Category: More News

CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural Engand Oxfordshire has sent a letter to Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick MP, raising concerns about the disconnect between the Government’s stated commitment to protect Green Belts and the reality of what is happening on the ground in Oxfordshire.

CPRE believes that the current pandemic has shown that urban dwellers now more than ever need easy access to green space, where social distancing is more straightforward, for healthy exercise. They say that local councils and planning inspectors cannot be left with the possibility of removing Green Belt land, using so-called ‘exceptional’ local reasons, to contradict the promises of vital protection made by Government and its Ministers.

The Oxford Green Belt is now facing multiple large-scale incursions: 

Vale of White Horse – 2,710 houses across 5 sites

Oxford City – 724 houses across 8 sites

Cherwell – 4,400 houses across 6 sites

South Oxfordshire – 11,400 houses across 6 sites

“This totals almost 20,000 new houses supposedly to meet Oxford’s need,” explained a CPRE spokesperson. “ But in fact it is equivalent to a new development one third of the existing size of Oxford.

“Oxfordshire residents are losing the countryside on their doorstep, just at the point when we are starting to realise how vital such areas are for health and well-being, food production, and the climate emergency.”

You can read more about CPRE’s battle to protect the Green Belt, its views on ‘affordable homes’ and where they should be built, as well as why it believes Oxforshire’s housing numbers have been overstated HERE and see a map showing where over 19,000 houses are planned for the Oxford Green Belt.

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following multiple burglaries in the Thame area that are believed to be linked.

The first incident occurred between 8.15am and 1.30pm on Thursday (14/5) at a property in Box Tree Lane, Postcombe. Entry to the property was gained by forcing open a window. An amount of jewellery was stolen.

The second incident occurred at around 2pm on Thursday (14/5) at a property in Crendon Road, Shabbington. Four men gained entry by breaking the patio door at the back of the property. They were disturbed by the occupant and left on foot and turned left toward the village centre. Nothing was stolen. One of the offenders is described as a black man, who was tall and slim. The other three offenders were white men, average height with brown hair. All were wearing masks.

The third incident occurred between 2.45pm and 4pm on Thursday (14/5) at a property in London Road, Wheatley. Entry to the property was gained by forcing open a window. Personal documents were stolen.

Two men were seen at the time in London Road, Wheatley, and officers would like witnesses who may have seen these two people to get in touch as it could be significant.

The fourth incident occurred between 8pm and 8.30pmon Thursday (14/5) at a property in Icknield Close, Chinnor. Entry to the property was gained via the back door. The offenders left the kitchen tap running which flooded the kitchen floor. A safe containing personal documents and two designer watches were stolen.

The two men seen London Road, Wheatley, were white, in their mid to late twenties, slim with dark hair and dark clothes.

Designated Investigator Rebekah Kent based at Abingdon police station said: “I am appealing for witnesses to these incidents. Anyone who lives in the local area and was in the vicinity at the time of these incidents and has information or saw anything suspicious, then please speak to police.

“I would also ask that any motorists in the area who have dash-cam footage to review it to check if anything significant was captured.

 “The preferred method of contacting police is via the online form, quoting reference 43200142384, or alternatively, you can call 101.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

IT is with great sadness that I have to report the death of a very good friend to Thamenews.net, Peter Jordan.

Peter was our landlord when Thamenews.net was launched from our first base in Jordans Courtyard, in 2003. On moving in day, he came in to our tiny office and welcomed us and became ThameNews.Net’s very first subscriber, signing up there and then on the spot.

Peter and his wife Barbara were always on hand to sort out quickly any plumbing or little problems that arose – and quickly on the scene when the burglar alarm would go off for some unknown reason. Peter loved gardening and kept the courtyard looking beautiful all the year round with shrubs, roses, and pots and hanging baskets of seasonal flowers, and allowed all the occupants of the offices in the courtyard to use the beautiful, sunny garden,  for coffee and lunch breaks, and to meet clients. 

