Category: Thame news

NEW initiatives to try to kerb the nuisance of mini motorbikes on Thame’s Phoenix Trail, are to be taken.
SUSTRANS, the sustainable transport charity who own most of the track, are to put up a series of clear signs at barriers along the route, to emphasise the point that motorised vehicles are forbidden on the track.
Also, Thames Valley Police are liaising with other Forces to establish the most effective routes to impounding and prosecuting offenders, some as young as 6 years-old, who ignore the law about insurance, helmets and other requirements for the lawful use of motorcycles.
Thame Town Council is investigating ways of providing an alternative site for young people to ride motorcycles in a safe and responsible way.
As well as problems of young people riding mini-motorbikes on the Phoenix Trail, the problem of fly-tipping was also discussed at a meeting of all interested parties, in Thame today.
SUSTRANS representatives at the meeting urged the local Trail Rangers to enlist more volunteers to help them keep the trail free of rubbish, and offered practical help in the form of a trailer and tools, and organising someone to take away larger objects, like fridges, at regular intervals.
Local schools are to be asked to invite speakers to talk to pupils about the consequences of anti-social behaviour on the Phoenix Trail, and letters are to be sent out to both private and business properties adjoining the trail about the consequences of dumping rubbish over their fences.

THAME Town Council’s planning committee has expressed its opposition to the demolition of house in Priest End, Thame, to make way for seven flats.
Thame resident, Chris Simpson told the committee: “We seem to be very good at pulling beautiful buildings down and putting rubbish in its place. Take, for example, the girls’ grammar school in the High Street, which is now the Co-op.
“If the developer had come up with something attractive that would contribute to the Conservation Area, we should look at it. But what is proposed is rubbish.”
Another resident,Mr Clivedon (apologies if spelling incorrect), said that in his view the developer was looking for the ‘fait a compli’ of an empty site to resubmit an application for the flats.
Cllr John Beech agreed that the application would not enhance the Conservation Area, echoing comments made by the Conservation Committee who said that the development “would not be welcome.”
Cllr David Dodds concluded:”This has been ‘kicked out’ once and this council should express its strong disapproval of this demolition in what is a very precious area.”

A LORRY driver has been jailed for three years, as a result of his Tesco lorry turning over on to a car and causing the death of the driver.
Shaun Lawrence denied causing the death of 42 year-old Gary Weller, of Thame, on March 20, last year, but was convicted last month.
The accident happened just before the roundabout linking Abingdon Road with the Oxford Ring Road.

THAME Town Councillor, David Laver, who recently lost his County Council seat, is Thame’s new Mayor.
Cllr Laver, who is a Lib Dem, was Mayor in 2003, told fellow councillors: “I am pleased and honoured to serve for a second time and thank you for placing your trust in me. I hope we can put our political differences behind us now that the election period is over, for the good of the town as we have before.
“There are some particularly interesting times ahead for the town and some difficult decisions that will need to be made.”
He paid tribute to Cllr Dodds, the retiring Mayor, who will be his deputy for the coming year, for the way he had dealt with, what Cllr Laver referred to as “some difficult times” during his year in office.

A THAME landmark, which had been stolen twice from its plynth, has been replaced at last.
The second edition of the statue of a boy, holding a large fish and standing on the back of a turtle, was spotted in the window of a London antique dealer by a Thame resident who works in the City, after being stolen for the second time.
Now returned to its rightful place as part of a fountain in Thame’s Memorial Garden, the sculpture was officially unveiled on Saturday (May 14) by the Mayor of Thame, Cllr David Dodds. The guest of honour was Mrs Phyllis Quainton, who was only nine years-old in 1926 when the original statue for officially inaugurated.
The sculpture, which was made by Faith Winter, was given to the town by a member of the Thame family Pearce (a cousin to the Pearce Wool Stapler family), when he emigrated to Australia and wanted a lasting memorial to his family in the town.

