Category: More News

A less-than full house, compared to previous years, gathered at Thame’s anual Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, to ask questions of a panel of town, district and a county councillor, chaired by the Mayor of Thame, Ann Midwinter, subjects including the Cattle Market, supermarkets, parking, a dangerous junction and climate change.

In the open forum, resident, Colin Bignall, asked if the people of Thame would be able to have a say about what is provided on the current Cattle Market site, once it moves to its new site. The Town Clerk, Graham Hunt, replied that the town council wanted to make sure that the site was used ‘sensibly’ for Thame, and that the aspiration was for ‘mixed use’ including for community use.

“We are constantly asking SODC (Ed. who own the site) what their plans are, and us giving our views. The latest is the Head of Properties at SODC telling us that they are waiting for solid news about the Cattle Market’s move before talking to us.”

Cllr Nigel Champken Woods said that the Catttle Market was the only long-term parking space in Thame, and that the council would be doing all it could not to lose it.

County Cllr Nick Carter said that SODC had a legal obligation to make the most economic use of the site and would decide what would bring in ‘the most revenue’ for the community. The Mayor of Thame, Ann Midwinter, added: “I am sure the public’s opinion will be sought.”

Helena Richards, long-term member of Cmag (Cattle Market Action Group) said that, reading the district council’s Local Plan: “There is no mention of the Cattle Market site!” The Clerk assured her that he would pass her concerns on. The Mayor thanked Mrs Richards for what she and Cmag do for the town.

Cllr Bob Austin added: “The Cattle Market lease runs out in 2021. One hopes that the relevant officers (at SODC) talk to us because time is running out to get sensible in-put into it.”

Supermarket

Resident Paul Bradley raised the issue of a Supermarket on the Cattle Market site. The Clerk said that there was some idea of what should happen on the site, following a retail analysis from Carter Jonas four years ago (see LINK) which identified a ‘deep discounter’ as the least-worst option for the site, and a Tesco or Sainsbury’s as the worse. A mix of community use, retail and parking was the best option, the analysis had concluded.

Parking

County Cllr Nick Carter responded to a question about illegal parking in the town, describing it as ‘a plague’ for everyone. Currently illegal parking was a matter for the police, he explained, but that they had ‘other priorities. For the future he said, conversations were taking place about taking the responsibility away from the police which would need a legal procedure to take offences away from being criminal to a civil offence, thereby devolving responsibility to SODC. ‘Decriminalising’ parking would require discussions with Thame Town Council, he added.

The Clerk explained that the main options would be; to install parking machines to control the two-hour parking areas; to Decriminalise all parking in the town, which would mean Thame Town Council needing to have its own parking policy; if SODC took over parking, they would see it as a revenue stream; an increase in the Police part of the Precept so that they could deal with illegal parking. None of these options, suggested the Clerk, were likely to happen within two years.

Cllr Nigel Champken Woods said that Decriminalisation was within the RADA of SODC, and that there is money set aside to look at them taking over parking.

Pavements

A new, Oxford Road resident described pavements on the south side of the High Street as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘really atrocious’. Cllr Nick Carter replied that, now that the matter had been brought to his attention, he would ask the Highways Department to look at it.

The Mayor then read out questions that had been sent in to the council from residents who were unable to attend the Town Meeting in person. The first raised the problem of the flooding of the turning circle at Lord Williams’s Upper School, which has been a problem, the correspondent said, for 35 years.

Cllr Carter said that it was the responsibility of the school itself to take the initiative and level the land.

‘Dangerous’ junction

A member of the audience asked if it would be possible to build a round-about at the junction of Thame Park Road and Wenman Road, which they suggested was dangerous because it was difficult to see traffic approaching from the left, from Thame Park Road if one was wanting to turn right into town. Cllr Carter explained that the junction had been altered four or five years-ago deliberately to discourage traffic going through the town centre from Thame Park Road. “It has fulfilled its purpose,” he said, and that in his view, the junction worked fine. He did however, agree to get Highways to look at it.

