You’d think that the numbers trying to access the site would be a clue that people need places to swim. Fair enough – this site is dangerous. (Although is it? no quotes from anyone who has actually been injured there, and the birds look quite happy!) But why not create a safe site? If a quarry can be dug, why can a natural swimming pond not be? Natural swimming has well documented health benefits. Why is so much energy spent trying to keep people out of the water, when it’s clear there is huge demand for good natural swimming facilities.
Laura … what an exciting time!
I have total confidence that you will do an absolutely sterling job of bringing together the community, both from a business and social perspective, and I know you’ll be injecting some fabulous new ideas and initiatives.
Wishing you phenonemal fun and success!
Faz
I can help, my grandfather was frank Honniball (he went to Epsom) and we know about Lionel Crabb, his mother lived at my grandfathers house till she passed. Happy to help with any questions you have!
Please have words with the Cottage Bakery on Upper High Street, Thame. As a resident I am regularly forced to go into the bakery to get them to let my car out of its parking space. They park their vans entirely illegally in front of the bakery with no hazard lights causing hazardous conditions for people crossing the road and trying to park in the spaces that they have obscured. I have photographic timestamped evidence from today Friday Dec 11th, where I received undue road rage abuse due to their vehicle being parked in the highway whilst I was parking my car a few metres ahead. They left their vehicle in the middle of the road for 45 minutes with no lights on and no hazards before they were advised to make use of the adjacent parking space which was there throughout. Happy to supply timestamped photographic evidence for today. Nb. This is not a loading/unloading issue, I have no problem with that as they are a business and people can see what is going on.
Such kind words Ken! Thank you. I’m looking forward to a new adventure!! May be we will see you at a planning meeting before long. No doubt you will have a view on the proposed new Health hub under discussion!
Sad news for Thame but sounds a good lifestyle choice for you and your family. Thank you for all you have done for the town. If I ever attend the Planning Committee it will be strange to see you on the other side of the desk! Enjoy retirement – you have earned it.
Very best wishes,
Ken
Thank you for those very kind words Elaine and Alan. You have both been loyal supporters, particularly Alan who designed our very first, beautiful logo!
Wishing you all the best in your retirement – but it seems there islots of other activities to keep you busy. Thank you for keeping the residents of Thame informed over the years. You will be missed.
Hi Sarah,
I know this is an old post but I’d love to help. I’m based in Walter’s Ash, near High Wycombe. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.
Maria
Young families will have more than one car. The plans only allow 1 car parking space per household. The site does not provide parking space for any extra cars therefore the congestion already seen in Windmill road and Windmill place will only get worse. Why do planners never look at providing parking and space when designing new estates?
John Howell MP has again voted to support breaking international law. What are his grounds for doing so? Unfortunately, his website justification doesn’t make legal sense and the Government’s law officers are now in breach of their constitutional roles and professional obligations, so this isn’t a normal day in the office at all, but a very slippery slope. He has failed to stand for democracy, the constitution and his constituents. It may be called the Conservative Party, but it is clearly controlled by totally different people to say, in local terms, Lord Heseltine. History will judge those harshly who just went along with it. Where was this in the Manifesto John Howell MP was elected on? I would call on constituents to raise these basic issues with him and ask why the careers of politicians should be prioritised over democratic norms.
Hello again Lorraine. The reply I have received from the promoter of the project is: “Assisted living would be available to anyone with the need of a care package. This is usually for elderly people needing assistance with daily living; dressing washing, maybe cooking as well as giving advice on managing and leading their lives on as normal and independent a basis as possible. This can be a holistic approach and include matters of the mind as well. All people in need of care would qualify although some youngsters will need more care than this facility can offer.” If you have any further questions about the Health Hub, can I suggest you contact Cllr Nigel Champken Woods via the Town Council, who is the council’s representative covering this proposal. nigel.champken-woods@thametowncouncil.gov.uk
31 units won’t cut it! Thame needs this kind of housing all over the town not in a ghetto on the edge of town. This development would mean 50+ cars crossing the Phoenix Trail. The Nelson St/Southern Road/Elms Road/Windmill Road axis is already a traffic nightmare….
The right idea but 100% the wrong site!
Has anyone lost a Hearing Aid?
I found one on Thame High Street, near Sainsbury’s on Tuesday September 8th. It was probably dropped whilst remo ing a mask!
If you know who it belongs to, please call or text : 07977 147273.
Hoping we can find the owner.
Arthur, Thame has had a community bank since 2013 https://www.thame.net/archives/10798 Admittedly it could do with more promotion. Regarding local development initiatives, we have the Thame Neighbourhood Plan which involved a lot of community workshops, consultation etc, and which is now in the early stages of revision. So I’m sure there will be lots of opportunity in the coming months for local, community involvement in that local development initiative – it has to by law. Out of interest, do you see anything of merit in the Green Living Plan?
I don’t see anything within the listed topics you presented about social interaction other than ‘joining in’ under the main headings. What about community involvement around such areas as a local development initiative and a local credit union? These would help to develop a keen sense of community involvement in local concerns which are clearly of benefit as well as furthering this local green living plan.
A bit late Norma ANDj Jenny but I will really miss you both
Thank you both for dll you help posting me my supplies to usa and finding the crazy things I asked for
!!!!I hope to see you soon at the moment I am recobering from a broken hip. Much love to you both. Anna xx
Building on this site will increase yet furthur traffic travelling along Southern Road which is already very busy in an area where many children use it to travel to school and older people using mobility scooters or walking aids to access the shops. It has become extremely dangerous with very narrow paths and cars parked at the kerbsides.
Can you please provide some information about ‘a similar plan about 10 years ago’ ? We can find no reference to such a scheme in the archives. Thank you.
We met Peter and Barbara when holidaying with our friends, the Lawrence’s, in South west France. They were so very friendly and welcoming and they became part of our secret engagement party that year, which was something I will never forget. They touched our souls. Paul and Amanda Hensby xx
I was against a similar plan about 10 years ago which was before Corbetts Way was built. I am certainly against this new plan. Thame can hardly cope with all the new housing which has appeared in the last few years.
This is such a lovely tribute Barbara. We have been lucky to have known you both for so many years in Towersey and Thame. We have had such great holidays and family gatherings. So many wonderful memories. Our love goes to you and all the family. Sue and Les.
Peter has been a great family friend for many years, and in the noughties I had the privilege of directing him in many of the Towersey Pantomimes, where he was so much fun to work with with his spirited good humour and lovely smile. I’m glad to have known him and he will be missed by many. My thoughts go to his family at this sad time.
