THAME Sports Club, which includes the Tennis Club and the Bowls Club, is to receive £88,280 from South Oxfordshire District Council to help completely rebuild its much-used clubhouse into a modern and efficient facility for the members to enjoy.
The existing Thame Sports Club’s clubhouse
The money comes from community contributions made by housing developers relating to new homes they’ve built nearby. This contribution is on top of an up to £250,000 community grant the council has already allocated towards the project.
The design for the new Club house for thame Sports Club
The plan is to demolish the old clubhouse, built in the 1920s, and build a new community building, that will have modern changing facilities, clubroom, kitchen and bar. The whole building project will cost around £500,000 and with the rest of the funds already raised coming from other grants schemes, such as Sports England and the clubs’ own fundraising, the plans can go ahead.
Robin Bennett, Cabinet Member for Development and Regeneration at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “It is absolutely vital that housing developers contribute to the infrastructure serving the communities near their developments. We are delighted that Thame Sports Club has been awarded this cash to go towards their fantastic new clubhouse, which will be enjoyed by existing and new residents alike.”
Peter Bozier from Thame Sports Club added: “We are thrilled and grateful to receive this money towards our much-needed clubhouse. The new building will provide improved and more modern facilities for both of our playing clubs and also the community groups who regularly use our clubhouse.”
Planning permissions have already been approved and Thame Sports Club hope to start their building project in late August this year.
LORD Williams’s School Headteacher, David Wybron, has retired after 28 years at the Thame school.
David joined the teaching staff at Lord Williams’s School in 1991 as Head of Humanities and teacher of History. He progressed to become Deputy Headteacher and then Headteacher from 2005.
Under David’s leadership, the school proudly achieved an outstanding Ofsted rating in 2011. Since then, he has continued to strive tirelessly for improvements and this has resulted in consistently excellent GCSE results, including the school’s best ever results in recent years.
A statement from the school today reads: “After 28 years of dedicated service, David leaves with the school in an excellent position and one that the Governors believe is even better than 2011 when the current Ofsted outstanding rating was awarded.
“Throughout his headship, David has also considered the bigger picture and was instrumental in the school converting to Academy status in 2012. He has also been key to the development of the Thame Partnership of Schools, which is now an empowered and effective group driving improvement in education provision across the full age range.
“Irrespective of impact on league tables, David has always made decisions with the best interests of individual students and their progress as key considerations.”
Mike Underwood, Chair of the Governors added: “David has been an outstanding Headteacher and the Governors publicly thank him for his tireless work. They wish him all the very best for the future and for an enjoyable retirement.
“David will be replaced in September by Jon Ryder who is currently one of the two Deputy Headteachers at the school. The Governors welcome Jon to his new role and are looking forward to working with him as he leads Lord Williams’s School into the future.”
David Wybron himself commented: “I find it hard to believe that I have been at the school for 28 years. I can honestly say that I have loved being a part of Lord Williams’s School over this time. It has been a great privilege to be Headteacher over the last 14 years, to work and spend time with so many wonderful staff and students and to represent this splendid school in the community it serves.”
[Editor] David Wybron has more recently publicly campaigned for more funding for schools including taking John Howell MP to task in open letters for misrepresenting government funding figures for pupils. See LINKhttps://www.thame.net/archives/42430
AROUND 60 people took part in a Clean Air Forum on Wednesday, July 12, hosted by the Thame Green Living Group (GLP), as a follow up to the recent public consultation on a Green Living Plan for the town.
Clean Air forum, Thame
“We are taking as read that there is a Climate Emergency,” said the Chair, Charles Boundy, as he explained that the group was now thinking about practical ideas to move forward, looking at the three topics with most engagement from the consultation, clean air, clean energy and Electric vehicles.
Fellow group member, John Scott explained that there may need to be trade offs between quick wins and those which would take longer. All these topics, he said, were being looked at by OCC, SODC, the government and governments all over the world and the GLP is tapping into what is going on in these places and staying in step.
