12/04/13……Neighbourhood Plan – Clarification of points raised in local press

DEAR editor, We all share Claire Forrest?s concerns for the future of Thame [letter – local press Apr 5], but her’s is a personal view.

All the points she makes were addressed during the 18mths of consultation. The resulting Plan represents a consensus view, which is both deliverable and sustainable. It disperses development sites around Thame, whereas the alternative would be SODC?s proposal to put most of the housing on one single estate. Site F is already carrying its fair share of development under the Plan with a large housing estate, plus expansion of Lord Williams School, plus a reserve for a new Primary school. Each site presents challenges with increased amount of traffic but the time to address these is when the individual sites come forward for detailed planning consent.

One of the key elements of the Neighbourhood Plan is the low level density of housing on each site which will mean houses will have decent gardens. The last thing Thame needs is another Lea Park with its high density of housing, narrow roads & insufficient parking. I believe each site is required to have 40% affordable houses, so they will be spread around the town too.

On a point of detail the ?centuries old grazing field? has not been used for grazing for many years, and the reduced relatively small amount of development on The Elms would release the land for public access and leisure- an extension of Elms Park giving better connectivity to the town centre.

Most importantly Ms Forrest states that if the town votes No it will still have a say where the new housing goes. WRONG! A No vote means the SODC planning officers & the district councillors from Didcot, Wallingford & Henley, who know nothing of & care little about Thame, will decide.

We elected the town council to represent us. They have spent the last 2 years working hard on this Plan, consulting widely & taking professional advice. No Plan can be perfect but they have come up with an excellent one, which I note was applauded by the Independent Examiner. Our Councillors deserve our support at this crucial time. Say Yes for Thame on May 2nd.

Barry Yates
Yes for Thame group