Absolutely against this plan, the thin end of the wedge for destroying this part of Thame, windmill rd, southern rd and Nelson st are already a nightmare with parked cars blocking one lane of the road, this area is completely unsuitable and more traffic will only make thing worse, we already have problems with the traffic/drivers from the new corbetts way estate, the tiny access rd to the allotments should be left alone
ABOUT TIME ! NON DISABLED DRIVERS PARKING IN DISABLED BAYS AND NO BLUE BADGE ! AND BLOCKING DROPPED KERBS SO ANY BODY WITH A PRAM WHEELCHAIR DISABLES PEOPLE WITH ROLATORW AND WALKING STICKS THEY MAKE IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THEM SAME SHOULD APPLY TO THE CAR PARKS IN THAME
Hi Cherry, the instructions for how to apply are at the end of the article. You need to email Nick Marriner, the project lead, directly: nmarriner@chilternsaonb.org
I’m afraid Jim Barrett is no longer with us, but it lovely to hear from you and hear your connection to these wonderful local characters.
UPDATE – I’ve just learned the said news that Jack too recently passed away.
My mothers cousin Jack Winward was onboard HMS Mounsey and was killed when th torpedoe hit. He was in the aft section of the ship and was a sick berth attendant. I have visited Loch Ewe many times but only discovered by accident about ten years ago that Jack set sail from Loch Ewe.
This cycle route has been an aspiration for many years and several feasibility studies etc have been done by SUSTRANS and Bucks CC for instance. The overland route has been thwarted by problems of Land ownership. But, a route is currently being worked on, hence the current public consultation. Such is route is supported by by OCC, SODC and Thame Town Council, where it features in Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan, currently being reviewed. There is ‘money in the pot’ towards such a scheme, so we can only hope that something will finally come of this latest proposal.
I have thought for a long time that there should be an off-road cycle route from Thame to Haddenham and Thame Parkway Station. It is afar too dangerous to cycle along the main road, so this would reduce traffic.
NB the road from the station to Haddenham centre is in a dreadful state for cyclists.
SO local districts as poor as the government then!!!! Is it a wonder there is not enough money for basic services when our systems are so inefficient?!
I am a person, that voted leave at the referendum, but I am so sick and tired, of the way Parliament has acted over the result, I have changed my mind and I think we need to stay.
I have seen your adgenda for the upcoming election and I am impressed that you are for the people of the area you wish to represent.
There is only one thing that is holding me back, it is your leader, I am not a fan.
Please tell me why I should vote for L D.
Regards.
Peter Maidman
A bit late but, I hope you are enjoying your retirement, Jenny and Norma and thank you for supporting the Christmas Sugarcraft shows I used to organise at the Winter Gardens, Weston-s-Mare, for Bleadon Sugarcraft Club. I was interested to see that Norma is/was intending to learn to swim. I’d be interested to know how it is going. I was a qualified swimming teacher here in Weston for 54 years. I remember reading in one of my swimming magazines that a lady of 90 years had learned to swim and got her 10m badge! It’s never too late to learn to swim Norma, if I can help with any advice please contact me. Best wishes, Rachel
the park belongs to the residents of thame not the council it is quite clearly on the contract . it is also the council.s job to provide a shelter a drinking fountain and toilets . elms park has nothing to do with rectory homes they can do nothing with out permission from the owners which is us the residents.
Say what you like ,Its the same old story .
You can demostaight and shout your head off
The goverment pretend to lisen but in the end They do what suits them
They do not give a toss until election day
Who needs them
I strogly request that if option A is voted upon, that within this a strong consideration is given to working towards zero carbon, as this must now be an overarching goal in all aspects of the districts work. With any limited powers the council has, I want them used to protect our environment and not result in more climate damage.
Chris, thank you very much for your feedback which we appreciate. We report actions etc regarding our MP John Howell whenever they are drawn to our attention as you will see from this link: https://www.thame.net/?s=Howell but we are basically a ‘one man band’ and can’t have eyes and ears everywhere. We depend on local people to keep us informed about what’s going on in Thame and the surrounding villages, and on social media. But it is not always appropriate as a politically neutral news service to publish what goes on there, as you will appreciate! John Howell does issue news letters on his website https://www.johnhowell.org.uk/news which can be informative if you’re interested in his daily goings-on. Thanks again. Sonja
John Howell MP has dangerously mischaracterised the key principle of the Constitution in his communication to constituents. See the article from the Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford.
Good letter Roy. I think we should more coverage of the actions of our MP wiht regard to brexit matters. The constituency that elected him is 57% remain yet he persistently puts his and his party’s interest before those of his Constituents and the country. We have a representative parliamentary democracy which means he is supposed to represents us in Parliament. Regardless of political persuasion, on this most important matter he does not do this but he is mere government lobby fodder. I think thame.net should be doing more to cover and question the actions of Mr Howell so elector’s can be well informed come the vote.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain on Monday night, and I wasn’t expecting musical and comic genus!!! They were amazing! They are obviously talented Ukelele players, but are also good harmonic singers with a fantastic sense of humour. I don’t know how they managed to all sing different songs at the same time to the same accompaniment (pretending they couldn’t agree what song to sing), but it sounded wonderful. What a collection of songs and tunes as well – very versatile and something for everybody. I would definitely recommend that you go and see them somewhere if you get the chance.
I have gone into a depression!! It is interesting that there has been nothing said about this on the website before it opened on Thursday. Also, the line up is really good for next year already – reminiscent of having Joan Armatrading on the first festival on the Thame Showground site. I guess those who come from outside Thame will not be bothered where it is being held.
I Love Towersey Festival – it is a highlight of my year and marks the end of Summer. I especially love the fact that is is walking distance from home. I understand why they are doing this, I suppose, but am in mourning!!!
Anita.
This is worth considering. I understand residents of Nelson St, Southern Road, Windmill Road and Rocks Lane have been asking for a re-ordering of their roads / parking etc for some time now too. Do any councilors / former councilors live on these roads who could bring this to the fore?
I am very pleased that SODC are meeting to discuss ways of reducing CO2 emissions. This is the most important issue of our times and I will give this issue my full support, by supporting SODC and by taking action to reduce my own carbon footprint.
(OX39 4QU)
I should like to point out that that council’s explanation for turning down the proposed Climate Emergency ‘…, by declaring an ‘emergency’ environmental issues would be put ahead of all else in decision making (e.g. social well-being / personal safety / equality / prevention of crime etc),’ is absolutely NOT the case. Throughout the debate it was reiterated that the council was only being asked to do everything it could ‘WITHIN ITS POWERS’. Putting anything “ahead of all else in decision making (e.g. social well-being / personal safety / equality / prevention of crime etc),’ would be totally illegal, and therefore not expected nor asked for!