Practical steps
John told the audience that among the practical ideas being considered by the Green Living group are promoting cleaner vehicles; support for a ‘no idling’ campaign; installing electric vehicle charging points – thinking about where they should go – car parks? Charging point hubs? Where there is no off street parking?; holding an EV test drive day; a community-funded clean energy generation scheme – a solar array? a wind farm? Such things are happening elsewhere across Oxfordshire, he said.
Charles Boundy then spoke about clean air, reminding the audience that it is 13 years since Al Gore’s film, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and how David Attenborough’s documentary, Blue Planet, had been a turning point for our awareness of plastic pollution of the seas, and the effects of rising sea temperatures.
He used the analogy of our ‘sea’ being the air we breath, and it now being full of debris in the same way, but the difference being, we can’t see it!
“What goes up contributes to climate change,” he said. “Burning fossil fuels for instance contributes to melting ice-caps, etc. And what comes down causes air pollution, and its proven adverse effects on health. It’s like breathing asbestos over a period of time.”
‘We are damaging the most vulnerable’
Charles explained that, although here in Thame there may not appear to be such a big problem of air pollution as in other places, there is no safe level. Queueing traffic, vehicles idling outside banks, shops, take-aways etc are a problem. “The worst place of all,” he said, “is at the school gates where we are damaging the most vulnerable. Some people don’t realise that that the pollution inside an idling car is four times that of the air outside.” Walking and cycling is much safer, he said.
No Idling sign outside a school in New York (image courtesey of Alan Zale for The New York Times)
Will it get worse?
With more houses, more cars and more journeys, if we don’t act, the situation will only get worse, suggested Charles.
A Clean Air Week is being planned in Thame, in October, for which the Green Living Group would like more volunteers to help.
Charles then questioned why there were not more people there at the forum, an indication, he said, that the Green Living Group needed to do more about communication. He questioned whether there were some people who did not want to change, didn’t believe the evidence or expected others to take action. “It is not just down to the council,” he said. “It is not just their job to do want we want.” It was up to the affluent areas of the world to take the lead, he suggested, and show the way.
Why should we change?
If we don’t, suggested Charles, “…we’ll become victims through our own inertia – there is no going back.”
Some of the practical things people could do, he suggested, were to support SODC’s ‘Turn it off’ campaign, and think to ourselves, ‘Do we need to use the car? Can I walk or cycle? Another suggestion was to consider making your second car an EV.
“We need to change the ‘THEY’ need to make changes, to ‘WE’ and the ‘WE’ to ‘I’” he concluded.
Bigger Choices
Charles suggested that we will all have to change our priorities. “When did we surrender our roads to cars?” he asked, and suggested that it was time to change our priorities, adding: “Thame is an active and attractive town and we must balance accessibility and vibrancy with health. We all need to consume less, but perhaps most importantly, we need to start by slowing down our pace of life so that we can make more time to travel, and to live more sustainably.”
Questions from the floor
A resident asked about people’s experience of asking drivers to turn off their ignition when they were sitting in their cars with the engine idling. Some nervousness was admitted to, but there were examples of ways of approaching such drivers, with a gentle, polite message and in one case, by children offering drivers a chocolate to turn off their engine!
Another resident pointed out that to be more effective ‘a holistic approach’ needed to be taken to planning change, because, for instance, older people and the disabled may not be able to walk or cycle into town.
‘Climate anxiety’ and the need to come together
Many young people are suffering from ‘Climate Anxiety’ said one resident, which suggested, she thought, that there was a need for everyone to come together and create a feeling of community and togetherness to take actions for the benefit of all.