Burial space

In response to a question about the fence between the new section of burial ground at St Mary’s Church that was part of the old allotments, the Clerk said that a hedge had been planted and that the new area had provided 15 more years of burial space. Although the town council has no legal resonsibility to provide burial space, he said, the council was looking elsewhere for additional burial space for the future, in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.

Climate Crisis

The final question from the floor was whether the town council intended to follow the example of many local authorities, including Oxford City Council, who have declared a ‘Climate Emergency‘. The panel explained that the Green Living Plan would continue to develop its policies and that the council had taken several steps towards being more sustainable, including carrying out an ‘energy audit’ of the town hall and had gone ‘paperless’ regarding minutes and reports distributed to councillors before meetings, where tablets were used to access digital papers.

The questioner said that she hoped the council would look further at aspects of its own functioning, including its energy suppliers and where it invests the community’s funds.

Soha Housing, the 6,700 home social landlord with over 450 homes in the Thame area, has received an emphatic “thumbs up” from the Regulator of Social Housing.

Assessors visited the company in January and February to scrutinise it at a planned, In-Depth Assessment. This is a check which typically takes place with about six weeks’ notice every three or four years.

The Regulatory Judgement, as the Government’s official view of a social housing provider is known, meant retention of Soha’s status as a G1 (the best Governance rating) and V1 (the best rating for financial viability) housing association.

Kate Wareing, Chief Executive of Soha, said: “Soha is proud to be local and community-owned. We are owned by our residents, are a charity, and we reinvest all our surpluses in building new homes in our communities.

“This judgement provides reassurance to our residents and partners that we are well run and financially secure. It gives us the foundations to continue to improve services for our current residents and to continue to build good quality, affordable new homes for the huge numbers of people in our communities who are struggling with the cost of housing.

“I thank our residents, staff and partners for the hard work, energy and commitment that they put in every day to make Soha an excellent community housing association.”

MEMBERS of the steering group of the Thame Remembers Project, a community commemorating the centenary of the First World War, has made a generous donation of £750 to Thame Players Theatre Company.

The donation, made on Wednesday, March 13, at the theatre, was made in recognition of the enthusiastic support and assistance given by Thame Players to the Thame Remembers project during its four-year campaign. The objective of the campaign was to commemorate the centenary of the First World War by researching all the names on Thame war memorials, identifying the location of their grave or memorial and placing a Thame Remembers cross on each resting place wherever in the world that may be. The people of Thame rose magnificently to this challenge and the lives of 212 men lost in warfare from the Boer War to the present were commemorated during the four years 2014-18, leading up to the centenary of the Armistice in November 2018.

The Players Theatre was involved in this campaign during two of those years, by working with Thame Remembers to stage two innovative theatre productions commemorating aspects of the First World War. The first production was performed on 1st July 2016, commemorating the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The second, entitled Ten Tommies from Thame, was performed on 9th and 10th November 2018 to sell-out audiences on both evenings. Ten Tommies from Thame was written by Thame Remembers steering group members Mike Dyer and Catherine Jones and performed partly by seasoned actors from Thame Players Theatre Company and partly by amateurs who had never been on stage before. The production was made possible by Thame Players letting out the theatre without a hire fee and by providing stage management, lighting, back projection, sound, and front of house functions, all on an entirely voluntary basis.

On presenting a cheque donation of £750 to Pat Shepherd, chairman of Thame Players, Thame Remembers steering group leader David Bretherton said, ‘Thame Players have been extremely generous with their time and their resources, both for the Somme production in 2016 and for Ten Tommies from Thame in November last year. We could not have achieved what we did without their invaluable help and support. Both shows were a fantastic success and will linger on in people’s minds for many years to come. They enabled us to put across a powerful visual representation of the horrors of this conflict and the part that people from Thame played in it’.