SO SAD TO HEAR THAT THE THAME GAZETTE IS FINISHING AFTER SO MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN PART OF THAME AND SURROUNDING VILLAGES WITH LOCAL NEWS ETC NOT ALL PEOPLE HAVE THE INTERNET PERHAPS SOME LOCAL ORGANISATION WILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE A LOCAL LETTER/ BULLETIN THAT CAN BE OBTAINED AT LOCAL SHOPS OR THE TOWN HALL
I have a blue badge and occasionally park behind the town hall so I can walk a few yards to my hairdresser, butchers, etc. I have been blocked in by taxi driver parking alongside my car and I have had to knock on driver’s window to demand they move so I can drive off. How bad is that? I used to live in Aylesbury and know an awful lot about the behaviour of the taxi drivers.
I have noticed a new habit taxi drivers have now – they don’t just park on the double yellow lines behind the town hall but also regularly park in the High Street on double yellow lines right in front of the Black Horse . Why do they think they can come to Thame and just ignore traffic laws?
So helpful and full of tips and great advice for us novice bakers. Thanks for all your help over the years. Enjoy your retirements and good luck to Pauline!
Hello, my friend and I are looking to do some environmental volunteer work that can be done together.
If you can please let me know the relevant opportunities available in the Thame area, that would be appreciated.
Anything to do with wildlife, outdoors, etc. Would be great.
Thank you.
The continued uncertainty over Brexit is creating a huge loss to businesses generally each and every day that it continues. People are delaying decisions to invest, expand and grow etc. whilst they await an outcome. That cost is almost impossible to quantify. We all need certainty.
DISGUSTING THE PUPILS IF TODAY ARE OUR FUTURE FOR TOMORROW MONEY MUST BE PUT INTO OUR SCHOOLS WE HAVE 3 GRANDCHILDREN AT LWS AND 2 THAT ARE NOW AT UNI
1 NOW READING LAW AT OX BRKS HAVING GAINED A DOUBLE FIRST AT UEA IN HISTORY AND POLITICS WITH HONS AND OR 2ND GRANDAUGHTER DOING A DEGREE IN FASHION MARKETING AT FALMOUTH I GRANDAUGHTER IN LOWER 6TH
1 GRANDSON 1ST YEAR AY LWS UPPER 1 IN 1ST YEAR AT LOWER SCOOL WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH EDUCATION THEY RECEIVE
PLEASE MR HINES GIVE OUR SCHOOLS THE MONEY THEY NEED TO EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN WELL DONE TO MR WYBRON AND HIS STAFF THEY ARE GIVING THERE ALL UNDER VERY DIFFICULT FINANCIAL TIMES FOR SCHOOLS
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU GIVE
Excellent piece, and it very much applies to his Parliamentary neighbour David Lidington.
The inevitable loss of BMW from Oxford in the event of no-deal will be a body blow to the city. It will hit the hard working communities of Blackbird Leys the hardest where many of the workers live. However, BMW workers are not just restricted to Blackbird Leys, they live in Thame, Haddenham, Aylesbury and a host of other places scattered around Oxon and Bucks.
Thank you Robin Storey for writing this. I know very many people in this constituency will agree with you. I will be there at the march with my teenaged children and their friends. It is their future we are fighting for.
We have nothing against the building of more houses but surely common sense tells you that along side that we need more amenities ie another Doctors Surgery and another school !!!!!!!
I wholly agree with the questions and sentiments expressed by Roy. Nothing I have heard or learnt over the last two years has convinced me that leaving witout a deal with the EU would not be wholly damaging to our economy our businesses our Farmers and fishermen and our people.The latest idea I have heard is that we might devalue the pound from comments by the minister of agriculture.
Dear ‘John Smith’, Thame.net IS about Thame news. I suspect you are confusing the editor’s own personal views expressed in social media posts, with news reports on the Thame.net website. Here’s a link to all the Thame news stories published just this week – none of them biased in any way: https://www.thame.net/archivenews/all-news If our MP is challenged, that is Thame-related news. If you or anyone else want to publish an open letter in support of our MP, Thame.net would be delighted to publish it. I’m assuming you don’t read the Mail, the Express, the Telegraph or any other national paper that blatantly publishes anter-Labour, anti climate change ‘news’ stories? If you don’t want to continue following Thame.net, then stop, and get your Thame news from the Thame Gazette – good luck with that!
I thought this website was supposed to be about Thame news. This is not Thame news it is your political views. I note you keep showing your Remainer colours, Don’t. Please stick to what you are supposed to be reporting and stop using it as your political platform !
Hi Joe
I will never forget the day I had a call from your Mum, you were in a coma at the JR…. it was beyond horrific, you survived and went on to become a very successful young man. You have overcome, and continue to live with massive injuries. Your zest for life is amazing, and your achievements outstanding.
Your life will never be the same following the accident in 2009, as appreciated by your family, but it is now different and taking you to pursuits maybe never previously in your dreams
I wish you well
Jen xx
Yes Joe, you have done so well, I will never forget the day I had a call from you parents on the day of your accident… it’s was beyond horrific.. you were in a coma .. you recovered.. very many weeks later ..your life was never going to be the same again … but you have survived and you have accomplished so much .. with immense support and a fantastic mind set … well done .. my thoughts are with you and your amazing family always
With love
Jen x
A very good question! This route has been campaigned for, researched, had feasibility studies done for it, various nice words expressed by the two county councils involved (Bucks CC and Oxfordshire CC), it’s been said to be part of ‘Transport policey’ but nothing has been forthcoming – probably to do with local authority cuts, and the necessity to have to prioritise social care, education etc. I do believe Thame Town Council has some Section 106 mmoney from developers put aside from it and it is an aspiration in Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan and Green Living Plan (currently out for consultation). SUSTRANS have also been involved. We cyclists live in hope!
I am due to move to Thame later this year, and have been looking everywhere for news on this supposed commuter route between Thame and the station in Haddenham. Is there a reason it hasn’t been funded, or that all news seems to have stopped?
Surely there is a huge desire for this, to improve a lot of people’s commute significantly, and to reduce the amount of cars on the roads.
Reduce the price of houses already built. Give it 50 years and this whole country will be full of concrete. But having said that, the council will always do what they want; never mind the lack of decent roads and health centres!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BOOK HOUSE! WONDERFUL ASSET TO THAME. REMEMBER WHEN JOHN AND JUDITH SKINNER OPENED IT IN LOWER HIGH STREET WHERE WB YEATES LIVED AND THE PUFFIN USED TO BE OUTSIDE. MY CHILDREN MET THE LATE ROAL DOAHL THERE. LONG MAY IT REIGN!