Following the presentations and questions, members of the audience were invited to stick blue stickers on various charts focusing on clean air, clean energy and Electric vehicles, to indicate their considered level of feasibility and neccessity against suggested actions. Afterwards, a quick assessment was made of the results by members of the Green Living Group, Mark Stockley, Phil Evans and Lisa, indicating the following:
* Just how much the people in Thame really do care about clean air * How popular the idea of micro-transport, i.e. an electric hopper bus, is * The popularity of experimenting with pedestrianisation of the town centre * Need to help people who are older and/or cash-strapped, to engage * That there was some way to go to establish the effectiveness of electric vehicles
Solar energy
It was pointed out that there is a large solar array just outside Thame, visible from the train. John Scott said that he was aware that it supplies enough electricity to power a town the size of Thame. He added that contact was being made with the owner to share real-time data from the array. He added that although the government had stopped the advantageous ‘feed in’ tarifs, it was his understanding that it had promised introducing ‘an export tariff’ by the end of the year. John added that there are already incentives for businesses to use green energy, and that free ‘energy audits’ are available for businesses to help them to work out how much energy they are using and how they could reduce it. A town councillor who was present said that he would take this information to the business community of Thame.
There was some discussion about solar panels on the roofs of houses, and the concern some people have about the ascetics of the panels. It was pointed out that there are now black roofs with black solar panels available that are easier on the eye, and ‘solar slates’ that are now available.
A questioner asked if the new houses in Thame had solar panels or heat pumps. The answer was ‘No’.
The results of the blue sticker exercise and the points raised by the forum will be analysed by the group before it puts forward further actions.
After the meeting, Charles Boundy said: “The evening was good progress to gathering views and choosing options and we’ll be coming back to people shortly on the main headings.”
HAVING decided to re-appaise the current emerging Local Plan 2034, the new Cabinet at South Oxfordshire District Council, is to recommend to full Council to make some significant changes to the plan, in particular, to ‘strengthen climate change considerations’.
The current draft plan was ready for its final stage, going to a government Inspector for approval, just before the local elections in May. But the new administration, now led by a coalition of mainly Greens and Liberal Democratics, wanted to take a fresh look at it in the light of the council having declared a Climate Emergency, and possible changes in Oxford City’s Local Plan regarding its housing numbers, and other concerns.
At it’s meeting last night, July 11, Cabinet agreed the following recommendation to full Council, members of which will consider it at their next meeting on Thursday, July 18, 2019:
“That the Council: (1) express its determination to maintain its housing land supply and avoid speculative housing development;
(2) express its continued support for the Housing and Infrastructure Fund (HIF) funding and the proposed infrastructure projects that will be delivered by it;
(3) ask officers to explore with Oxfordshire County Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes England options for protecting the HIF funding whilst enabling the council to address concerns about the current emerging Local Plan 2034 including (but not limited to) climate change issues and Oxford City’s unmet housing need, and to report back to Cabinet and Council;
(4) recognising that the Climate Change Emergency is all too real and is recognised to be of key and statutory importance under the Climate Change Act 2008 and the associated objective of “zero carbon by 2050”, express its wish to do all that it can to respond through the Local Plan process;
(5) agree that as soon as practicable, alongside satisfactory progress being made on resolving issues in the emerging Local Plan, work on a subsequent Local Plan shall commence, strengthening climate change considerations.”
Any new plan will be subject to a public consultation before it is re-submitted for inspection.
** To read the background information on the current draft Local Plan 2034, and the options that were/are open to district councillors, visit the following link: http://democratic.southoxon.gov.uk/documents/s16696/Report.pdf (Note: Councillors opted to recommend Option 3 at a recent meeting of the Scrutiny Committee)
WITH the schools coming close to breaking up for summer, Thames Valley Police are anticipating an increase in Anti-social Behaviour in a particular hotspot for ASB in Thame.
In its monthly update, the Thame Community Policing Team stated: “The Southern Road recreational centre and its car park next to the 1st Thame Scout Hut has been a particular hotspot for ASB, drug use and dangerous driving. The team are aware of these issues and are actively visiting and engaging with any groups to advise on acceptable behaviour and consideration for other users of the play area and Scout Hut, taking action where needed.
“Since our last newsletter we have issued warnings for repeat and persistent offenders and will continue to monitor the situation.
“We would again like to thank those to continue to inform us of any and all incidents (and their updates) that happen in the area. Your information is appreciated and vital for us to identify repeat offenders.” Call the non-emergency number 101 to report incidents.
