Category: More News

BARLEY Hill School PTA are holding their annual Family Fun Day on Saturday, May, 20 from 11am until 2pm.
The theme for this year is The Circus and the highlight is a Circus Skills workshop so visitors can try their hand at juggling, plate spinning, even stilt walking!
Each class is organising their own stall which will be decorated with a circus theme. The event will include a competition for the best decorated class area, a BBQ and a children?s Tug of War competition with the rope being lent by the Ickford and Tiddington teams.
A giant inflatable assault course, go karts and a Beat the Goalie against 3 of our teachers! Everyone is welcome and there should be something for all ages. All money raised from the event will go towards purchasing items for the children. Come along and join the fun!

OXFORDSHIRE County Council has signed up to an agreement to reduce its ?carbon footprint? in order, it says, to set a green example to other organisations across the county.

The council will be working in partnership with the Carbon Trust to work on the authority’s Carbon Management programme to reduce the amount of environmentally damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – the main gas responsible for climate change.

The council?s carbon footprint will be measured over the coming year, calculating CO2 emissions from council buildings, including schools, staff travel and council activities.

The council says that it has already taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint, for example through introducing gully cleaning vehicles that run on bio fuel and by working with pupils to address their school?s energy use.

The Council?s Cabinet recently agreed what it called its Future First Action Plan, which set targets to reduce CO2 emissions by:

? Reducing energy use from council buildings by 10% from 2004/5 levels by 2009/10
? Producing 3% of the energy needs of the council on-site with renewable energy (solar, wind power etc) by 2010
? Making sure renewable energy makes up 95% of the council?s consumption by 2010
? Developing a long-term strategy for reducing CO2 emissions from council buildings, staff travel and council activities by the end of 2006/7.

The Council?s Environment Manager, Nita Robertson, said: ?The Council is fundamentally committed to being an environmental example. We cannot preach to people with fine words unless we are working hard ourselves to reduce our environmental impact.
?We are already doing many things. However we need to do much, much more. We have set ourselves tough targets and will work hard to reach them. Working in an environmentally sound way is not a choice it is a necessity. We will embrace this work with enthusiasm.?

THREE Lord Williams’s School pupils have won through to the regional final of the British Heart Foundation’s Junior Golf Championship – and raised valuable funds for the Charity.

Seventeen year-olds, Thomas Stibbs and Matthew Foster, and 15 year-old Matthew Stibbs, finished first in their qualifying match at Waterstock Golf Course.
They will now go on to represent their school at Bidford Grange on June 27.

THREE Lord Williams’s School pupils have won through to the regional final of the British Heart Foundation’s Junior Golf Championship – and raised valuable funds for the Charity.

Seventeen year-olds, Thomas Stibbs and Matthew Foster, and 15 year-old Matthew Stibbs, finished first in their qualifying match at Waterstock Golf Course.
They will now go on to represent their school at Bidford Grange on June 27.

SIGN up to the district council’s new garden waste scheme for a chance to win

Notes From Thame Town Annual Meeting.

AROUND 80 local electors took the opportunity to air their views and ask questions of town councillors and Thame Partnership members, at a lively Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 26, at Thame town hall.
The speakers included Inspector Stewart Dunbar, who described how the new ?Neighbourhood Policing? would work; Peter Todd, the Chair to the Board of Trustees of the Citizens Advice Bureau, who appealed for more support for the CAB; Bob Davies, Chairman of the Thame Festival Committee, again appealing for more local support for the Festival and Keith Slater, Chair of the 21st Century Thame Partnership, whose talk was entitled, ?How can we put the ?community? back into Thame??

The Mayor of Thame, Cllr David Laver, welcomed everyone to the meeting and summarised some of the achievements of the past year, including the VE/VJ Day celebrations, the re-dedication of the War Memorial by the Bishop of Oxford, the Christmas event and the St George?s Day Festival, and payed tribute to all the volunteers and groups who work for the town.
In thanking councillors and council staff for their support during the year, he highlighted some of the achievements of council committees including approving a budget and plan for improving the Memorial Garden and the establishment of an Information Point at the One Stop Hall following the closure of the Tourist Information Centre.
He said that he was glad to have seen the plans for an extended Meadowcroft Care Home approved which meant that the facility would stay in the town, and that the Open Spaces Working Group will be looking at the refurbishment of the Churchill Crescent Play area and Elms Park.
The Mayor spoke of the complex processes, involving many agencies, in the Museum project and looked forward to its opening in the near future and congratulated the town clerk, Helen Stewart on the work she had put into negotiations to release the Windmill Suite for community use. ?We hope that the necessary infrastructure can now be put together to allow this to happen,? he added.
The Mayor regretted that the council was unable to find a suitable site for the youth shelter but said that: ?Fruitful discussions with local residents had led to the formation of a Southern Road Recreation Working Group to look at the problems in this area. Cllr Laver applauded the involvement of young people in the form of the Youth Council, saying that their contribution indicated how much community involvement there is in the town.
?I think we are a happy, healthy and thriving community,? he said.