I always thought that Politicians were meant to serve the people and their country and do what’s best for both. John Howell and Mrs May do need reminding of this. Despite the evidence to the contrary, despite the experts’ opinion, despite the latest polls and the opinion of people in the street, they seem intent on continuing down a road which is already damaging the(ir) country. Thank you to Robin for highlighting all that is wrong with this and reminding Mr Howell that the People’s Vote is the only obvious solution out of this economic and democratic mess.
As another constituent of Dr John Howell, I would like to add my name to what Robin Storey says above. Theresa May is at present knowingly pursuing a course of action which will damage the economy, deplete the NHS, British industry and the education sector of many of its most valuable stuff, and reduce this country’s sovereignty by taking away its voice in Europe. She is doing all this in the name of “taking back control“ and honouring the “will of the people“. There was no informed consent for such actions at the time and the world has changed dramatically in the interim. Doing the wrong thing simply because it is popular is a very poor excuse indeed. Future generations will not forgive her or those MPs who follow the same line despite knowing it is wrong.
One of the worst aspects of what has happened is that politicians of both main parties have allowed our democracy to be misused and subverted by a group of kamikaze Brexiteers who demonstrably do not have the common good at heart. They have already been repeatedly proven wrong, as witness the claims that the Irish border problem would be easily soluble and that trading arrangements would be ‘the easiest deal in history’. They are deeply discredited and those who follow their advice were misled. To deny the people of Henley or indeed those of the UK as a whole the right to revisit the decision is absolutely the opposite of democracy.
Well argued piece Robin, although I suspect John Howell will rely on his so-called ‘conversations in the street’ to argue that black is white and that every single one of his constituents agree with him.
The basic questions for such an obviously damaging and senesless action as the United Kingdom abdicating from the empowering, prosperous and democratic European Union have never been answered. Why? What? How? Compounding this incompetence was the decision by Theresa May and her cabal not to trigger the fail safe in the referendum, that the result was advisory it did not empowering the populous to make the decision. The so called “will of the people” argument is a nonsense. But Parliament has never discussed the referendum result and all the alternative courses of action available other than the madness of brexit. In the absence of this fail safe device those concocting the referendum would surely have followed the model of all national referendums, including the referendum on Independence for Scotland and included a minimum majority needed to trigger a change to the status quo. This was not done and consequently a catastrophic process was started to severe a trading relationship that accounts for nearly 50% of the United Kingdoms trade and will tear up constitutional and legal rights granted by Parliament for individuals
to be stripped of their European citizenship. No MP who supports this can be said to or be being seen to act within the Code of Practice for the conduct of MP’s to act in the best interests of their constituents and the nation.
Totally agree. Perhaps John Howell could set up a meeting so he could listen to the concerns of his constituents? There seems to be very little support for Theresa May’s deal in this constituency and an increasingly strong wish for a People’s Vote.
This is just a war of attrition to see who gives in first. He will keep applying until someone gives in. In the meantime the state of the plot is a filthy ugly mess…
We’re so proud and happy that this exchange is going to work concretely ! French and English kids are the future of our friendship !
Thank you so much, Laura, Sonja, Sue, Linda and Twinning members !
With many grateful thanks
Love
Anne and the french Jumelage
I would suggest that when the Greyhound Lane police station was build by the police authority, the economic situation of the country was very different and the old police station in Chinnor Road, was no longer fit for purpose for modern policing. Since then, the police have had their funding drastically cut over the last few years, and so the police found it necessary to sell off some of their prime sites and move to other, cheaper-to-run accommodation.
IT IS SO WRONG TO CUT THE EDUCATION BUDGET IN ANYWAY WHAT SO EVER THESE STUDENTS ARE THE FUTURE OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY CUTTING FUNDING FOR 6TH FORM STUDENTS
IS DREADFUL AND SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO A GOOD EDUCATION AND THEY HAVE A PLACE IN SOCIETY AS WELL AS THE ACADEMIC STUDENTS LWS HAS A GOOD SPECIAL NEEDS DEPT
WE HAVE 3 GRANDCHILDREN AT PRESENT AT THE SCHOOL I IN THE LOWER 6TH AND WE ARE VERY PROUD AND HAPPY GRANDPARENTS HAVE 2 MORE WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH LWS WITH EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
HOPEFULLY JOHN HOWELL WILL RECOMMEND NO CUTS AND PRIMEMINISTER MRS MAY AND CHANCELLOR PHILIP HAMMOND WILL RE THINK THIS
GOOD LUCK TO DAVID WYBRON AND LWS
AND THANK YOU FOR THE EDUCATION WHICH OUR 5 GRANDCHILDREN HAVE RECEIVED AND STILL RECEIVING
The town council has many functions but it is not the final arbiter of planning applications; SODC is the Planning Authority. The town council’s comments on applications are fed to SODC and considered by their Planning committee, but they can – and often do – approve applications the town council may not be happy about.https://www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/thame-town-council/planning/
LOST CAT : Please help! Our cat Tilly , a dark brown tortoiseshell, has gon e missing from Croft Close this morning! She is a house cat and so not used to the big outdoors; she only arrived here yesterday so us not familiar with the area: if anyone sees her or finds her please contact me Sandra on 07989 965 298
IT IS SO WRONG TO CUT FUNDING TO ALL SCHOOLS WE PAY OUR TAXES AND EDUCATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL STUDENTS NOT FOR THE PRIVILAGED WHO ATTEND INDEPENDANT SCHOOLS LORD WILLIAMS IS A VERY GOOD SCHOOL HAVING OUR GRAND CHILDREN ATTEND AND 2 HAVE GONE TO UNI AND WE STILL HAVE 3 AT LW I IN6TH FORM 1 AT UPPER SCHOOL AND I AT LOWER SCHOOL WE ARE VERY CONCERNED IF MORE CUTS ARE MADE WHEN CHILDREN GO TO UNI PARENTS SACRIFICE A GREAT DEAL
ALL THESE CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY WE WILL BE CONTACTING JOHN HOWELL AND MR PHILLIP HAMMOND MUST NOT CUT ANY FUNDING FOR EDUCTION
WE ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH THE EUCATION OUR GRANDCHILD HAVE HAD ARE GETTING AT LWS
Hope to see you there – bring surplus produce. Make your own Autumn decoration, Free children’s activities, home made soup / rolls for lunch. Lots lots more!
If we don’t leave it up to the government MPs to leave the eu, we will be in limbo for years, nothing will get resolved, and the economy will suffer, we need to get out now, so we can get on with business and trade,
I don’t personally have any more knowledge about the poem but I have just tweeted the Betjeman Society @BetjSoc to ask. I can let you know, or, if you’re on twitter, you could hop over their yourself and see if they can throw any light on the subject. I would guess though that the words are so pertinent to such a small audience, that it probably wouldn’t have been worth officially publishing. But you never know.