At that time, Peter was managing the family business, the Delicatessen Jordan’s (now Rumsey’s Cafe and Chocolaterie), that had been the family business for more than 60 years. It had started as a butcher’s and originally had its own slaughterhouse behind the shop.

Peter was a fanatical bridge player and teacher of the game, and eventually became competition secretary for the Aylesbury-based English Bridge Union, and was Captain of Thame Bridge Club.

Peter’s latter years

In more recent months, I met Peter again when I discovered he was being cared for in the next room to my mother in Meadowcroft. They were taking care of him after a severe stroke struck him down out of the blue. Though not the physically active man that he was, Peter still enjoyed a good chat, especially if it was about the cricket he was watching on the TV, or the evening down at the pub in Towersey he had spent the previous night with his son and a group of Peter’s old friends from Towersey who would sometimes come and take him out, or Bridge friends who would pass the time with him in Meadowcroft over a rubber or two. He remained an intelligent and funny man, not wallowing in self-pity but determined to get all he could out of the life he was left with.  

My great respect goes out to Peter’s family, especially to Barbara who has been so strong, supportive and cheerful throughout Peter’s illness. 

I shall remember him with great affection and respect.

The following is a tribute from the English Bridge Union, with whom Peter had a very long association:

“We are sad to announce the death of former staff member, Peter Jordan on May 12, 2020. Peter came to the EBU on his retirement from his family business and stayed for the best part of 20 years, not only working in the Tournament Department but also acting as Congress Manager for the Summer Meetings and all our overseas congresses. As such he was one of the best-known faces of the EBU and was universally liked and respected for his kindness, warmth and efficiency.”

Ian Payn, Chair of the EBU said: “Peter was the heart and soul of the Tournament Department. It didn’t matter who rang up – he knew who they were and most likely what event they wanted to enquire about. His service on the Tournament Committee was invaluable, as he knew more than anyone what made various events work, and what didn’t. On retirement he was keenly missed, and we have lost a loyal and dedicated colleague, and a friend.”

THAME Community Land Trust, has announced the identity of the site in Thame, where it aims to build 30 ‘affordable homes’ for local people.

The TCLT was founded in 2018 by a group of Thame residents, Chaired by Thame Town Councillor, Bob Austin, with the goal of building genuinely affordable housing to buy or rent which meets the needs of local people, especially those who cannot afford open market prices or access social housing.

The Trust is supported by Homes England, which is a body funded by  the UK Government, and Thame Town Council. It now wants to hear the views of local residents who live near the site about the proposed development before going for a full planning application.

A public exhibition will be held before the planning application is submitted, another opportunity for the public to have a say.

About the site

• The site is situated at the end of Windmill Road, south of the Phoenix Trail and to the west of the allotments. It is, therefore, close to the town centre.
• The size of the site is just over 3 acres and an agreement has been reached to buy it from the owners 
• Traffic and parking will meet optimum standards for the neighbourhood. In particular attention will be given to the preservation and upgrading across the Phoenix Trail.
• The site is an ‘exception’ site, as such it is not available on the open market.                                                                
• Road access will be limited to this site and not to a wider area. 
• A pre-planning application has been submitted and received favourable feedback from SODC (the planning authority) to the proposals.
• The proposal is for around 30 homes of the most sustainable nature that can be achieved. ( They will be a mix of 1, 2 & 3 bedroom.)
•  The site will be designed with publicly accessible areas  and footpaths.
• Environmental planting will be in collaboration with the Thame Green Living Group.                                                                                                                    
  
  Who are the homes for?   

• The Homes will be for local people. In particular they will be for those who cannot afford the open market or access social housing. They will be affordable to rent or buy.                                

 How does the trust know who needs these homes?

• A housing needs survey was carried out in December 2019, which covered all of Thame. It defined the types of home needed.                                        • The homes will stay affordable for local people in perpetuity by being developed by the Community Land Trust.  

A leaflet about the site and how to comment, will be delivered to all residents living near the site. 

