Category: Thame news

AFTER being closed for six months, during which time Thame was without its largest venue for local clubs and associations, the Windmill Suite at Thame United’s old ground, is to re-open.
Talks between the Town Clerk and the owners of the site, to negotiate a deal whereby the town council could run the venue for the benefit of the town, have come to fruition.
Coleman Properties has agreed that the council can lease the building on a short-term basis whilst the company puts together development plans for the site. The length of the lease will depend on the outcome of the development plans but will be for a minimum of 12-18 months.
Thame Town Council has stated: “There is a lot still to do and a special working group has been formed which will consider the details of the lease and how the suite will be managed.
“Most important of all, they will have to decide how the project is to be funded because it can?t be achieved within the current resources of the Council.”

THE Police would like to hear from anyone who may have any information about the following two incidents in the Thame area recently.

High Street, Thame – around 1.20pm – A credit card, left accidentally in an ATM machine outside Barclays bank was taken. Please contact PC Allan at Abingdon, via 0845 850 5505

Great Milton – Overnight between 6.30pm on Friday, March 24, and 9am on Saturday, March 25; Thame Road; A rear windscreen was smashed and property stolen from inside.

A CONTROVERSIAL planning application to demolish a Thame landmark and build flats in its place, has been rejected by the district council.
South Oxfordshire District Council gave the following reasons for its refusal of the application:
“That having regard to the size, height, bulk, massing and detailing of the proposed two apartment buildings and to their siting adjacent to the footpath in Cotmore Gardens and in close proximity to Bridge Terrace, the proposal would appear prominent, intrusive and out of keeping with the character of the area and would detract from the modest character of Bridge Terrace. In addition the proposal would result in the permanent loss of Essex House Hotel which is considered to be an important landmark building of local historic interest that should be retained.”
The plan, to demolish the Essex House hotel in Thame, and erect two new buildings comprising of 12 apartments with associated parking, had previously met with the disapproval of Thame Town Council. It subsequently applied to have the building and the ex-railway workers’ cottages in Bridge Terrace, included in the Thame Conservation Area, but was turned down by English Heritage.
A letter to Tessa Jowell, the Minister responsible for Heritage, has since been sent by the town council appealing against that decision.

THE THAME Community Safety Group has joined forces with the Crimestoppers charity to tackle car crime in Thame.
The Stop Car Crime campaign, which was launched this morning by the Mayor of Thame,Cllr David Laver, aims to raise awareness of crime prevention advice and to increase the number of people reporting information related to car crime and criminal damage.
The campaign will focus on car crime hotspots in Thame such as North Street, Wellington Street, Park Street and the Lea Park Estate.
Posters, leaflets and beer mats promoting the aims of the campaign will be distributed to homes and local businesses at risk of car crime.
The campaign will run from April 3, to April 30 during which time calls to the police about car crime in Thame will be monitored to see what effect the campaign has.
Inspector Stuart Dumbar told ThameNews.Net:”In all other areas, burglary, violent crime etc., we have managed to bring about a marked dip in incidents but car crime recently has begun to rise again. We hope to reverse that trend with the help of our partners.
“Most important to us is that members of the public heed our crime prevention advice to avoid themselves becoming a victim and also that witnesses to such behaviour get in touch and pass the information on so that we can act upon it.”

The Thame Community Safety Group includes the Police themselves, the Fire Service, Thame Chamber of Commerce, South Oxfordshire District Council, Thame Town Council,local pubs, the Youth Service, Lord Williams’s School, SOHA Housing Association and the Youth Council.
The Thame Community Safety Group are urging people who witness such crime to pass information on to the police through the police Enquiry Line on 0845 505 505 or via Crimestoppers, 0800 555 111, where they will not be asked to give their name.
The adice is:
S ecure your vehicle
T ake out valuable
O utsmart car thieves – report them to Crimestopper
P ark in well-lt, safe areas

For more information, visit www.thamesvalleycrimestoppers.org

IN his speach at this year’s Civic Ball, the Mayor of Thame, Cllr David Laver, paid tribute to the many people of the town who give up their time voluntarily to work for the community.
Th Mayor’s guests at the Spread Eagle Hotel, included Mayors from neighbouring town, the Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, Cllr Patrick Green, and the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, The Honorable Hugo Brunner and their partners.
Cllr Laver praised the staff at the town hall who had supported him in the organisation of the Ball, and especially thanked his wife, Norma for her support and for, as he put it, “being there in the small, wee hours when the worries sometimes kick in.”
The Deputy Mayor, Cllr David Dodds, praised groups like the Oxfordshire School of Aerobatic Gymnasts in Thame, who, after only two years, had reached international level.
“Their dedication and hard work is an inspiration to the young people of Thame,” he said.
Hugo Brunner spoke about the Queen’s impending visit to Oxford on April 21, as part of her birthday celebrations. He went on to say that Thame faced all sorts of challenges for the future and referred to the town’s hopes in connection with the football team, the future of the hospital, a new libray, the new museum opening later this year and the future of the cattle market.
Claire Davies gave an inspiring speach about both the history and the future of Thame Youth Theatre, one of the Mayor’s chosen charities for his year in office.
After thanking local businesses and the Thame Town Council for their financial aid, she said:”We aim to make the Youth Theatre both affordable and accessible to all children,” and described some of the activities the group has been involved in including street dance as well as scripted work.