Hello. About these lines written by Betjeman that you quote. I’m now looking at an autograph Betjeman poem titled ‘Country Silence’ and the first half of it is exactly as in your quotation. I can’t find any evidence that the poem was published. I would be grateful for anything further that you can tell me about it.
To be fair, I wouldn’t take too much notice of the colour from the image: by the time it’s been photographed by SODC from the paper application, and then screen grabbed by the media and reproduced on various websites etc, the colour will have changed. I understand that the colour is likely to be closer to that of the plaque outside The Argyle pub in Henley. See LINK HERE
thank you Towersery and Thame for the oh so gentle, inspiring and friendly festival – our third year of visiting and the friendship and spirit is amazing. I went for the first time to see Roy Bailey, seeing Roy would have been worth all the weekend, Roy is 83 and is a little slower in pace but as strong in voice and passion as every. For new talent Cohen Braithwaite Kilcoyne left me in awe of his incredible voice and playing skills, so young and powerful. Thanks again Towersey and the all the team and musicians that bring this together,
That was what was so lovely about the line up, there was something for everyone. From our favourites we knew , Harry Pane, Blair Dunlop, CC Smugglers, William the Conquerer and The Proclaimers to the ones on our wish list Wildwood Kin, Wilford Social and Great Western Tears. On top of that were the discovery of Honeyfeet and Tankus the Henge to completely top off a great weekend. Add to that the fabulous atmosphere, lovely volunteers and security with the odd Ceilidh dance you will find that Towersey 2018 was one of my all time favourite festivals
The plan so far, is excellent, I would have liked Thame declared a “clean air zone! Let’s get rid of noxious emissions ENTIRELY all the way from diesel-powered HGVs to domestic water heaters that spew out unpleasant gases! All vehicles can be electric now (with hydrogen fuel cells or batteries, Let’s include the Chiltern Line. I have written to them and hope for a reply. German Railways are doing it, why not little Chiltern Railways of which they are a shareholder.
Still missing is community transport for the disabled, elderly and remotely located.
I get fed up with people always parking on double yellow lines between the mini roundabout a The Thatch! It’s every day, but I’ve not once seen a parking ticket on the vehicles.
You make a valid point Sarah. My apologies; I have changed the wording in the lead paragraph. Please feel free to comment further and explain why you support the planning application.
Still we wait for a reply from John Howell, our esteemed MP, to the issues raised in Roy Motteram’s open letter to him. Is he too frightened that he’s got his facts wrong? Is he too scared that he might be held to account by his constituents? Does he even have a reply? Or is he too arrogant to bother replying?
Excellent information and well put.
As a parent with a child at your school who will eventually sit these exams we will support you and your staff any way we can.
Perhaps those who live in Bucks can also contact our MP’s e.g The Speaker John Bercow.
Sorry Anon@yahoo, but we don’t publish comments from anyone without a legitimate email address and verifiable name. Your email address is not shown when your comment is posted but the moderators need to know who you are.
Well done Mr Wybron. As a parent of a GCSE student, I wish to thank the teachers at Lord Bill’s for how incredibly hard they have worked to prepare the students for the exams in highly trying circumstances
Can I go to sleep now? I’ve been waiting since 21st for John Howell MP to reply to Roy Motteram’s perfectly reasonable argument about lies and apologies – perhaps I can add who going to apologise to whom?
Following Paul’s comment I re-read the opening remarks and I can’t understand what Paul is commenting upon. The Brexit debate is still on-going and our Twinning partners were over for a visit. “Gutter Press”? I don’t think so – accurate informative reporting on local events more like!
Hello Sonja
Nous avons hâte de connaître Ann Midwinter une femme Maire de Thame. Congratulations
Huguette (Translation: “We can not wait to meet Ann Midwinter, a woman Mayor of Thame.” )
Congratuations Ann on your election as Mayor of Thame for the coming year Lovely tribute to The Late Mrs Juliia Hussey a real Taminsian to have Girl Guide Ranger as your cadet
Well done to Tom Wyse who has carried out an excellent job as Mayor over the last 12 months
Being aware of the amount of “Fake News” that has come about from the rise of internet-based news sites, I find it rather ironic that Mr Wybron has created some of this own to discredit a national newspaper.
If we are to believe the TVP Press Release then the drug in question is Xanax. This is not available on NHS prescription (which took two minute to find out via Google). Mr Wybron’s explanation of a “prescription drug” is misleading at best.
With the inclusion of misleading information into his statement, can we trust the rest of the content…………I do hope so.
I applaud the staff’s professionalism when dealing with the issue, but Mr Wybron seems to be missing the point of the article.
It is reported that eleven 15-16 year olds where unwell due to drug misuse at Lord Williams’s School where Mr Wybron has a Duty of Care for the children.
In his response he states that he cannot control this…………as a Parent I am extremely worried by that admission.
For information I am not the source of The Sun information nor an employee of any newspaper
No, I think it’s on private land now. There was a publish footpath but I think I heard it has been re-routed but not sure. You could check with Chinnor Parish Council. https://www.chinnorparishcouncil.org.uk/
There is a problem at Lord Williams School. A number of pupils have been expelled and one was hospitalised for over a week. Mr Wybron needs to get a grip.
Ooos! You’re right Tom. I hope nobody actually went to the town hall tonight! Oh well, a good excuse to go to the pub while they were in town 🙂
It’s NEXT Tuesday folks! March 27th.
Richly deserved !! and not just for the great food. The happy smiling faces of the boys and their obvious love for what they do cannot make you feel happy.
Although I fully support the use of electric cars, I’m concerned that having charging points in the town centre will mean that we lose much needed parking spaces. I’ve thought for ages that the cobbled space around the Town hall is totally wasted – could we either move the taxi rank there, or put the chaging spaces in this area?
To those that say “there was a vote to leave, so we should leave”, please note that there was a small majority in an advisory referendum after a monumentally mendacious campaign. As people become aware that the promised “sunny uplands” don’t exist, they will want to call a halt on this car-crash Brexit.
It’s the job of all patriots to campaign to stop this self inflicted damage to the country.
There has been a vote by the people and the result was to leave. Not a lot more to be said really, similar to the election result we can’t do a lot about it if we didn’t vote that particular party in. If the government had been strong enough to make the decision themselves at the time then it wouldn’t have been given to the public to decide.
What a picky point to make! I think that if you count the people in the photograph, you will see at least 50. Also, this picture was taken after some supporters had left because of the rain, or to catch transport home. Secondly, I think you’ll find that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will have far-reaching implications for health and social care in England. Read this from the very respected Kings Fund: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/articles/brexit-implications-health-social-care
I think whoever did the counting must have multiplied by two ! If you are going to protest about something make it a useful protest and support the NHS and accept the democratic vote that took place about Brexit.
