Category: More News

DISQUIET among Thame Town Councillors about the proliferation of A boards and outside seating on the town’s pavements, has led to then seeking clarification from the Highways Authority as to the rules and regulations covering street furniture.

The advice given is that shops and cafes should, strictly speaking, apply for a licence for such boards and furniture on the public pavement, as What’s Cooking has recently. However, the authorities prefer to take ‘a  softly, softly‘ approach apparently, and tend to tolerate any street furniture on pavements that are wide enough, as long as they do not present a nuisance or danger to pedestrians.

During a discussion at Tuesday’s Planning and Environment committee, the Town Clerk reported that Oxfordshire County Council will be looking further into the matter in the near future.

Councillors agreed to recommend approval of What’s Cooking’s application for tables with seating, outside their premises in Cornmarket, Thame, which has some of the widest pavements in the town.

THAME Town Council has been notified by Shared Access that the company is no longer progressing its proposal to install a telecommunications structure at Southern Road Recreation Ground.

At its meeting on June 20, 2017, after considering Consultation responses, the Town Council asked Shared Access to consider alternative positioning of the mast within the tree-line in response to some of respondents and town councillors’ wishes. SEE LINK and LINK

“Shared Access are not prepared to execute further work and the operators will now seek a traditional street based solution,” said the town council, adding in a statement: “It is disappointing that in spite of significant efforts by the Town Council and the community that a solution acceptable to all could not be found.”

If the proposal had gone ahead, the town council was in line to receive £70,000.

IT was revealed tonight (Tuesday) that the owners of Thame Cattle Market are in talks with a local land owner in its search for a new site.

The new site of interest under discussion between SODC and Thame Farmers Mart, is farm land at North Weston off Rycote Lane, just past Gregory’s Distribution headquarters. (See image)

The Thame Cattle Market is privately operated by a co-operative of local farmers on the current site in North Street, where it has been operating since 1949. The lease on the site, which is owned by South Oxfordshire District Council, runs out in four years time by which time a new home for the Cattle Market will have to be found. The existing facilities are becoming less and less suitable as animal welfare regulations increase.

A planning application for a new cattle market on the Thame Show Ground was approved in 2008 but expired in 2014.

Though two attempts to build large supermarkets on the cattle market site have been fought off, the site is ear-marked for ‘mixed use’ in the current Thame Neighbourhood Plan and the district council’s Local Plan, and any future use is expected to include community facilities – though a small, budget supermarket has been mooted as a possibility by the town council.

AT  5:46 am on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service were called to fire outside a property in Beech road, Chinnor.

A fire engine from Thame Fire Station attended the incident and found thee wheelie bins on fire. This had also spread to a wooden fence and damaged the outside of the house.

The occupier had been alerted by a noise outside, went outside to investigate and manged to reduce the spread of fire using a garden hose. Fortunately, the swift intervention meant that firefighters could fully extinguish the fire and using a Thermal imaging camera check that it had not spread into the roof of the house.

The fire was caused by hot ash from a bonfire that had been put in the plastic wheelie bin the previous day and after smouldering for some time it eventually set alight the rubbish in the bin and spread rapidly.

Incident Commander, Watch Manager Andy Ford said: “This incident has highlighted the danger of disposing of embers from a Bonfire or Barbecue before they have completely cooled down. Fortunately, on this occasion the occupiers were alerted by the noise and were able to call the Fire and Rescue Service. If left unattended the fire could have spread into the house whilst the occupiers were asleep.”

THE Rotary Club of Thame thanked the local communities of Thame and neighbouring villages for their support with fundraising during the 2016-2017 Rotary year.

Following his ‘thank you’ message, give at an event which took place at Thame’s Spread Eagle on Wednesday, June 21, spokesperson for Thame Rotary, Marius Ciortan, said:

“The local public actively supported major fundraisers like Erroll Bateman ’s Charity Sky Dive last July and Thame Swimathon in February. The amount donated in 2016-2017 Rotary reached almost £10,000. Red Kite Family Centre, Wheel Power and Hope and Homes for Children are the main charities which received donations in the past 12 months.

