Council Rejects Cattle Market Move

THE man behind a proposal to relocate Thame’s cattle market to the Thame Show ground, said last night that he was “gob-smacked” by Thame Town Council’s decision to recommend refusal of the plan.
Mr Bob Williams, who is a Director of both the cattle market and the Thame Show, as well as of the applicant company, was speaking after a special meeting of the town council’s Planning committee last night, to hear Mr Williams’ presentation and other speakers who wished to make their views known on the proposal.
Mr Williams’s stated main reasons for the necessity of moving the cattle market were:-
* That the current site is too small for the necessary changes needed for new, statutory bio-security measures, pollution control, animal welfare and other necessary investment and enhancements to tackle new challenges to the farming industry.
* That, because of the short lease remaining on the current site (15 years), there is no security of tenure for the market.
* That the future of the Thame Show, which is currently weather dependent, would be strengthenend if it could gain income from enhanced usage of the site.
* Reduced service costs for both organisations if the site is shared.
* That the proposal would help ensure that Thame, as a market town, continues to flourish in the future.

He claimed that current planning and sustainability of agricultural economies policies supported the proposal and that he has the backing of the farming community.

Mr James (Chubb) Castle, representing owners of land in Oxford Road and Rycote Lane, told the meeting that his group were strongly in favour of the construction of a new market but felt that their proposed site in Rycote Lane, adjoining the new Ford Garage: “.. would be more suitable, and could keep the market site in the ownership of SODC as guarantor of the facility when built.”

Mr Chubb maintained that landscape, local amenity and transport and highways factors make the proposed site unsuitable.

Mr Bob Hewitt told the meeting that traffic counts and other highways studies had shown that the 50-60 more vehicles during the peak time in the mornings, would not make any significant difference to waiting times at Cromwell Road’s junctions with the A4125 by-pass road.(Both Cllrs Donald Butler and Nigel Champken-Woods expressed concerns about Lea Park residents who currently have difficulty in getting on to the by pass in the morning rush hour.)

Cllr David Laver said that he was convinced by a need for the long-term survival of both the Thame show and the cattle market, and that he did not think the proposed relocation would change Thame as a market town.

Mr Darren Baker, speaking on behalf of Cmag, the Cattle Market Action Group, said that his organisation was broadly in favour of the proposals, although they had some reservations because there were no detailed plans available. He urged the council to take this opportunity to look at the community needs of the town, whose population had grown but where community facilities had decreased.

The committee voted four to three, against the application with several abstentions.

The plan will shortly go to the local planning authority, South Oxfordshire District Council, for consideration.