THE PRESENT INDUSTRY ON THAT STREACH OF ROAD CAUSE CHAOS AS IT IS VEHICLES TURNING INTO THE TRANSPORT COMPANY ARE SO LARGE SOMETIMES THEY ARE UNABLE TO GET OF THE ROAD AS THE SECURITY BARRIERS ARE TOO CLOSE TO THE ROAD YOU CANNOT PASS BEACAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TRAFFIC IS COMING FROM THAME
MUD ON THE ROAD FROM THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WHO HAVE RECENTLY MOVED THERE IS DREADFUL
SURLEY THAME SHOW GROUND WOULD BE MORE ACCEPTABLE TO ALL CONCERNED AND IS ON THE THAME BYPASS WITH NO DANGEROUSE BENDS AND JUNCTIONS
WE TRAVEL THAT STREATCH OF ROAD MOST DAYS AND HAVE FAMILY WHO USE THE ROAD TWICE A DAY
THE CONDITION OF THE ROAD IS DREADFUL FOR AN A CLASS ROAD
THE CATTLE MARKET MUST STAY IN THAME IS THE ONLY MARKET FOR MANY MILES TO PREVENT ANIMALS BEING TRANSPORTED MILES AND MILES BUT NOT ON THIS SITE
PERHAPS MOVING THE MARKET TO THAME SHOW SITE AND PERHAPS A SHUTTLE BUS INTO THE TOWN WOULD ELEVIATE THE PARKING PROBLEMS
THE EXISTING MARKET SITE WOULD BE A GREAT SITE FOR THE HEALTH CENTRE TO BE RELOCATED NEAR THE TOWN AND PLENTY FO PARKING SPACES FOR PATIENTS
PLEASE RE ADDRESS THIS THAME COUNCIL
Clearly the right decision by the court. She is a mental health patient and needs better care, NOT punishment.
Understanding (not stigmatising) is the only way forward.
Believe me, I know.
I receive treatment for depression and anxiety myself. Also, I have met her. We got on like a house we set on fire!
You’re right! I’ve just checked with the guy who has checked with his management! He sent the press release to me not knowing that there is an embargo! Doh! I’ve taken the post down for now until we get the all clear.
GOOD AFTERNOON
DISGRACEFUL ACT !!! HOPE THEY GET THEIR CUMPANCE
THANK YOU TO THE GENTLEMAN WHO HAS PROVIDED THE 24HOUR SUVALLANCE CAMERA
HAPPY CHRISMAS TO ALL
GOOD MORNING
WHAT A DISGUSTING PRANK BY PERSONS UNKNOWN
IF CAUGHT THEY SHOULD BE EMPLOYED TO CARRY OUT VOLANTARY WORK IN THE TOWN CLEARING LITTER ETC
AND WEAR VESTS STATING THE CRIME THEY COMMITED NO CHRISTMAS SPIRIT !!! THANKYOU TO THE KIND PERSON WHO HAS DONATED THE 24 HOUR CAMERA TRUE CHRISMAS SPIRIT HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND BEST WISHES FOR 2018
Erm..! The first line of the article includes the words ‘THE Oxfordshire EAG (Expressway Action Group) …. If you’d like to be involved, here’s the group’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/expresswayactiongroup/
A new peasants revolt is required to stop this manic proposal. When I went to Oxford as a student in the 1970’s I walked from the Midlands. Coming from the industrial West Riding I was amazed by the rural environment of thatched villages and tree lined lanes. It was possible to penetrate to the heart of the city along green lanes and river banks. It was this experience which made me decide to take up planning as a profession.
I suggest contacting landowners and other influential individuals to form a pressure group tp oppose this urbanisation madness. Todays industrial park is tomorrows derelict site. .
I’m proud of my father, Dermot McCarthy, for all he’s done to raise money for such a wonderful cause! Any funds he raises I’m sure will be used to their fullest potential! Bravo!
-American daughter Erin Maranda
These plans are led by the LEP groups which are dominated by ‘ business driven ‘ Boards. Our Central Bedfordshire Council ( to the East of the ‘ arc’ ) appears to be in the pocket of South East Midlands LEP – SEMLEP- with the leader of our council on the board. These people proclaim the importance of driving through massive development plans which far exceed provision for the existing populace. Their language is pompous and arrogant as their ambition is to beat other LEPs. They think they are unstoppable; when challenged they can innocently claim” we are just doing what the government wants”. Environmental concerns are of no concern to them. Totally nauseating and distressing.
Towards the end of the meeting at the Cross Keys the bus company committed themselves to doing a risk assessment of the route! Surely it is very basic good practice to do a risk assessment before you embark upon a new bus route which involves public safety.
I was on one of the buses last Wednesday which Giles Asbury was filiming and saw him filiming the chaos from his doorstep. Basically the 2 buses got stuck becasue the road was not wide enough becasue people naturally park their own cars outside their own homes, our bus had to reverse back to The Cross Keys because another car has got stuck, I have never seen anything so comical if not sad. The traffic then built up behind the bus and there were alot of very angry drivers and passengers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people walking or cycling to the Town Hall to catch the bus to Aylesbury. Who on earth got the idea to reroute the bus down Park Street and why?
I was born in Thame 71 years ago and I welcome a bit of modernisation. The council was perfectly happy to let houses be built on Wenman Road, so why shouldn’t we have a bus? Park Street is diabolical, just a collection of bumps and potholes. Make it one-way and resurface it. Tell the council to act for us, not only for themselves.
John Howell may be “disappointed” at the “tenor” of headteacher Catherine Darnton at Gillotts in Henley, but Henley parents, like those across the country, are much more that disappointed that the government plans to cut schools budgets.
Her arguments are backed up by the IFS which is very clear:
“From 2015–16 onwards, school spending per pupil has been
frozen in cash terms, which is likely to translate into a real-terms
reduction of around 6.5% between 2015–16 and 2019–20. ” https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/comms/R126.pdf
This is all a completely separate matter from the National Funding Formula which John Howell wrongly blames in order to distract from the real problem. The simple fact is that this govt plans to cut funding to schools. This will result in a loss of quality to our education service
The Thame Food Trail was advertised on the town council’s website, as well as on social media – and of course on Thame.net !! Trail leaflets were being given out in the town centre most of the day on the Saturday, the day of the trail and all the venue involved had leaflets on their counters etc. Keep your eye on Thame.net’s EVENTS page and hopefully, you won’t miss anything that’s going on in the town !!
I live in Thame but I didn’t see this advertised was it just for visitors to the town. I have coffee regularly in the town but must have not seen the notices.
Perhaps it’s time to consider making some of these roads a one way system.