Linda Newton and Helen Williams represented Thame Swimming Club at the event. With its nine teams participating in the Thame Swimathon, the swimming club members contributed significantly to Rotary Club of Thame’s fundraising effort.

Marius continued: “We are proud to have made a contribution towards rescuing Red Kite Children’s Centre from its imminent closure and to make a difference towards projects managed by our charities of the year.”

He concluded: “To continue and to expand our fundraising and volunteering activities in the months and years to come, we are looking for even more support from the local community. We are welcoming new members from the local communities of Thame, Chinnor, Long Crendon and neighbouring villages who can join our world of fun, friendship and fundraising.

“To express your interest to join our vibrant club, please visit www.thame.rotary1090.org or like us on www.facebook.com/thamerotary. “

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a burglary in Thame, over the weekend.

On Saturday, June 24, between 00:30 – 01:45 a property in Goffe Close, Thame, was burgled. Entry was gained through the front door, and two vehicles were stolen.

If you have seen any suspicious looking vehicles or people in the area, or have any information relating to this message, please call the police via the 24 hour non- emergency telephone number 101.

Alternatively, if you have any information but wish to remain anonymous, please call crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

A Boards and other street furniture – CLLR Mike Dyer reported that an A board that had nothing to do with any Thame business, had been padlocked to a item of street furniture in the Upper High Street, for over three months. The Town Clerk replied that as the town council did not have a policy on A boards, nothing had been done about it.

He did add though that an update from the Highways Authority on the regulations relating to the placing of street furniture on the highway, as had been requested by members at the Planning Committee back on April 25, would be given at that committee’s meeting next Tuesday, June 27.

The question of street furniture had been brought up at April’s meeting, during consideration of a Planning Application from What’s Cooking in Cornmarket, for outdoor seating. Some members of the Committee had expressed concern with regard to health and safety as a result of cafes extending onto the pavement and had requested that Town Council officers seek clarification from the Highways Authority.

Town Centre Sports Event

THE council noted and welcomed the Town Centre Sports Event that will take place this evening, Friday, June 23, 2017. TTC has provided £1,500 otowards the overall estimated cost of £8,000 for the event. As last year, the High Street Car Park will be closed from mid-afternoon. Full details HERE

Claim your money for community projects

DURING this week’s Thame Town Council meeting, one of Thame’s three District Councillors, David Dodds, reporting back the council on SODC matters, revealed that £15,000 is available for projects that are intended to offer community benefits in each ward area.

Every South Oxfordshire district councillor has a grant budget of £5,000, from which any amount from £500 to the whole £5,000 can be awarded per successful applicant group. The basic rules and criteria for applying, and how to apply can be be found on SODC’s website HERE 

CHINNOR Quarry site has been an attraction to the public for many years for swimming in the disused lake.

This site is owned by Taylor Wimpey and is private land, therefore anyone found on the Quarry site is trespassing.

Due to the recent warm weather, Thames Valley Police are getting a large increase in calls to the site, to assist the site security in removing members of the public who are swimming and putting themselves in danger.

The Quarry site is surrounded by sheer cliff faces with unstable groundwork. This leaves the public extremely vulnerable when walking around the site. The lake itself holds deep water with hazardous/unknown objects inside, harmful to those who are choosing to swim there, and there is limited lifesaving equipment available.

Thame Neighbourhood Policing Team would like to remind members of the public of the dangers of accessing the site and would appreciate your cooperation in not attempting to visit the Quarry.

DESPITE a very warm and sticky council chamber on Tuesday, (June 20), Thame Town Council managed to deal with a full agenda, including the proposed phone mast in Southern Road Rec, changes to the new town flag design, a new plan for the access to the proposed development at The Elms, wilting bin men, Men’s Shed and ‘clutter’ on the pavements.

