area Traffic Engineer for Oxfordshire County Council, Peter Ronald, at a recent meeting of the Thame Traffic Advisory Committee who have been asking for a speed reduction between the Chinnor Rugby Club roundabout and the Aylesbury Road roundabout, following a series of minor accidents and near-misses particularly involving traffic leaving Cromwell Avenue at peak times.
The proposal will now go to consultation with the emergency services who are not expected to object.
The current speed limit along this stretch is 50 mph.

Police have arrested Kevin Aldred, 39, a registered sex offender, who broke the terms of his licence and had been missing since Wednesday night (31/1).

He was been arrested around 6pm on Friday evening, (02/02) and taken to a police station in Oxfordshire.

Thames Valley Police would like to thank the media and members of the public for their assistance.

THE Police have appealled for help with tracing a missing offender in the county.
A joint statement has been released by Thames Valley Police and Thames Valley Probation Area:

Kevin Aldred, aged 39, is a registered sex offender who has been missing since Wednesday night (31/01).
He broke his curfew and has failed to maintain contact with probation staff or adhere to the conditions of his licence; he left his address in Oxfordshire around 9.20pm.

Kevin has been living at this address since December (2006) and it had been approved as part of his post-prison licence conditions.
He is subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and all agencies are working together on this case.
He is 5ft 3ins with a slim build; has red, balding hair and a distinctive walk. He was wearing a black hooded top, jeans and a white T-shirt.
BCU Commander Chief Supt Shaun Morley, said: “Intensive police inquiries have been undertaken to locate Kevin and he was sighted yesterday in Oxford.
“One of the reasons we are releasing his details to the public is that there is a high risk he will re-offend. We are doing all we can to trace him, but would like people to remain vigilant, and ask anyone with information as to his whereabouts to get in touch as soon as possible.
“Aldred is unpredictable and it would be inadvisable for members of the public to approach him. Should anyone see him, I would advise they call 999 immediately.”

A dedicated telephone number has been set up for people to give information ? 01865 293037.

A planning application to replace the Pied Pedaller with a new library for Thame, currently being discussed by Oxfordshire County Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, will be for demolition of the existing building and its replacement with a new, purpose build library.
The estimated cost will be

IT has emerged today that the Pied Pedaller toy shop, which is to close at the end of the month to make way for a new library for Thame, could have remained open until June.
A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said today that the Pied Pedaller’s lease was not due to end until June, but that its Financial Director had asked the county council if they could vacate on February 17, “for business reasons.”
“The business was not issued with a notice to quit,” she said, as was previously report in the press.

NB The Pied Pedaller is part of The Toyworld Group comprises of Toyworld Toymaster, Toyworld Store Toymaster, Toyworld Megastore, Toyworld Hobbystore, Toyworld Factory Outlet, Toyworld Store Factory Outlet, The Toy Factory and www.toyworldstore.com.
The Toyworld Group plc is Europe’s largest factory outlet toy retailer and also one of the UK’s largest chain of independent toy retailers.

It is owned by the brothers, Gary and Stuart Sadler.

ACCIDENT NOW CLEARED AND ROAD RE-OPENED !!

THE Police are currently dealing with a collision on the northbound A34.
The incident, involving four lorries and two cars, happened in the contra-flow section of roadworks near Harwell Hill on the A34 between Chilton and the Milton interchange.

One man has been taken to hospital by air ambulance. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The A34 is currently closed in both directions although traffic should start to flow southbound shortly.

The road should be fully reopened in approximately one hour.

Further updates will be placed on the website as and when available.

A THAME Councillor has welcomed the the news that additional police officers have been tasked to cover Thame town centre on Friday and Saturday nights. Inspector Stewart Dunbar’s announcement that extra officers were in the town centre over the last two weekends, was welcomed by District Councillor Ann Midwinter who said: “This is really good news and shows that the local police have listened to the concerns of Thame people that were voiced at the recent public meeting to explain Neighbourhood Action Groups.”
Last weekend, Inspector Dunbar announced, five arrests were made and two fixed penalty notices issued for anti-social behaviour.

At the meeting, which was held at Thame town hall and attended by some 65 local people (including young people and councillors), the residents of Thame named the issues they want their neighbourhood team to tackle.

The top three priorities were lack of provision for young people, underage drinking and vandalism.

During the meeting residents were asked to think of things that concern them in their neighbourhood and they then voted for their top issues.

Lack of youth provision received 25 votes. Underage drinking in the town centre, Lincoln Place, Churchill Crescent parks and Fleetwood Way received 21 votes. And vandalism on Pearce Way, Lincoln Place, Chinnor Road, Queen Elizabeth Circle and the Upper High Street received 13 votes. These three issues received the most votes.

The neighbourhood team is now looking for people willing to be part of the neighbourhood action group (NAG) to start taking work forward to tackle these priorities.

Sgt Martin Jubb, Neighbourhood Implementation Manager, said: ?The NAG will be a group of people including local residents, police, local authorities and other interested parties such as shop owners, teachers, youth workers or licensees. This group will find solutions to the three priorities and put those solutions into action.

?If you are interested in joining the NAG then contact me, Sgt Mike Todd or PC Abi Derbyshire via 0845 8 505 505.

?We would also like to hear from anyone interested in becoming a PCSO. PCSOs are the key to the success of neighbourhood policing and we need more PCSOs across South Oxfordshire to complete our neighbourhood teams.?

?If you are interested in finding out more about what being a PCSO involves contact the national call centre on 0845 600 0925 or visit www.rewardingrole.co.uk.?

PHOTOGRAPHS showing Oxfordshire?s towns around one hundred years ago, have been used to create a new online gallery.
Oxfordshire County Council has joined forces with the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network – which promotes local businesses – to create the new gallery on the Network?s website at www.otcn.co.uk.

Around 100 black and white photographs of Oxford and many of the county?s towns have been drawn from the Oxfordshire County Council photographic archive and can be accessed through the Shop Locally page – click on the town links on the right hand side for contemporary photos of the county.

The same photos can also be found on the Heritage pages of the county council?s website: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/heritagesearch.

Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Burford, Carterton, Charlbury, Chipping Norton, Didcot, Faringdon, Thame, Wallingford, Wantage, Witney, Woodstock, are all featured.

Don Seale, Cabinet Member for Cultural Services, said: ?This gallery is a great initiative from our perspective as it uses the County?s rich photographic collections in a novel way to help promote the local economy. It also draws people?s attention to the many thousands of photos which can now be found on the Heritage pages of the county council?s website.?

photo: The old Thame Grammar school

FIRE chiefs are warning against the advice of environmental experts in America who claim that sterilising dishcloths in microwave ovens kills 99% of germs.
A recent report by a Professor Gabriel Bitton, an expert in environmental engineering at the University of Florida, claimed that 99% of germs contained in a kitchen sponge or dishcloth would be killed if the item was placed in a microwave oven on full power for two minutes.
However, Oxfordshire fire chiefs say that doing this could result in catastrophe after a Telford resident’s microwave oven recently caught fire during an attempt to sterilise a dishcloth. Fortunately, the fire was contained within the oven but the incident could have been far more devastating.

Julian Green, Risk Reduction Manager, said: “Attempting to sterilise a dishcloth or kitchen sponge in this way is extremely dangerous. There are too many variable factors such as the capacity and power of the microwave oven or the moisture content of the dishcloth or sponge, which may or may not cause fire. The potential for scalding oneself is another likely hazard. We strongly advise people not to sterilise cloths in this way.”

Photo: Courtesy of MTV