Inconsiderate parking makes them difficult to navigate at the best of times.
Maybe this proposed route could be used as an opportunity to improve things.
BIG mistake moving the Thame Food Festival to the show ground. The main sponsor or the power that be now charges entrance fee of £5 per adult, irregardless of whether you come by car or on foot, whereas previous festivals in the town high street were free to all and only those who chose to drive, park in the showground and use the shuttle bus into the town center need pay (£5 per car, not person). From the local retailers point, this year’s venue change also mean less foot traffic or off-the-street customers, so they suffer, too. No winners all round except the big money boys then. It’s nonsense to say the Festival grew too large for the town – there were enough streets to still accommodate a street festival…. BRING TFF BACK to THAME HIGH STREET, please !
A double decker bus is not ideal for Thame roads. As a council we will be trying in future to get the money to run a Hopper bus around all the estates in Thame.
Interesting choice considering they scrapped the 260 bus route so locals can’t get to work, buts its fine to build a housing estate that locals cannot afford and give the people who have no idea about rural living buses becasue they have had to move out of that nasty city!
Obviously a decision taken by someone who has looked at a map and has never been to Thame or driven these roads. The only sensible bus route to these new houses has to be out on Kingsey Rd, then round the bypass. The double bend over the railway, the parking on both sides of Chinnor road and the narrow stretch of Park Street make this a laughable proposal!
From what I understand the council charge the fair over £27,000 under the present agreement, which is twice as much as Abingdon fair and almost twice as much as Newbury, and they now want to increase this to around £30,000!
It seems to me that the Town Council are pricing the fair out of the town which is a shame as this will be yet another long traditional event which will disappear.
The fair is always attended by thousands of local people and the Town Council should be thinking of the history behind this event and the local community and residents before making such a decision.
Such a shame. Yet another traditional event gone from the calendar. Nice to see the “locals” who have probably lived here for five minutes celebrating the loss of a town tradition, enjoyed by many thousands of residents. A sad day, but I guess we are destined for many more with an increase in miserable old age moaners. Seriously, three days a year, and you’d think a nuclear bomb was dropped on the town. Glad I didn’t go to school with such miserable bar stewards.
Sad Days indeed; The loss of Thame Agricultral show and now the show fair; the slow erosion of all that a market town should be. What next? the Tuesday market?
I guess It’s a sign of the times, as Thame becomes another sterile dormitory town; a Pseudo County Town with it’s high price housing, restaurants, etc the list goes on.
What a disappointment ! No Thame fair, no Thame show. What next? These are traditions many people come back to Thame to visit families for Thame fair. Come on Thame council – reduce the fees and help this continue. The showmen do spend money in the shops and many have been coming for years .
we are very disappointed in the fact thame fair will not take place this has been a tradition for many years people return to thame for the fair who no longer live here ! the showmen also spend in the local shops
it may be inconviennt for people but it is only for 4 days once a year
we all know costs have increased on everything come on thame council keep the tradition of the fair alive we have lost thame show what next thame Tuesdaymarket and the cattlemarket it is not the same to go to witney Abingdon or Wallingford and please do not suggest moving it ot thame showground we have 2 very disappointed grandsons who were looking forward to the fair
I must appologies I have a problem with the caps lock on my computer
Perhaps it is time to bring back a more traditional fair – one that is organised by and fully benefits the community – similar to the recent live music day. Who wants or needs Alton Towers in the centre of Thame?
Thame Council want almost £30,000 from the showmen who attend. They can’t afford to pay anymore! But the showmens guild have looked at What Thame council are spending and think savings can be made but the council officers won’t budge!
Sad Sad days £27 k is not enough ? what is the breakdown for the charges that another thousand is needed, it might only be another £1000 approx £4 but 27k already ??? Its one of the saddest days of my life – ive never known Thame without the fair each year :'(
A long overdue and welcome development – the disruption caused by the fair cannot be justified any longer. The refusal of the ‘showmen’ to pay a modest increase to cover the cost to the town is proof of their true motivation – profit at the expense of others. If the town has to be subjected to their attentions, let them use the show ground – and pay a realistic fee.
Nope Kristian; it’s definitely Wellington Street. I took the photo myself during my walk into work. Just before the path on the left by the railings where you cut through towards Fairfax Rd and Linthal Green.
Yes; we have since corrected the post. There was some confusion about the car that stopped to help, from a tired and understandably emotional witness who came to the casualty’s assistance. We await the full details from the police before reporting any further details about the nature of the actual collision.
I noticed that the price for a shower went up from £1 when the travellers arrived to £4:70 while they were there I wonder if it has gone back down now they have left
This discussion string ends here. Everything there is to say about this event has already been said else where on social media and I think that most us in the town now want to draw a line under this incident. Lessons have been learnt I’m sure and we have two great events to look forward to on the showground, Towersey Festival and the food festival. Let’s now move on.
Editor
If TAA was informed of the suspected numbers this convention was likely to attract as I am sure they where otherwise so large a venue would not have been needed then from the information the TAA themselves provided on the Spotted Thame fb page this event had been fully signed off on it is not the fault of the conventions organisers who in good faith organised the event the best anyone can do when planning a event is approach the venue operators state what the venue will be used for and accept the decision of the venue operators has to the agreeing or not to the use of the venue .I myself live in Oxfordshire and at this time of year we have very many festivals that cause quite a lot of problems because of litter alcohol drugs and anti social behavior people gaining access without paying by climbing over fences ect theses are for the most part not even held on or in designated event areas and of course there’s the usual sea of mud and litter especially bad if the weather happend as at the time of this convention to be extremely wet . The extreme verbal reaction of some locals on social media only for example you need look no further than the fb page mentioned above as only served as a reminder to the Gypsy/Traveler community how unprepared the more conservative and let’s say less cosmopolitan members society are and hopefully they should be left to the smaller less controversial events only ie the odd country show ect I will however say some of the remarks about driving up and down the venue and out onto the roads adjacent to showground and the excess of mud and some litter is a little mean minded due to the weather at the time of the event and a lot of youngsters gatherd together and apologies for the litter but there was and I am going to be truthful here not Chinese whispers out and out lies and unfounded rumours being spread by a few in the local community theses were the more colourful claims of trees being chopped down crime rate soaring and my personal favorite animal sacrifice the claims of wich are hysterical in both meanings of the word but one thing I am happy about is the realisation the rather extreme opinions of good proportion of Thames inhabitants I can only say that having lived in my rural area of Oxfordshire and being out and proud as to my own Romany heritage and living in a village where there has been a Gypsy community for over 50 years we at NOT demonized or regarded in the same way in fact we are welcomed and appreciated as part of a growing diverse community I for one will make sure never to even drive through Thame from now on as I believe there are certain areas in the southern states of the USA were opinions to people of certain ethnicity’s are just as narrow . Most of the accusations have been completely unfounded and I would love a complete and unbiased report by a completely independent body of all that took place at this event
My my my ,so up in arms about a grass verge, there was no thieving,no drugs no pedaphile ‘s no rapes ,but plenty of predgadist ,if this was Moslems or any other minority group,there wouldn’t be a word,,but this is still (as yet) a free country,and a Christian one ,and that is what this convention was about, but not a word about the faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ,of this gypsy camunity,sham on you’s all
I understand and sympathise with the good descent members of Thame who have truely been effected by the convention being held in their area.
