Category: More News

 A planning application for a large new health campus in Thame has been submitted.

The proposed campus is planned to be located on land next to the Howland Road and Kingsey Road roundabout, opposite Chinnor Rugby Club. Hallam Land Management is working jointly on this proposal with Montpelier Estates, who specialise in the design and development of healthcare facilities.

The campus will comprise: • A new health centre for The Rycote Practice and Unity Health Doctors’ Practices • A 75-bed nursing home • 51 assisted living units, offering independent living for those in need of care • A day nursery for up to 110 children. 

The plans have been formulated with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Groups. 

Ben Meynell of Hallam Land Management said: “Hallam is delighted to be helping to bring forward these much-needed new healthcare facilities for Thame. We have been in discussions with stakeholders and the town’s existing GP practices for over two years regarding a health campus in this location, and we look forward to South Oxfordshire District Council considering the plans in due course”. 

John Horsman of Montpelier Estates added: “We are excited to be involved bringing first-class healthcare facilities to Thame and the local community. Hosting all these facilities on one campus brings significant benefits and an enhanced patient experience. We are very pleased to have the support of the town’s GPs in bringing the health campus forward.”

Speaking for Thame Town Council, Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods commented: “The Thame Neighbourhood Plan, as well as recommending the delivery of 775 new homes, equivalent to 2,000 new residents, also identifies the need for improvements in infrastructure, including Healthcare Provision,  to support the Town as a whole.

“Subject to consideration by councillors this initiative from Hallam Land Management and Montpelier Estates looks like it could provide part of that much-needed additional infrastructure.” 

To view the full Planning Application, click on the link HERE

A public exhibition displaying the proposals was held on March 6, 2019, at Thame Town Hall. More information can be found at www.thamehealthcampus.co.uk. To view the full plans, visit: http://www.thamehealthcampus.co.uk/

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic collision which occurred yesterday afternoon.

At around 4.40pm yesterday (20/8), two vehicles, a silver Toyota Avensis and a blue and white Scania HGV, were involved in a head on collision on the A418 between Tiddington and junction 8a of the M40.

Sadly, the driver of the Toyota, a 51-year-old woman, died at the scene. Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

The driver of the Scania sustained minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment.

Investigating officer, PC Samantha Dixon, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “I am appealing for witnesses to this tragic incident following which a woman sadly died.

“I would like to appeal to any other motorists who were using the A418 at around this time on Thursday, who may have seen this collision taking place.

“I would also ask that anyone with a dashcam fitted to their vehicles reviews the footage in case anything significant was caught on it.

“If you have any details which you think could be relevant, please call the Thames Valley Police non-emergency number on 101, quoting reference number 831 (20/8).”

THE staff at Lord Williams’s School have today congratulated the school’s Year 11 and Year 13 students on the grades they have achieved at GCSE and A-Level, while they await the government-delayed results of the BTECs.

Head Teacher, Jon Ryder, said: “It has been a very difficult time for students and their parents/carers as the different arrangements for examinations this year have developed, but I am glad that all our students will now receive grades that their teachers believe they deserve.

“As we completed the process of assigning Centre Assessed Grades in good faith, our results this year, both at GCSE and for the Sixth Form, are very similar to the grades our students have achieved in previous years. 

“We continue to work with Year 13 students to help them secure the next steps of their education or career, and we look forward to enrolling the majority of our Year 11 students to the Sixth Form this week, ready to begin the next stage of their education with us. For those students moving on to college or apprenticeships, we wish them every success for their futures.”

SOUTH Oxforshire’s Thames Champion, Cllr Jo Robb, has written a letter to neighbouring councils and user groups inviting them to work together to stop raw sewage from being dumped in the River Thames and its tributaries. 

Cllr Robb’s role as Thames Champion is to encourage sustainability and improve access to the river so that everyone can enjoy the River Thames.  The Green Party ward councillor for Woodcote and Rotherfield, took on the new role in June to tackle water quality concerns and enhance the biodiversity and cleanliness of the river system in the district and beyond.  

The district council is investigating ways to obtain Bathing Quality Water status for stretches of the Thames in South Oxfordshire, and asking to work with other councils and local river user groups to campaign for the removal of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) that can discharge untreated human waste into rivers and streams during heavy rainfall or floods. 

Cllr Robb said: “As you will be aware, wild swimming, paddling, kayaking and paddle boarding have grown in popularity in recent months and there is increasing concern both locally and nationally about water quality in our inland waterways.  

“I would welcome the opportunity to share knowledge, and come together with a united voice to call for accurate, real-time, publicly available information on CSOs and for a change to national policy to ensure proper investment in our sewerage infrastructure and the elimination of CSOs so that our rivers are clean and safe for all.” 

You can read the full letter here (179.2 KB) . 

Cllr Robb is keen to hear from anybody with ideas or suggestions on how sustainability and biodiversity at the river could be improved, and how the river could be made easier to access for the public.  Her email address is Jo.Robb@southoxon.gov.uk

FOLLOWING the A Level results fiasco, the Headteacher of Lord Williams’s School in Thame, has written to all students, carers and parents of Year 11 (the letter was written before today’s government announcement both A Levels and GCSE results will now be based on teacher assessments, unless that previously awarded to students is higher):

Dear Year 11 Students and Parents/Carers

As I am sure you know, there has been a great deal of controversy and upset over the awarding of A-Level grades last week. We do not know how the process of awarding GCSE grades will affect our students, but it seems likely that there will be significant changes to the Centre Assessed Grades that were submitted in good faith by teachers and signed off by Subject Leaders.