PHONE MAST

A decision on whether to agree to the plans for a phone mast near the Southern Road Recreation ground before they are submitted to SODC, has been deferred.  The decision was made after much discussion, to allow time for councillors to address some of the concerns they had, and those of some members of the public who had taken part in a public consultation.

The basic concerns were that it is in the wrong place and should be sited further back in the trees, that it may be a health hazard eg one respondent’s fear that it might effect his heart pacemaker, and that it may impact on wildlife.

A spokesman for the Communications company that want to build the mast, told councillors that the mast would comply with International Commision on Communication standards and that several organisations, including WHO and Cancer Research had found no evidence of harm to people from such masts. Cllr Mike Dyer however, said that he would like to see some response and information sent to those with objections and fears, from the applicant before he felt able to make a decision.

“It feels as if there is an attempt to rush this through. I am sitting on the fence. We need to do due diligence for the public before we make a decision,” he said.

Citing the mast near the Chinnor Rugby Club, Cllr Nichola Dixon made the point that most people walk past these masts without noticing them, though that particular one ‘is tucked away in the trees’. “Why can’t this one be moved back?” she asked. Cllr Dixon added: “The trouble is, everyone wants 4G etc but they don’t want a mast!”

Cllr Mary Stiles added: “There was a lot of hoo-ha about the one near Newitt’s, but now you don’t notice it.” Cllr Bob Austin suggested that if the Southern Road mast were painted green, it might blend in better.

 

 

TOWN FLAG

FOLLOWING advice from the Flag Institute, the winning design for a new Thame town flag has had to be been amended. With the agreement of the winner, Hazel Mann, the town motto wording has been removed and the image changed to a mirror image of the original, so that the wavy lines, representing the River Thame, will wave around in the wind on the side opposite the flag pole.

THE ELMS

THE town council voted unanimously to recommend refusal of the lastest Listed Building Consent application by Rectory Homes, for alterations to the access to any new development on the land known as The Elms, in the Upper High Street, behind the Memorial Gardens.

Councillors were not happy that the application does not take into consideration of Oxfordshire County Council’s new parking scheme, involving double yellow lines only near entrances, agreed after public consultation. Also, there was some concern, expressed by Cllr Helena Fickling, that the new plan shows a fence either side of the entrance to a shared motor/pedestrian/cycle path. The previous plan, for which Rectory has planning permission she said, shows a separate path. “It is not safe to mix shared access with traffic,” she concluded.

The third and latest full Planning Application for this site, for 85 dwellings and apartments for extra care homes is awaiting determination by SODC. An application for 37 dwellings and publicly accessible open space was submitted and granted permission in August 2015, but the work never started. A second application in July, 2016, for 87 dwellings and apartments for extra care homes was applied for, P16/S2407/FUL, but subsequently withdrawn.

You can view the full Listed Building Consent application discussed for The Elms  HERE

 

 

WILTING BIN MEN

THAME’S bin collection on Monday this week, June 19, was suspended after several bin men we taken ill because of the heat, and some vehicles broke down. Rubbish collection was however completed the following day.

MEN’S SHED

THE Town Clerk reported that a suitable site was still being sort, for the ‘Men’s shed‘ or ‘Social Shed’, a project launched back in September 2016. He said that a site near the Chinnor Rugby Club was being looked into.

PAVEMENT ‘CLUTTER’

IN response to a question from Cllr Nichola Dixon, as to whether Jack and Alice, iin Buttermarket, Thame, had permission to put chairs and tables out on the pavement in front of its restaurant (as they did during the recent hot weather), the Town Clerk replied that he didn’t know, but that ‘Permission is supposed to be sought but nobody does!’

“It all depends whether we want to ‘live and let live’ or go by the letter of the law,” he concluded. The Clerk, Graham Hunt, also revealed that he had written to Jack and Alice asking them to work with Prezzo next door, for a solution to the ‘unsightly’ line of bins that stands out on the pavement in front of the two establishments. (See LINK)

** More reports from a hot, sticky council chamber tomorrow!