THE leaders of all six Oxfordshire councils have written a joint letter to Government and the county’s MPs setting out the scale of the financial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation across the local authorities.

Looking across the costs of delivering additional services, spend on emergency suppliers and the significant impact on normal income streams, the councils anticipate the negative financial impact of the virus in the 2020/21 financial year will be around £100m, with expected knock-on impacts in future years. 

To date, Government has allocated £14.9m in additional funding to councils in Oxfordshire, and only £0.3m of this for the District and City Councils. 

The six council leaders welcomed the announcement on 18 April of an extra £1.6 billion to councils across England, but urged the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, to ensure further Government support is provided to meet the funding shortfall. Without this support, authorities across Oxfordshire will become financially unsustainable with depleted or no reserves, and some could be unable to set a legal budget for 2021/22.

The six councils have made rapid adjustments to redeploy staff to meet new areas of high demand, in particular taking significant action to protect and support vulnerable people across Oxfordshire. This includes establishing locality-based services to provide support to vulnerable people, to respond to referrals from the NHS, GPs, pharmacies and work with large networks of volunteers to deliver a multitude of supporting activity. It also includes dedicated customer contact teams proactively contacting those identified as vulnerable by the NHS as being at risk and connecting them into local support services and essential supplies.

At the same time the councils have implemented social distancing and remote working for their own staff while continuing or stepping up their work on protecting children at risk of abuse and neglect; supporting older people and disabled adults who need help with the tasks of daily life; re-housing homeless people with appropriate accommodation and support services; administering the government’s grant and relief schemes to businesses; collecting waste from homes, and providing public health advice.

While other services are temporarily closed to meet social distancing requirements – including leisure facilities and libraries – these need maintaining and continue to incur costs.

As is the case for most councils these days, Oxfordshire’s councils are not fully funded by government grants or income from taxes, but from revenue-generating activities – from car parking, fees and charges, income from rents and services we provide – which fund many of the services provided for residents and businesses. These income streams have all been severely damaged by the coronavirus restrictions and impact on the local economy. For some of the councils, the scale of lost income is of greater financial impact than the additional costs being incurred.        

All six councils say they remain committed to providing the support and services that residents need and to protect our communities but will need additional Government financial support to enable this vital and lifesaving work to continue. 

UPDATE – April 30- Rt Hon Robert Jenrick has written this letter (110.9 KB) to all council leaders in England regarding COVID-19 funding.

INSTIGATED by Design Technology Technician, Jordan Marsh at Lord Williams’s School, Thame, the school has been busy making PEP face shields for medical and care workers.

After firstly raiding the school cupboards for safety goggles, Jordan identified a face shield based on a proven Swedish design and started 3D printing them four at a time, using both his own machine and one from school. Whilst still printing and maintaining social distancing he started contacting local health workers to plan out how to meet some of the needs, and set up a sterilising and packaging system for the face shields produced.

They soon had four 3D printers up and running virtually full time and started providing face shields to those who have a connection to the school or local community. So they have donated well over 200 to Aylesbury hospitals, 110 to the The Whiteleaf Centre (Oxford Health NHS Trust), 50 to local pharmacies, 40 to Abbeyfield Care Home in Haddenham, 50 to The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth (London), 150 to Barnet Hospital in London (via a former Lord Williams’s pupil), and 200 to Wokingham Borough Council. Alongside this they also provided some to 3D Printworld in Aylesbury who are also running a successful local initiative, supporting many care organisations working on the front-line.

At the last count they had made over 900 face shields to protect care workers in their battle with Covid-19.

Here are some of comments from grateful users:

“THANK YOU. I cannot begin to tell you what a relief it is to have your face visors in our possession. From everyone at our GP Practice -THANK YOU.”

“What a great thing to be doing, massively appreciated. We are finding it very difficult to obtain supplies of PPE and this is making a real difference – both practically and to morale.” – NHS Supplies

“They’re comfy and practical and you can adjust them to stop them steaming up” GP – Aylesbury

MEMBERS of the Rotary Club of Thame and District have joined other Rotary clubs in the Thames Valley in an initiative to support the funding of local food banks, including Thame’s run by Sharing Life Trust.

