AMENDED: News snippets from this week in Thame
AMENDMENTS 25/04/14 – Lighting story removed as it has now come to light (sorry!) that there was no actual ‘switch on’ after-all, and some additional information has been added to the Archaeological study of Elms Park:
THAME ARTIST’S HOLOGRAPHIC TEXTILES ON SHOW
AN award winning Thame textile artist will be among several exhibitors at Saturday’s Artists and Makers Fair at Thame Town Hall.
Sophie Court
Sophie Court recently won a prestigious award at the British Craft Trade Show is held in Harrogate, the longest running trade fair in the UK. She was the proud winner of the Attire Accessories Magazine, Best Fashion Accessory Award in the New Comers section, competing with 75 emerging artists. The judges were particularly impressed with Sophie’s new childrens collection and the use of holographic material. They also mentioned that as Sophie’s pieces were reversible, this was an innovative idea which stood out to them.
DRIVING BAN FOR DRINK-DRIVER
A Thame woman has been banned from driving for 18 months, after admitting drink-driving in Churchill Crescent, Thame.
Olivia Parsons, 21, of Michaelis Road, Thame, admitted committing the offence on November 9, 2013. She was found to have 158 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of blood, which is above the legal limit of 80 micrograms. As well as the driving ban, Ms Parsons was fined £200, ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge, and £85 costs.
HISTORICAL ELMS PARK
A local historian and resident of Thame, Phil Williams, has been given permission by Thame Town Council to carryout a ‘non invasive’, archeological survey of Elms Park.
Hedley Purser officially opens the gate to the new, Elms Park, in 1951
The use of the site goes back thousands of years, long before it was officially opened to the public by Hedley Purser (son of Leonard Purser, who gifted the land to the town for use as a recreational area) on June 9, 1951 at a ‘Grand Fete’ as part of Thame’s Festival of Britain celebrations.
The town council has stated: “Mr Williams has commissioned a company to carry out a magnetometry survey that will reveal whether the prehistoric archaeology found at Church Farm and Cornmarket is also present in Elms Park. The survey will not involve any digging or soil disturbance; instead a small team will traverse the park taking readings in one-metre wide strips on the surface of the area.
“It is believed there is reasonable chance that the survey will reveal archaeology, and will be a valuable contribution to the understanding of the archaeological heritage of the park and of Thame as a whole. “
The findings of the survey could have implications for any future planning application for development on the adjoining land, known as The Elms, which is one of the sites designated for development in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.
POT HOLES
FOLLOWING an announcement from the Department for Transport of a pot of extra Government funding – enough to fix more than three million potholes, County Council Leader, Ian Hudspeth, has revealed that Oxfordshire will be bidding for some of the cash.
Successful local authorities will sign a Pothole Pledge as a condition of the funding, setting out the number of potholes they will have repaired by March 2015.
Thame’s MP, John Howell, has welcomed the news and said: ““This is a great opportunity to improve the roads in the Henley constituency and deal with the blight of potholes. Oxfordshire County Council has made a substantial bid for money which I support.”
SOLUTION IN SIGHT FOR THE LEA PARK ‘MAZE’
Cllr Helena Fickling, demonstrates where one of
the new sign posts planned for Lea Park might be
RESIDENTS of Lea Park in Thame, especially those who have moved into the area recently, will soon be able to find their way more easily by foot, using the notorious maze of alley ways and foot paths that criss-cross the housing development.
21st Century Thame, the town Partnership, is hoping that the new signage they are planning to point the way to the town centre, the Health Centre and other popular places in the town, will encourage people to walk or cycle instead of using their cars – a healthier option for both people and the environment, and reducing the number of cars for which parking places have to be provided.
The Working Group responsible for the project are hoping local people will help them come up with suitable names for the paths and cut-throughs to give them an identity on the various routes through Lea Park. The Partnership is currently talking to Oxfordshire County Council about funding and other monies will come out of the so-called ‘Section 106’ contributions that developers of new housing sites have to contribute to local infrastructure.
The main gallery of Thame Museum
LEAKY MUSEUM
THAME museum, which first opened in 2007, converted from the old Thame Court House, is currently causing some concerns to the Trustees, after water was found to be leaking through the roof into the main gallery and library.
An inspection of the roof is to be carried out to establish the source of the leak and the town council is looking into costings for chimney capping and improvements to lighting and humidity control, recommendations made after a recent Health Check at the museum.
