Proposed Thame housing development gets mixed response
AFTER a slow start, a steady stream of local people went to Thame Town Hall yesterday to examine the plans for the proposed housing development on what is known in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan as Site C.
Exhibiition board showing artist’s impression of some of the homes proposed for Site C
The visitors, including local councillors and the Mayor of Thame, Peter Lambert, were able to study the proposals in detail and to ask questions of the team from Wimpey and Commercial Estates, and to express their own views about the proposals.
The Site C proposal is for 187 homes in total on land East of Thame in Thame Park Road, bordering Thame Park itself and Wenman Road, the B4012. The proposals include new allotments and space for a new burial ground for when St Mary’s Church yard becomes full, which it is due to do in the not-too-distant future.
The plans for the development of Site C, show proposals for two access points from Wenman Road, a pedestrian access point from Thame Park Road, and several new footpaths and cycle ways, including pedestrian access across open farm land behind the site, to Cuttle Brook.
Wimpey own the half of the site nearest Thame Park Road, and their spokesman said that they were likely to be submitting Planning Permission very soon, and hope to start building in the Autumn. The other half of the site, which will be included in the Planning application, is currently owned by Commercial Estates. Their spokesman said that once planning permission is granted and they have established points of design etc, they will sell their half to a developer, and it will probably be built over a longer time scale.
Although the murmering in room was generally in favour of the plans, the main concerns seemed to be around potential rat-running through smaller roads like Croft Road and East Street, to get to the town from Wenman Road, increased traffic in Chinnor Road and Park Street, and the most talked-about, the fact that only 15 -20% of the new homes will be two- bedroomed and therefore affordable to first time buyers and smaller family units and single people – a particular need in the town, many of them felt.
A local estate agent at the exhibition reported that a two bed property in Lea Park that he sold in October, went for £189,000, whereas a similar property last week sold for over £220,000, illustrating he said, an acute shortage of such smaller properties on the market in the town.
A Wimpey spokesman explained that the minimum percentage of smaller properties for developments in the district was a South Oxfordshire Dictrict Council planning policy.
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Not mention of additional school spaces or Doctors surgeries expansion. What a shame a lovely market town like Thame is going to become overcrowded, if no practical expansion goes on in the town.
Be nice to have some new houses in Thame bet they are not under £250000 that why we all have to live in fairford leys instead of where we all were from,
Affordable houses need to be built in Thame not houses that cost 250 to 400 thousand.
Not fair why can’t they be the same prices as other housing around local towns ???
If houses don’t become reasonable prices all our children will also have to move from the area they grew up in as well.
Is there a reason that Councillors flocked to this presentation but were conspicuous by their absence from the recent presentation for the proposed Elms Development?