Photo courtesy of The Thame Gazette

ED. The Statue is of course, the logo of ThameNews.Net, by kind permission of the artist, so we are all especially delighted to see it back once more!

FOLLOWING extensive consultation with the local community, plans for Thame’s Cattle Market site have been produced and will be on show at a public meeting on June 20.
The Cattle Market Action Group will consider four options for the site, which is currently run by Thame Farmers Marts, at its meeting tonight.
The public meeting is on June 20, at the town hall, starting at 8pm.

THANKS to a generous local response to an appeal for donations, a vandalised bench has been restored to its former glory.
Sustrans, the UK?s leading sustainable transport charity, commissioned the Circular Bench at Thame Old Station, as part of a series of artworks along the highly popular Phoenix Trail walking and cycling route.

The generous support of the people of Thame has funded the repair of the bench, which provides a resting place for walkers and cyclists using the Phoenix Trail. Some of the donations came from Thame Walking & Cycling Group and others from the readers of ThameNews.Net, the Thame Gazette and the Bucks Free Press, who kindly supported Sustrans appeal.

The bench, which was badly vandalised just before Christmas, was hand-crafted from English green oak by its creator Richard Stump. Richard, who agreed to repair the bench at a reduced cost, is a former student at Oxford & Cherwell College Rycotewood Centre.

Katy Hallett, Sustrans Art & the Travelling Landscape Director, said: ?The unique construction of this circular bench is an inspiration, we are delighted that Richard has found time to repair it and has made it usable for everyone on the Phoenix Trail this Summer.?

Photo: Richard Stump who designed and built the seat by the old Thame Station platform, and who has now repaired vandal damage to the sculpture.

Annual Town Meeting ? Report Three
THE final part of this year?s meeting took the form of an Open Forum, in which members of the public could ask their town, district and county councillors questions.
The following is a resume of some of the points discussed.

A member of the audience asked if there were any proposals to improve the road surfaces of some of Thame?s road, referring particularly to Moreton Lane, which the questioner described as ??appalling?.
County Councillor, David Laver, highlighted Southern Road and said that the county?s budget for road repairs was stretched and that it was not keeping up with the rate of deterioration. Some comments about the quality of the work recently carried out on some of the town?s roads and Cllr Laver said that he would pass comments on to the relevant department.
Town Cllr Lionel Morbey criticised the painting on of a bitumen layer that had been carried out, saying: ?A decent frost will destroy it in for weeks.?
Someone in the audience criticised county council staff they had tried to complain to, as ?unhelpful and rude!?
Cllr Laver said that the council was trying to improve the interface between itself and the public and urged everyone to use their county councillor as a conduit for concerns and complaints.
Another member of the public brought up the issue of the Zebra crossing at the top of High Street where some incidents of pedestrians experiencing a lack of consideration by drivers and in one case, a near-miss involving a child. He expressed the view that it was too close to the roundabout at the junction with Bell Lane. A letter from Motts Coaches had been sent to Cllr Beatrice Dobie expressing their concern that their drivers had difficulty negotiating the junction.
Cllr Dodds said that the town council had said at the time of the proposal for the crossing at that point, that it was the wrong position for such a crossing.
Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods said that, according to the County Council, the positioning of the crossing meets all their criteria. He said that the council intended carryout an audit on the crossing before making a decision about its future. He urged anyone concerned to write to the county council.
Cllr Beatrice Dobie said that she had been amazed at the strength of feeling against that crossing and paid tribute to drivers of lorries and buses that no serious accidents had occurred.
Cllr Dodds added that a hairpin bend and roundabout so close together was not good and Cllr Champken-Woods concluded: ?We don?t want a death before something is done.?
Cllr Laver explained that the site for the crossing had been chosen because that was the place where most people were likely to cross and that continuous monitoring was being carried out.
Resident, John Hughes raised the subject of the proposed 20mph speed limit for much of the town. He said that he was trying to get council to open up a debate about the proposal, saying that he felt there was a lot of opposition to the plan. He asked what consultation had been carried out and was told by Cllr Dodds that the town council was awaiting a definite proposal from the county council at which time consultation would be appropriate.
Mr Hughes said: ?It is this sort of thing that is turning people off politics; this scheme seems to be gaining a momentum of its own.?
Daniel Cuell, a teacher from Lord Williams? school, has responsibility for the School?s Travel Plan which, he explained, looks each year at how safe pupils? journeys to school are.
He said: ?There is huge concern among students about the volume and speed of cars. As a school, we are encouraging car sharing among staff and are encouraging school buses to go round edge of town.
?Some of us will be inconvenienced but we must think about the needs of all residents, especially the most vunerable.?
Margi Barbour pointed out that speeding was the prime concern of people according to a recent SODC forum report.
There followed some discussion about the extension of opening hours by local pubs and criticism of a lack of local consultation. Cllr Mike Welply agreed that the new Licencing Act, which means that SODC becomes the licensing authority, is causing some confusion and difficulties, including the strange anomaly that Thame Town Hall, if it obtains a Licence to hold public events where alcohol is served, will not be allowed to hold council meetings! This could apply to all village halls and Parish halls.
Resident Sarah Hayes proposed a vote of thanks to the town council for listening to the people of the town on matters like the museum, a new library, rock nights, etc. ?We are a fantastically ?doing? community? she said, ?And our elected representatives get a lot of stick!?
Referring to the Draft Local Plan which allows for the development of Cultural facilities in the town, she urged TTC and the new Town Partnership, to put pressure on ?the powers that be? in this area. ?We must think about big projects,? she said and suggested three:
1. Make Elms Park a fun place! Junior skate park?
2. Rugby Club Round-about ? Enhance
3. Multi-function, open access community centre for Thame ? Prime site-Cattle Market. ?We do have the vision and the clout to move it on,? she said. ?Do not just take the cheap option; listen to the people of Thame. You have in the past and I know you will in the future,? she concluded.