AS our traditional landscape faces uncertainty and change, the Chilterns Conservation Board (CCB), which is based in Chinnor, has announced that Dr Elaine King has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and will take up the post today, July 9, 2019.
Elaine King, the new CEO of the Chilterns Conservation Board
Elaine joins the CCB from her role as Director of Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of 52 non-governmental organisations in England with diverse interests across nature conservation, landscape protection and animal welfare. Elaine is also a serving Secretary of State appointed Member of the Chilterns Conservation Board and will resign from this post in accordance with DEFRA rules.
As Chief Executive Officer, Elaine will ensure the Chilterns Conservation Board fulfils its purposes: to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the AONB; and to increase the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the AONB.
“We are fortunate to have someone of Elaine’s passion and experience to lead the CCB forward as we continue to care for the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” said Ian Reay, Chairman of the CCB. “It is an exciting time in the natural environment and landscape sectors, and Elaine is an environmental visionary, with a proven track record, who is well-positioned to ensure the protection of the landscape as it faces a period of unprecedented change.”
“I am excited to have been appointed the CCBs next CEO. It is a privilege to be able to lead an organisation dedicated to caring for the Chilterns landscape,” said Elaine. “The Chilterns is a very special place and I am looking forward to working with the CCB’s staff team, Board members and our many partner organisations, to ensure that we effectively conserve the Chilterns now and into the future.”
Elaine succeeds Sue Holden who, having grown the CCB’s income and staff capacity over the past four years, leaves the Chilterns Conservation Board at the end of July 2019 to pursue new challenges in the environment sector.
“I can think of no one better to lead the Chilterns Conservation Board. Elaine’s experience as Director of Wildlife and Countryside Link, combined with her longstanding career in the environment sector and passion for the Chilterns countryside, make Elaine the perfect choice for the Board,” said Sue.
Elaine has a degree in Applied Biology from Brunel University and a PhD for her research on bovine tuberculosis in badgers and cattle from Bristol University. Before taking time out to raise her two children, Elaine was Chief Executive of the Badger Trust, a charity which promotes the conservation and protection of badgers. Raised near the East Sussex coast, she is passionate about the great outdoors and spends as much time as she can exploring the Chilterns from her Prestwood home and taking holidays in wild places.
AS the school summer holidays fast approach, Bloor Homes South Midlands is launching a campaign to raise awareness amongst children of the dangers of entering and playing on building sites.
With construction ongoing at its nearby Windmill Chase development on Mill Lane, Chinnor, the family owned builder wants to educate local teachers, parents and children, helping to prevent any unnecessary accidents during the six week break.
Construction Director, Carl Slater explains: “Whilst the number of children killed or injured on UK construction sites continues to fall, there is no room for complacency. That’s why we believe in the importance of reminding young children about the dangers of entering building sites, especially before a long holiday when they have more time to play.
“In addition to arranging site safety visits for school children to a number of developments across the region we have developed five simple reminders for parents and teachers to tell children, helping keep them safe over the summer.”
Safety first this summer
1. Never enter a building site – building sites can be dangerous places and should never be entered by members of the public, especially children 2. Large moving vehicles – large vehicles drive in and out of building sites regularly to deliver materials. Children should never play close to the entrance of a building site or on the building site itself as they may not be seen easily by a driver 3. Dangerous materials – there can be the risk of falling materials and/or hazardous and flammable materials stored on site. It is important that anyone entering a building site has permission to be there, has received the proper training and is wearing the correct safety clothing 4. Machinery in operation – while they may look like big toys, the heavy and dangerous machinery which is in operation on a building site could cause serious injury to a child. Children should never play on or near to any machinery on a building site 5. Openings and excavations – during construction there can be areas where the ground has been dug out or ledges from which building work is taking place. Whilst these will be barriered off to prevent falls, it is important that children do not enter a site and put themselves at risk.
Carl continued: “We hope that these simple facts will help parents and teachers across Chinnor to spread the word to children in the area about the importance of safety on building sites.
“Whilst we always ensure that all of our construction areas are fenced off with the correct warning signs in place we still want to make sure that children understand the dangers and can enjoy their summer holidays without risk of injury.”