With the current COVID-19 lockdown, members cannot meet physically for dinner. A former Rotary Thames Valley District Governor, Joy Arnott, supported by the current Governor, Frank Quinn, had the idea to grab this opportunity and recommend donating the unspent dinner money towards local food banks, and Thame & District Rotarians responded overwhelmingly to this initiative.

Joy Arnott wrote in an email to Thame and District Rotarians: “Thank you so much for contributing to our initiative to make Rotary a significant contributor to the welfare of the most deserving people in our communities.”

Frank Quinn thanked in his blog all Rotary Clubs in the Thames Valley which covers most of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire: “Past District Governor Joy Arnott is leading the District on raising funds for local Food Banks. The call went out for money rather than Foodstuffs and as of today, you have raised nearly £30,000. Congratulations to all the Clubs who have donated!”

Rotary Club of Thame and District members are now keeping in touch with each other via online video meetings and email.

To find out how to join Rotary Club of Thame & District or contact www.thame.rotary1090.org or www.facebook.com/thamerotary

THAME Town Council will make local history when it holds the council’s very first ever, virtual Full Council Meeting in public over Zoom, next Tuesday, on April 28, at 6.30pm.

The meeting will be held in accordance with The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.

To view the meeting, use the URL: https://zoom.us/j/598240993 – Meeting ID: 598 240 993 – To obtain the Password, contact the Town Council up to two hours before the meeting start time (6.30pm). Email: info@thametowncouncil.gov.uk or call: 01844 212833.  You must be on the electoral role to join this meeting. Exceptions will be made for representatives, agents and authorities.  The agenda is HERE

THE vacant shop in Thame town centre that was Steamer Trading, is likely to be taken over by Specsavers, following a planning application currently with South Oxfordshire District Council’s Planning deparment for ‘Redecoration of the existing timber shop front and installing a Specsavers fascia and new hanging sign and undertaking internal fit-out with de-mountable partitioning and replacing the hvac units.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Healthcare Trust, which includes Stoke Mandeville Hospital, has set up a scheme to help families and friends stay in contact with the ones they love in hospital, that they are unable to visit. Family and friends can send a letter to a loved one via a dedicated email address bht.lettertoalovedone@nhs.net. Full details here: https://www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/About/trust-launches-letter-to-a-loved-one-initiative.htm

SOUTH Oxfordshire District Council has re-opened its bulky waste collection service for large household items. It is limited to online orders only and there are a limited number of bookings available. The bulky waste collection service was temporarily stopped to allow the council’s waste contractor, Biffa to prioritise the important kerbside household collections while members of their waste collection crews were off sick or self-isolating. Biffa has now built up sufficient resilience in its workforce and can now provide the paid-for service again. The situation is being regularly monitored and residents should be aware that if staffing levels fall the service may need to be suspended again.

Examples of what they collect:

furniture (such as sofas, chairs, and tables)
televisions
washing machines
mattresses
fridges and freezers*

Full instructions and advise here: http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/your-recycling-and-waste-collections/bulky-household

THE latest in a series of planning applications for the piece of land known as The Elms, off Thame’s Upper High Street, has been submitted by the same applicant, Rectory Homes. (NOT Elms Park!)

This latest planning application is, like the last one, for erection of an extra care development (Use Class C2) of 66 units; three guest rooms; a communal residents’ centre with staff facilities; provision for car, cycle and mobility scooter parking; the creation of a new public open space; the provision of new pedestrian/cycle links from Upper High Street to Elms Road and Elms Park and thas associated infrastructure works and landscaping.

The approval of the original and first appication, which was for housing, ran out before work started on the development. Eversince, Rectory Homes, claiming that the ‘footprint’ of the subsequent proposed development for a care home, was the same and that there was a need for such a development, has not been able to convince the local panning authority, South Oxfordshire District Council, to accept new proposals.

Previous articles about this site can be read HERE