Notes from a hot, sticky Thame Town Council meeting

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!