TICKETS are now available for a special summer screening featuring the World Premier of locally-made short film, ‘The CuBOYd’, and heart-warming musical ‘Wild Rose’.
The CuBOYd began as a YouTube series in 2011, created by Thame filmmakers Jack Franks, Joe Phippen and Joe Ounsworth. The series followed the lives of boredom-fighting, cardboard-clad superhero (The Cuboyd) and his two cameramen (the two Joes), accumulating over one million views before the filmmakers began a hiatus to focus on university and work.
Returning to their hometown, and struggling to rediscover their place in a less forgiving online media landscape, the filmmakers reunited to develop the concept into a short film. Bringing in cinematographer Olly Ross and boom operator Sam Roelandts, the team developed a more emotional story than expected which serves as a fitting end to a project that always celebrated the connection between friendship, youth and home.
This will be followed by a short Q&A with director, Jack, and then the recently-released main feature ‘Wild Rose’, starring Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, and Sophie Okonedo, which follows the tale of a young Scottish country singer who dreams of making it big in Nashville after being released from prison. Saturday, July 20, 8pm. Tickets from thamecinema.org.uk or on the door.
CHRIS Washington will be previewing his latest show, ‘Raconteur’ at The Players Theatre, Thame, on Friday, July 19, in a double header with Heidi Regan. Chris was Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer Nominee and British Comedy Guide Recommended in 2018. Chortle described him as: “..a mainstream comedy star in the making,” with Broadway Baby saying his comedy was: “Funny, relatable and heartwarming.”
Heidi Regan’s 2018 Fringe was a sell-out, with her new show: ‘Heidi Kills Time’. It’s a show that’s both silly and surreal about time travel, love and time travel! Winner of BBC New Comedy Award and So You Think You’re Funny. Her accolades include Tour support for Joe Lycett, Writer for Have I Got news For You, Star of The Now Show, The Guilty Feminist Podcast and appearances on BBC Three.
MC for the evening will be popular local comedian Andy Gleeks. Tickets are £10 and available from 01844 217228 or www.thameplayers.co.uk. Book now to avoid disappointment! Comedy @ The Players, Friday 19th July with Chris Washington & Heidi Regan
CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) Oxfordshire has published what it is calling, ‘an alternative approach to planning the future of Oxfordshire’, an approach it believes is vital to protect our county’s rural character.
Summer 2019 is expected to see two major consultations on plans for huge growth across Oxfordshire. These will be on a Government ‘Vision’ for the future of the Oxford Cambridge Arc, and the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 proposals setting out the level and location of growth in the county.
CPRE Oxfordshire is warning that, alongside the widely recognised climate change and biodiversity emergencies, ‘business as usual is just not an option’, stating that: “Growth on anything like the scale proposed would be incompatible with preserving the rural nature of Oxfordshire. Future development needs to balance economic growth with protecting the county’s communities, character and countryside.”
Helen Marshall, Director of CPRE Oxfordshire explained: “A Better Vision for Oxfordshire sets out our views on how an appropriate level of development could be brought forward in a sensitive and well-planned way that would both protect and enhance the landscape of Oxfordshire, and its towns and villages for the benefit of everyone. We hope to inspire current Oxfordshire residents to help ensure that anyone living in Oxfordshire in 2050 can still experience the advantages of our rural county.”
CPRE Oxfordshire’s guiding principles, and means of realising its Vision, are that: • The amount of development, and its timescale, should be based on natural growth and migration • Brownfield land should be developed first. Green Belt and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) should be developed as a last resort under proven exceptional circumstances • Genuinely affordable housing should be made available, in perpetuity, to address local need • High densities of development should become standard, to avoid losing more land than necessary • Any new communities must be sustainable and existing rural communities need investment to support services and infrastructure • Job creation should reflect Oxfordshire’s existing skill base while addressing areas of need to reduce unsustainable commuting
To read ‘A Better Vision for Oxfordshire. visit the CPRE Oxfordshire website: HERE The accompanying film can be watched HERE