For the first time, an official photographer, Rob Wheal, was on hand to take photographs of the guests and, using state-of-the art technology, was able to produce a mounted picture in seconds as a momento of the evening. Rob had committed to giving 10% of the money he took on the night to the Mayor’s charities fund.

Cllr Don Butler was MC for the night, keeping the running order on target and organising the raffle draw, with his usual good humour.

THE Police are warning of a marked increase in the numbers of burglaries to garages, sheds, and other out buildings.
Such an upward trend is, apparently, a seasonal occurrence and as we head into Spring and the serious gardening and DIY activity begins, tools and garden equipment become more saleable by offenders, and therefore more desirable.

Everyone is asked to take extra care with the security of these buildings and both literature and advice is available on security or you can seek from local Crime Reduction Advisors.

The main advice is to try to keep and eye on your neighbour’s property, and ask them to do the same for you. If you see anybody or anything suspicious, report it immediately; even small things can be very important.

To contact the Crime Reduction Advisors, call 08458 505505.

BECAUSE of three inaccuracies in this report first published yesteday, March 22, this is an ammended version.
A THAME developer has been accused of flouting planning regulations, when he built a bungalow over one metre away from where the line of the building was supposed to go.
Neighbour, Andy Gaulter-Carter, told members of Thame Town Council’s planning committee that the distance between the bungalow, recently built next to his property in Aylesbury Road, and his garden fence, was now half what was shown on the original plans passed by the district council. Also, a window to the new building, glazed with clear glass, could be looked into from his own property and vice versa.
Mr N Rogers, who had the bungalow built, had applied for retrospective planning permission for the changes to the original plans passed.
Mr Gaulter-Carter said that it was his view that the changes made when the bungalow was built, on land adjacent to 19 Brookside, had almost certainly been made deliberately and should not be accepted.
An informal letter from a Planning Officer, Mr John Bedford, to Mr Gaulter-Carter, said that there were ‘matters that do constitute breaches in planning law’in the case and that retrospective planning permission would need to be sought.
A statement by Mr Rogers’ architect admitted that amendments should have been applied for and apologised on behalf of his client.
In a letter to the town council, Mr Rogers suggested that Mr Gaulter-Carter may be attempting to “tarnish” his character and denied knowingly flouting planning rules.

The Mayor, Cllr David Laver, said: “A developer cannot be allowed to make mistakes and get away with it. Developers and architects should be able to follow plans. I am not happy with this application.”

Cllr David Dodds described the building as ‘unneighbourly’. “At the very least,” he said, “obscured glass should be installed in the offending window, but even better, it should be removed.”
Cllr Dodds said that in his opinion, because of new government planning guidelines, he doubted whether an appeal would be upheld even if the proposal got that far.

Cllr Beatrice Dobie said: “If we let this through, it will open the floodgates.”

The planning committee voted unanimously to recommend refusal of the application and to express their strong opposition to the application which they considered unneighbourly and intrusive.

NB The previous report of this item incorrectly stated that 1) It was the distance between the two houses that had been halved; 2) that the offending window was not in the original plans and 3)omitted to state that Mr Bedford was expressing an informal opinion in a letter to Mr Gaulter Carter.
ThameNews.Net apologies for any misleading impressions that may have been given about matters which were not made clear during the discussion that took part in the Planning meeting. The amendments to the report have been made following a more detailed discussion with Mr Gaulter-Carter.

THAME Police are appealing for witnesses after a number of garages were broken into in Chinnor.
Six garages in Grafton Orchard, Cherry Tree Road, Greenwood Meadow and Mill Lane have been atatcked this month.
Lesley Nesbitt, Crime Reduction Officer at Thame Police Station,said: “These are opportunist crimes as entry has either been gained by forcing padlocks from doors, or as a result of garages being left open or
unoccupied.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Thame Police Station via:08458 505 505 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on: 0800 555 111.
Anyone requiring security advice regarding garages and outhouses can contact Lesley Nesbitt via: 08458 505 505.

OXFORDSHIRE County Council has announced that it will spend more than

POPULAR Thame university student, Martin Gadd, who broke his neck in a fall recently, has at long last been moved from hospital in London, to Stoke Mandeville, in Aylesbury.
In February, family and friends started efforts to get Martin moved closer to home. It was taking more than five hours of travel time for anyone visiting Martin and costs had passed the