Mr Eric Crouch pointed out that the arrangements for the Windmill Suite as a community facility were only for 18 months and asked the Mayor about any future plans for permanent Arts and Leisure facilities in the town, to which Cllr Laver replied: ?We are no further down the road in providing a dedicated Arts Centre.?
He did, however, state that the developer had indicated that any new development on the Windmill Road site (Thame United?s old ground) would include a new function hall-type building for community use that would be built before any demolition of the Windmill Suite (Ed. or Phoenix Suite as it apparently will be known).
Mary Stiles said that she assumed there would be public discussion about any replacement for the Windmill Suite and was told that the developer was working with the town council and SODC.
The Mayor mentioned the feasibility study that is to be carried out into increased facilities at Town Farm football pitches, which could see Thame United finding a new home there.

District Cllr David Dodds then presented his report, referring to the adoption of the 2011 Local Plan, after much consultation and inspection procedure, explaining that this will be replaced by a ?Local Development Framework? .
Cllr Dodds mentioned

New Courses For The Summer at the Adult Learning Centre, TOWERSEY ROAD, THAME. 01844 213400 OR 213114

Tai Chi Workshop
Saturday 6 May 10am-1pm
Cost

THAME town councillors have once again rejected plans to redevelop the old Rycotewood college site, whilst conceding that an amended plan put before them, was close to being acceptable.
The redevelopment scheme was considered by the town council’s planning committee last night (Tuesday), following a presentation by a representative of Berkeley Homes, who want to develop the site for housing.
Mr Andrew Saunders-Davis, for Berkeley Homes, said that the amended plan took into consideration comments made by both Thame Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, in that it provided for three less units (98 instead of the 101 on the previous plan), of which 12 were affordable houses for rent and 27 were affordable flats. The new plan, he said, provides an enlarged play area and recreational areas, although he was of the opinion that providing play equipment “would be detrimental to the site.”
He stated that one and a half parking spaces per dwelling were provided for, and that Berkeley Homes would be contributing

ENJOY your chocolate eggs ? but help the environment and recycle the packaging!
Chocaholics in Oxfordshire are being asked to take care how they dispense of the large amounts of packaging that comes with Easter eggs.
Many of the delicious treats on offer come surrounded by cardboard and plastic that can easily be recycled rather than thrown in the bin.
The County Council?s recycling centres are open throughout the bank holiday period and cardboard and plastics are among the items that can be recycled.

Recycling waste, rather than throwing it in the bin, means that it does not have to be sent to landfill.
Landfilled waste releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is one of the chief contributors to global warming.

Oxfordshire currently recycles more than 33% of its waste ? making it one of the best areas in the country. However much more needs to be recycled by 2009. Councils all over the country will be fined by Government after that date unless targets are met for avoiding waste being sent to landfill.

Cllr Roger Belson, Oxfordshire County Council?s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: ?The scene at many households on Easter Sunday morning will involve parents clearing their living room floors of the packaging that comes with chocolate eggs.

?For the sake of tidiness and their peace of mind it will be easy for parents to throw all of that cardboard and plastic in the bin. Our plea is for them to recycle it.

?There are still many people out there who don?t recycle waste. Maybe Easter will be a good time for them to start. Indulge yourself with the sweet treats on offer but don?t indirectly damage the environment by throwing the packaging in the bin.?

For a waste reduction pack call 08450 50 45 50.

A TRIAL pit is to be dug at Thame’s Cuttlebrook Nature Reserve to assess the suitability of the soil there for replacing the sewer pipes with bigger ones.
It is hoped that this will alleviate flooding problems at the site.
The work will be taking place on Tuesday, April 18.