Thame Remembers has just been presented with the Mayor of Thame’s Special Award at the eleventh Thame Town Awards, held on March 14. The award was in recognition of its members’ extensive efforts to mark the centenary of the First World War in Thame. Although the key objectives of the Thame Remembers campaign have been achieved, their educational talks continue to be in demand and research – into those who went to war and returned – continues, involving future generations who can continue their pioneering work.

NOTES:

Thame Remembers is a partnership project with Thame Museum also supported by Thame Town Council. The project has been unique in its global scope and scale, with volunteers travelling 150,000 miles to place crosses, covering four continents, 23 countries, 102 cemeteries and 31 battlefield memorials. Around 1000 people were involved in these missions, including expeditions to locations as far apart as Portsmouth and New Zealand.

Thirty new names identified through Thame Remembers’ research will be added to Thame’s War Memorial at a future date, hopefully in July 2021, the centenary of its unveiling by the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George. For more information about the project’s continuing work, visit https://www.thameremembers.org/

Thame Players Theatre Company is a registered charity, run entirely by volunteers, offering a varied range of entertainment all year round, from serious theatre to comedy and pantomime, including their own productions, visiting shows, and film screenings by Thame Cinema For All.

In July Thame Players celebrate their 75th anniversary with a revue entitled Landmarks, produced by Tony Long and Bernadette Tildesley. Thame Players started with a performance in July 1944 in the Town Hall to help the war effort to become the vibrant, busy theatre we know today. Landmarks is filled with sketches, songs, and fascinating facts from those 75 years and will be performed at 7.45 pm on Friday 26th and Sunday 28th July.

For more information about Thame Players, upcoming shows, and how to join as a member or a friend, call 07881 688895 or visit www.thameplayers.co.uk

THAME Town Council’s Grants Scheme is now open to local organisations in the Thame area. The scheme aims to ‘fund projects that address the needs, aspirations and issues of the people in our community’.

The Town Council is inviting local charitable organisations who are working for the benefit of Thame to apply for funding to support projects that aim to develop skills, improve health, revitalise the local environment and enable people to become more active citizens.

Who can apply?

Any group can apply for a Town Council grant as long as it is a community or not-for-profit group working for the benefit of the people of Thame. Other terms and conditions apply; visit www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/grant-aid for further details.

How to apply

Application packs are available from the Town Hall or you can download a pack from the Town Council’s website using the above link (scroll down for PDF Download)

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Tuesday, April 20, 2019. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their grant application by the end of June 2019. For further information or for assistance in completing your form please contact the Town Council on 01844 212833 or email info@thametowncouncil.gov.uk.

AS well as supporting artisan producers and promoting British food, as a not-for-profit organisation, Thame Food Festival supports locals charities. This year the festival will be supporting the Thame Foodbank which was set up by Sharing Life Trust.

Lotte Duncan, Patron and Organiser of Thame Food Festival explained: “Although in many ways, Thame and its surrounding villages are seen as an affluent community, many individuals, couples and families are in financial difficulties or really struggle. This is why the foodbank was originally established and run by a small team of volunteers.

“Sadly demand for their services is increasing and therefore the organisers of the Thame Food Festival is keen to use the event to promote and support this good cause. This will involve a drop off and display area, plus the opportunity for stallholders at the end of the second day to donate any produce they don’t want to take away with them.”

This year’s Thame Food Festival will once again be on Thame Show Ground over the two days of September 28, and 29. For full details of this year’s events, including live music, canine frolics from the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People demonstrations, the ever popular Dog Show, Thomley in Worminghall with an even bigger dedicated Children’s Activity Area and Aylesbury Vale Diabetes, who provide practical, life-enhancing education and information and support. For more information and to sign up for a regular newsletter, visit the Thame Food Festival website http://www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/

THE programme for May’s Chilterns Walking Festival spring event has been announced by the Chilterns Conservation Board, organiser of the popular festival.

Running from Saturday, May 18, to Sunday, June 2, 2019, the programme includes over 70 guided walks, events and activities covering the whole of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which stretches from Oxfordshire through Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire into Hertfordshire. 
 