We will be sending you the awarded results as soon as we are able to on Thursday morning. We will then send you the Centre Assessed Grades soon after.

We will rely on the Centre Assessed Grades in making decisions about entry to Sixth Form courses at Lord Williams’s School. Even if the grades are moderated down by the awarding process, we will stand by the grades that our teachers have submitted, as we feel these reflect the grades that students truly deserve.

I hope this offers some reassurance at a very stressful time.

In the case of English and Mathematics, any student awarded a grade below a 4 will be required to re-sit the relevant examination, even if the Centre Assessed Grade was a 4 or higher. This is necessary to ensure that students have access to College, University and Higher Apprenticeships in the future.

Students who have applications to College or an Apprenticeship will be able to communicate their Centre Assessed Grades to their future provider to support their application for admission, if the awarded grades are lower than those required for automatic entry. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that any other institution will follow our approach of accepting the Centre Assessed Grades as a valid indication of a student’s achievement.

Yours
Jon Ryder
Headteacher

DUE to the government’s current Covid-19  guidance for public events, Thame’s September Fair has had to be cancelled on safety grounds.

In an announcement today, Thame Town Council explained: “This decision was made in the interests of the health and well-being of Thame’s residents and those of nearby villages who usually visit the Fair. Given the ongoing Covid-19 social distancing requirements it is not feasible or responsible to hold the September Street Fair in the town centre this year, and the Showmen’s Guild had not been supportive of proposals to reduce the number of rides. 

“No other Street Fair had taken place in the UK since lockdown was enforced. A decision on the October Fair will be made nearer the time.”

A separate statement from the Showmen’s Guild this afternoon read: “Regarding the unfortunate cancellation of the Thame Show Fair, the London & Home Counties Section of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain would like to express their sincere thanks to the Councillors and all representatives of Thame Town Council for their assistance and support during the negotiations for this year’s fair. 

“The Guild recognises that it would not be possible to manage social distancing or comply with all the Government guidelines and therefore understands and is in full agreement with the decision to cancel the fair.  We will be negotiating the October Fair with Thame Town Council in the hope that this Charter Fair will be able to go ahead.  Once again the  Guild would like to thank the Council and we are now looking forward to the 2021 Fairs.”

HELEN Johns set herself a challenge in May – to cycle 100 miles on her indoor exercise bike and raise £100 for the Alzheimer’s Society as part of their Cycle for Dementia Challenge. 

By the end of May, donations had far exceeded £100, and Helen decided to keep going with another 100 miles cycled during June. By June 30, Helen had cycled a total of 213 miles! The Just Giving fundraising page remained open for a further month until July 31, and Helen kept encouraging people to donate. She also kept cycling and achieved a final total of 300 miles. 

The final total raised is £1,750, which is fantastic, considering that the original target was £100. Helen said: “I would like to thank everyone, family, friends, business contacts and others, who have made generous donations and contributed to this amazing total. Your support has been truly inspiring and spurred me on to achieve this outcome.

“I am very proud to have been able to help the Alzheimer’s Society fund the cost of care for dementia sufferers and fund research for a disease that affects 850,000 in the UK and for which there is currently no cure.”

The Cycle for Dementia campaign is continuing. If anyone would like to take part or make a donation, contact the Alzheimer’s Society www.alzheimers.org.uk on 0330 333 0804,  at challenge@alzheimers.org.uk, on facebook.com/alzheimerssocietyuk or on twitter.com/alzheimerssoc. 

THAME Rewards Club – Shop OX9, and Thame Town Council have launched Lockdown Love Awards to recognise and celebrate some of the incredible work that has been going on in the town sine the outbreak of Covid-19.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Thame community has sprung into action, with Neighbours connecting and looking out for each other more than usual; informal support groups
organising to support people in need with things like prescription collection; charities and volunteer groups. Businesses, churches and many others have all rallied together to support the town and it’s residents, working together, Now local residents are invited to nominate someone for a Lockdown Love Award, in one – or all – of the following categories:

• Community Champions: an individual or group who you feel has gone above and beyond to support you or other members of the community during lockdown. 
• Local Business: a local business that has helped support you, or those you know, during lockdown.
• Charity: Each year Thame Rewards Club donates 20% from funds raised from the sale of membership cards. This year there is an award of £500 up for grabs! Is there a local charity that has risen to support the community during lockdown that you feel deserves recognision?

Nominations should include comments/stories to celebrate and thank your nominee(s) as this is all about sharing the LOVE! Let your nominees know loudly and clearly how much they are appreciated. Although there are no specific prizes, each nominee will receive a certificate with these comments included. 

Thame Town Council and Thame Rewards Club are also planning to create a visual display within the town centre using your words to showcase how our community has pulled together.

Nominations can be made through a form on Thame Rewards Club’s website 31, 2020, and awards will be distributed at the start of September.

So get involved in sharing some Lockdown Love by nominating today!

Another way you can ‘show some love’ locally is by shopping as much as you can at local businesses, and help Thame town centre remain strong and vibrant during this challenging time. 

To find out more about local businesses and their current opening times visit https://www.shopox9.com/