Thame news snippets: What’s been going on in Thame this week?
A resident of Sycamore Road, Thame, is to receive a letter from Thame Town Council, warning him that he may face legal action over the unauthorised cutting down of a swathe of foliage on the Cuttlebrook Nature Reserve – apparently to improve his view!
The resident has apparently told the council that he has evidence of having received approval to carry out the work, but no such evidence can be found in the council’s records.
THAME is rapidly running out of burial space. Thame Town Council is to spend up to £1,150 on further ground investigations on part of the allotments next to St Mary’s churchyard, to see if it is suitable for extending the church yard. The council has said that if land in the adjacent allotments is deemed unsuitable i.e. the water table is too high to avoid associated pollution, the church may have to consider reusing graves that are at least 100yrs old or closing the churchyard.
THE Remembrance Day parade, which will take place on November 10, was the unexpected subject of a protracted and heated debate at Tuesday’s meeting of Thame Town Council’s Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee.
After criticism in the local press after last year’s procession, describing the town councillors’ contribution as resembling ‘a rabble’, the committee Chair, Cllr Nicola Dixon, who had up to this point driven the meeting at an almost unseemly pace (may be eager to get the meeting over so that councillors could rush home to watch the England game?) suddenly suggested that councillors should get together and practice marching.
Several councillors objected to the suggestion, Cllr Andy Gunn saying that “Councillors are not members of the armed forces!” As no agreement could be reached by the committee, it was decided to take the matter to full council at its next meeting on Tuesday, September 24.
THE date for next year’s Music In the Park is to be moved to the May Bank holiday weekend, May 4th, because the previously agreed date fell the day before local Primary school children sit their SATs exams and so need to get a full night’s rest.
THE Mayor of Thame, Peter Lambert, has expressed his sadness that there is to be a delay in the refurbishment of Thame skate park, as he made it one of his priorities in his inaugural speech on being elected as Mayor. The refurbishment of the skate park was stalled earlier this year when the council realised that a planning application was needed before any grant applications could be made. The council says that the project is “a huge priority” but that funding is essential to enable the £250,000 project to move forward.
DESPITE the success of this year’s Carnival, the future of the event is uncertain. A new Chairperson is urgently needed as well as some volunteers to help, from the local community. If you would like to assist in keeping this annual tradition alive, you can contact the Town Hall on 01844 212833.
This year’s carnival raised £2000 for the Thame Youth Café which opened back in January, a year after County Council funding was withdrawn and the youth centre closed.
The number of unemployed claimants in the Henley constituency, which includes Thame, fell in August. At 523 claimants, this represents a rate of 1.1% of the economically active population aged 16 to 64, the 647th lowest percentage of the 650 UK constituencies.
The number of claimants is 129 lower than in August 2012, and four lower than in July 2013. The number of claimants in Thame was 72.
John Howell MP said: “It is once again refreshing to see a drop in the number of unemployed claimants in the constituency. This is good news. There is no room for complacency here and our thoughts are with those who still cannot find a job. However, the figures speak for themselves in showing the constituency is doing well in this area.”
TWO continental markets will be held in Thame in 2014. An Italian market will be held on March 7 and 8, and a French market October 31 and November 1, 2014.