The new programme includes specialist themed walks, and opportunities to discover lively stories and scenic landscapes associated with the Chilterns. Some walks include the prospect of sampling local food and drink, others provide ‘have-a-go’ sessions or chances to learn about the area’s wildlife, history and colourful characters.   
 
The Spring programme opening week – highlights include:

• Classic Chilterns Views – join our knowledgeable guide and follow the ancient Ridgeway, taking in the views from Coombe Hill Monument before lunching in Buckmoorend at the Farm Shop café; returning past Chequers, country home of Britain’s Prime Minister.
• Midsomer Murders Revealed! – explore Henley’s historical past and visit Midsomer Murders locations; our guide will reveal filming locations, personal anecdotes & facts you won’t find in the guide book.
• Mindful Wellbeing Nordic Walk – improve your health physically and mentally with a 2–3 mile Nordic trek through Chilterns Woodlands using walking poles; a feast for the senses discovering woodland plants and trees.
• Bluebells and Blacksmiths – this ‘Meet the Maker’ craft walk will introduce you to two workshops: Cobalt Blacksmiths and Gordon Kent Furniture Maker. The walk takes in beautiful scenery including beechwoods carpeted in bluebells (nature permitting).
• Living History: Jordan’s Village – discover the history of this Quaker-founded village, including a tour of Jordan’s Meeting House and optional tea & cakes at Spindrift B@B
   
  Each walk is guided by an experienced leader who knows the area well and is keen to share stories of the people and places that have shaped the countryside. 
   
  Chilterns Conservation Board People and Society Officer Annette Venters said: “The Chilterns Walking Festival is now a firm favourite with both tourists and residents: each year we see more walks, more guides, more local business involvement, and above all growing numbers of participants. This year the programme includes a huge variety of walks to enable everyone to explore The Chilterns and discover remarkable people and places within a beautiful natural environment. There’s already been lots of interest, so please do book early to avoid disappointment.”
   
  Details of all guided walks, events and activities available in the spring programme can be found on the website www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest. Most are free of charge though some require a small fee which is clearly shown. To assist walk leaders with expected numbers, most events must be pre-booked.

More information:
The Chilterns Walking Festival involves spring and autumn events (2017-2019), funded by a successful LEADER grant application secured by Chilterns Conservation Board.
May’s 16 day programme in 2019 features over 50 guided walks, activities and events, designed to appeal to different age groups, interests and levels of fitness. There will be walks for young families, for people with limited mobility or with canine companions.
The Chilterns AONB is a rural area, surrounded by major urban centres including Luton, Aylesbury, Hemel Hempstead, Reading and High Wycombe. London is 20 miles to the south east and there are excellent road, rail and bus transport links. In total, 10 million people live within an hour’s driver time of the Chilterns.

Chilterns AONB
The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was designated in 1965 and covers 833 sq kms (326 sq miles) stretching from Goring, in Oxfordshire, to near Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. It is one of 38 AONBs in England and Wales and has a resident population of 80,000.
 
Chilterns Conservation Board
The Chilterns Conservation Board was set up following the passing of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000, to conserve and enhance the natural beauty and increase awareness and understanding of the Chilterns AONB. The Board, which also aims to foster the social and economic wellbeing of local communities, is supported by Defra and all local authorities in the area.
 
LEADER Programme
The Chilterns Walking Festival is part funded by The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through the Chilterns LEADER programme. The grant received through this programme has helped make these festivals happen. The LEADER programme assists rural businesses to create jobs and support the rural economy. It has been running across England for more than 10 years.
 