Cllr Dodds said that the council was limited by parameters layed down by the donors of the land for Elms Park (the Purser family) in what it could do there, but would look into what can be done.
With regard to roundabouts, he reported that an announcement was expected shortly about SODC taking over responsibility for looking after them which would be helpful.
The Town Clerk interjected to say that Thame In Bloom was working with the council to improve the town?s roundabouts.
The mayor, David Dodds, thanked everyone for attending and said that it was his view that this year?s Annual Town Meeting had been the best for years!

AT a time when crime and disorder get so much publicity, there is some good news today from Thame’s top policeman.
Acting Police Superintendent Stewart Dunbar reported today to Thame’s Community Safety Group, that there had been “a dramatic decrease in crime and disorder in Thame and detection rates are up.”
Superintendent Dunbar said: “This just proves that, with six out of the ten main instigators of crime and disorder in the town currently in police custody, that the majority of problems are caused by a small minority.”
Thame’s Crime Prevention Officer, Lesley Nesbitt, reported that incidents of burglary to dwellings had also gone down since April, as had Vehicle Crime.

A CANDLE is believed to have been the cause of a fire in Thame last night, (Monday, May 10).
Two fire tenders from Thame and one from Watlington attended the fire at a house Broadwaters Avenue, Thame. Station Officer, Andy Ford told ThameNews.Net that everyone was evacuated safely from the building. “The blaze was contained to the first floor and then mainly in a rear bedroom where the fire was believed to have started but the 1st floor was severely damaged by heat and smoke,” he said. “The Fire was initially fought with a main jet from the front of the house then four fire-fighters entered the building to extinguish the fire, and make the building safe.
“It is believed that the fire may have been started by a candle that although extinguished, had enough heat left in it to ignite material around it.”

Photo: Station Officer Andy Ford (third from right) with French firemen on a recent visit to Thame’s twin town of Montesson.