Event Main Sponsor: Complete Outdoors
The Complete Outdoors camping shop was established 35 years ago to supply outdoor gear suitable for local walks in the park to mountain expeditions, and everything in between. The store is based in Bourne End, between Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. Open seven days a week, there is also an online store.www.completeoutdoors.co.uk
 
Event Sponsor: Brakspear
Brakspear is a family owned and run Henley brewer and award-winning pub company which has been at the heart of British life for over 200 years. Many of the company’s 132 pubs are located in picturesque rural and town centre settings across The Chilterns. www.brakspear.co.uk

Event Sponsor: The Chiltern Society
The Chiltern Society is a registered charity with over 7,000 members and 500 active volunteers dedicated to conserving, celebrating and caring for the Chilterns. It manages 12 important nature reserves and heritage sites, in addition to carrying out conservation work across the Chilterns landscape. www.chilternsociety.org.uk

For further information, details of local walks and high resolution images, please contact Annette aweiss@chilternsaonb.org tel 01844 355500

Six worthy winners received a Town Award, and the Thame Remembers Project presented with the Mayor’s Special Award, at the eleventh Thame Town Awards on Thursday (14/03), held at the Barns Centre.

The first town award, Sporting Achievement, went to Alice Hopkins who is currently representing Great Britain in the pentathlon as well as ranking first in the UK for Under-23 long jump. Volunteer of the Year went to Jesse Smith who organises the annual Thame Tractor Run which has raised over £20,000 for charity and brings together the local farming community. Curtis Wyse, a local postman, received the Service with a Smile award for his professional, helpful and – of course – friendly service.

Windles Group received the first Employer of the Year award for their wide-ranging services to the community, in particular their support for the local schools, Town Council and businesses. Windles Group are an environmentally-focused business and place great value on the partners they work with. Yvonne Maxwell received the Creative Arts Achievement for organising the successful and evolving annual Thame Arts and Literature Festival which is now in its tenth year.

The final award of the evening went to Jean Mander, who received the Lifetime Achievement for her involvement in so many community forums, groups and activities. In particular, she has volunteered with the Thame Visually Impaired Group for over 40 years and goes above and beyond in this role doing all she can to help others.

The Thame Remembers Project’s special award was in recognition of its members’ extensive efforts to mark the centenary of World War One in Thame.

The panel, made up of representatives from various community organisations, were said to be very impressed with the nominations and to have had a tough time deciding the winners.

The Mayor congratulated all of this year’s winners and encouraged everyone to make a nominations next year. After the formalities, guests enjoyed a complimentary buffet.

Original image Peter Lambert

AFTER Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, was criticised by the headteachers’ campaigning group Worth Less? for refusing to meet headteachers and hear first-hand their struggles with funding cuts, 7,000 Headteachers all over the country, sent letters home to parents about ‘the dire state’ of education funding – including the Head of Lord Williams’s school in Thame.

‘Meangingless statistic’

David Wybron, The Head of Lord Williams’s school, has written to Damian Hinds, challenging the government’s claim that its spending on schools was ‘at record levels,’ and to Thame’s MP John Howell, asking specific questions about changes to schools’ funding:

Mr Wybron wrote to Damian Hinds:

“Last Friday, I again supported the ‘Worth Less?’ Campaign and along with thousands of other Headteachers, sent a letter to parents/carers explaining why school funding is in such a dire state. The government, as it has done on countless occasions over the last 18 months, claimed that the government spending on schools was at record levels.”

“This is a completely meaningless statistic because student numbers have risen considerably over this period as have staffing costs. The only data that really should matter is spending per individual student. I have also written to our local MP John Howell and simply asked him to answer three questions. Hopefully, he now has the answers from the House of Commons Library research team. They are:

 Will you confirm to your constituents that per pupil funding has fallen by 8% in real terms since 2010? (Institute of Fiscal Studies Annual Report September 2018)
 Will you confirm that increasing staffing costs are set to cripple schools (the government is planning to increase the employers’ contribution for teacher pensions in September 2019 from 16.48% to 23.68% and this is unfunded from 2020-21. If it remains unfunded it will add around £336,000 to our staffing costs).
 Will you agree to campaign to reverse the above decision on schools’ teacher pensions contributions?

“These matters are so important for our young people. We are currently paying for all services which were hitherto provided by the Local Authority and the money we were entitled to, to cover these costs as an academy, has now been removed completely. This is on top of considerable cuts to our Sixth Form funding because the Schools’ Budget does not include Sixth Form funding. I raise this again, because it is conveniently forgotten whilst other spurious things are said by government spokespeople, such as including the money being spent by students and their families on university tuition and counting this as part of the government’s investment in education!

“I am almost more cross about the dishonesty in all this and would appeal for the government to speak with integrity on these matters even if it is to say, ‘We are in tough times, be creative with lessresources’. To pretend this is not the real situation is and remains scandalous.

David Wybron
Headteacher
Lord Williams’s School, Thame

THIS is the letter sent out to LWS parents and carers updating them on school funding issues:

“Dear Parent/Carer

“I wanted to contact you to provide an update on current issues relating to school funding.

“Sadly, I have to confirm that despite intense lobbying of the Government and Department for Education, matters remain extremely challenging. In short, schools are still not being provided with adequate funding and resource to deliver the level of provision and support that is expected and that our families and children deserve.

Current Concerns

 Since 2010 school budgets have been reduced in real terms by 8% and by 20% at post-16.
 Class sizes are rising and the curricular offer is being restricted.
 Increasingly, schools are being asked to support with children’s emotional health and wellbeing. Frequently, we do not have adequate resource to meet a growing need.
 Often, the most vulnerable students in our schools – those from disadvantaged backgrounds or those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – are bearing the brunt of cuts and schools are struggling to provide the levels of support that they are entitled to.

“These issues are not simply affecting a few schools. They are common features across our education system up and down the country. Levels of concern are so widespread amongst headteachers that we are all working together with a united voice. As such, we have written to the Secretary of State for Education on three separate occasions since September 2018. We are dismayed that he has chosen to ignore our communications and repeated requests to meet. On 13 December 2018, we were informed by a junior civil servant that: “I am afraid that, on this occasion, the Secretary of State and the Minister of State must decline your offer to meet. I hope you will understand that their time is heavily pressurised and their diaries need to be prioritised according to ministerial, Parliamentary and constituency business.”

“Given the seriousness of the current school funding crisis and the impact upon schools, children and families, headteacher colleagues and I, believe that this approach is entirely ill-judged. On 14 January, 2019, we wrote again to the Secretary of State for Education asking that he reconsider meeting with
representative headteachers. Six weeks later, this request was declined once more: “As I’m sure you will appreciate, both their diaries are very full and they are unable to accept your kind offer at this time.”

“Thousands of headteachers simply do not understand what issues could be seen as more important than the ones we are raising on behalf of schools, children and families.

“In September 2018, over 2000 headteachers campaigned at Westminster in order to underline the seriousness of the current situation. This action was unprecedented.

“The ‘Worth Less?’ campaign group now comprises 64 Local Authorities and Boroughs, covering thousands of schools and millions of families. This gives a clear indication of the levels of concern felt by reasonable and moderate headteachers in England.

“We continue to recognise that there is not a ‘bottomless pit’ of money and also acknowledge that many local MPs from across the political spectrum are taking a supportive approach. We must make clear, however, that the current response from the Department for Education is inadequate.

Why we need to meet:

 Headteachers want to contribute constructively to overcome current funding issues.
 Headteachers want to reflect the serious concerns expressed by families regarding inadequate levels or resource and provision especially for our most vulnerable students.
 Headteachers want to ensure that schools receive a much better deal when future Government spending plans – the Comprehensive Spending Review – are drawn up over the next few months.
 Headteachers want to indicate serious and rising concerns relating to the wider pastoral and social care that schools are expected, by default, to provide against a background of severe cuts to Local Authority provision.

“Headteacher colleagues and I feel fortunate that we have been so strongly supported by parents and carers as we campaign for a much improved level of funding for our schools and pupils. We urge you to continue to make representations to your local MP and to the Department for Education and wider Government to ensure that matters improve.

“We will continue to inform you of the facts and to campaign vigorously over coming weeks and months. A positive starting point should come from the Secretary of State for Education in the form of an urgent meeting.”

Yours sincerely
David Wybron