However, Im sad to report that the FB group Spotted: Thame, is where the rumours have been spreading fast and actually it’s turned into some what of a witch hunt. It’s not a group for people to rise above, resolve and engage in an adult conversation. Please consider taking the time to read through their many offensive comments. The racism is truely horrendous! I have personally tried to engage with some of Thames members only to be blocked for writing the folowing:-
To the people of Thame,
Regarding the racist, derogatory and prejudice comments that have been made by some of the residents.
As in those that have made judgement of the entire GRT community and to those that use derogatory words to course offence.
Most understand that a person who has committed a crime is a criminal, due to their own actions! Not because of their race, religion, culture or ethnicity.
The same for any person/s who acts irresponsibly or is anti-social. Behaviours like this belong to the perpitrator and they should be held accountable not the entire race, ethnicity, culture or religion that the person/s belong to!
To clarify a “few” of the residents that have posted on this group have used derogatory and offensive words like gypo’s and pikeys. That terminology is unexseptable and it is a criminal offence.
No race ‘flag’ can be accused of being raised. When such comments are blatantly racist.
There’s also been Stereo-typing, generalising and narrow mindedness displayed on here. As well as a lot of false information being passed as fact!
No posts, that I have read, have I seen any from the GRT community defending criminality or anti-social behaviour.
If a person is an Irish Traveller or English Romani-Gypsy, Eastern European Roma, Christians or non-Christian, we are all still individuals and accountable “ONLY” for our own personal actions!
I presume there will be a multi agency meeting to review what happened – Town Council who seemed to be as surprised as the residents, police, fire and rescue (were they aware of the numbers shoehorned onto the site presumably with gas canisters in all caravans and numerous vehicles?) Were the police involved in approving the site security and traffic management? My understanding is that any large festival requires detailed planning and sign off but it feels like it was sadly lacking on this occasion. This CANNOT be allowed to happen again! And how will the results of any review (including any additional costs to the town for cleaning the streets (not the site!) policing, losses of local businesses) be shared with us?
Harry, I also witnessed the jams and destruction of the grass verge opposite the entrance to the field.
Not a single payment to rectify the damage around Thame come out of the public purse. The TAA & “Light & Life Church” holds responsibility.
Also, this whole incident has completely besmirched the name of a charming town in Teesside. The traveller group who have caused so much disturbance in the town have nothing to do with Darlington.
It’s an absolute disgrace. I myself have witnessed;
White pickup trucks tearing up the grass verge opposite the entrance to the field
Intimidating behaviour at Thame Leisure Centre
Filthy state the showers in the leisure centre are left in.
Intimidation in the town.
Dangerous driving – often deliberately at peak driving times.
I am also aware of a number of people and shops in Thame who have been stolen from.
Lying on a booking, theft, intimidation, vandalism, endangerment of life, none of these are Christian actions.
I, like most of the residents, wait with baited breath to see if they really do leave the area and return to where they came from. Sadly experience in the past tells me they will not.
Thank you for letting use your area for our Christian meetings hope the none Christians don’t get the Christian’s a bad name but Christ died for the people who need change in life so it is for all bad &good and the sick Jesus is not prejudice like some people think of themselves only God blessed all poeple
There ther to worship God it happens every year what harm are they doing the police should be more worried about all the booming go on around the country and leave these people in peace
They have been horrible, they have vandalised the skatepark broken down the fences. They have started on people getting into fights making thame look bad! They have stolen items of value, they look for trouble. Please i speak for all the people of Thame and we want them gone forever after this Thursday. They might worship god and I dont mind if they do it quietly, but once they start going through Thame causing trouble they should be arrested and detained and sent back where they came.
You need to get your facts right why don’t you go down and talk to the people organising this convention it’s a light and light born again Christian meeting yes they are gypsys but would it be better if they was blacks Asians Chinese ext why are you making a big deal out of it they are not worshipping the devil they are worshipping god and are nice clean people they’re are good and bad in all walks of life go see for your selfs
We defiantly need the A-Boards. A lot of the business rely on passing trade. Also you get to know what’s on, new things coming or offers. Thame streets are wide enough. They do not get in the way. They have been part of Thame pavements for years!
Love the tables outside. So lovely to sit outside & gives Thame a lovely atmosphere, people spilling out on to the streets. In summer or winter. Also extends businesses for owners.
Unlikely because a large supermarket is neither in the Neighbourhood Plan nor the district council’s (the planning authority) Locals Plan to 2032. Both state the need for for less retail square footage going forward, than would work for a large supermarket.
Great news to move the Cattle Market and free up that site Moving the Market to Thame Show Ground was a good idea with the Thame By Pass good road infurstructure all ready in place The Proposed Site in Rycote Lane on an extremely busy A329 ADJACEBT TO A BAD BEND AND ROAD JUNCTION TO MORETON we travel that road most days as do members of our family daily to get to work at present we are often delayed with HGV lorries turning into Gregorys Depot
ASM and now David Eing Depot What would the road structure be for enterance and exit be for The proposed Cattle Market would improvements be made if so what We come from a Farming Background and it is so important to Keep THAME CATTLE MARKET so many MARKETS have closed as Farmers now sell direct to the Supermarket PLEASE DO NOT LET OUR CATTLE MARKET CLOSE AS IT IS PART OF THAME HISTORY WHEN IT WAS IN THE UPPER HIGH ST The Annual SHEEP FAIR is held at Thame Show Ground we wish Thame Farmers Cooperative every success
MD only sent me a quote. I wrote the report. But I would love your take on the day Tom! I did email the town council earlier but had to go to press this evening. I look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards, Sonja
I have take a group of up to 10 Thame Cycling Club members to a variety of destinations for 4/5 day weekends in France over the last 3 years. A delight to ride on pothole free roads in the Somme region and introduce cyclists to the pleasure of being self-sufficient by eschewing the accompanying motorcade which is now a feature of so many “cycling” events.
WELL DONE THAME COUNCIL THAME A LOVELY MARKET TOWN
TOO MANY EATERIES LARGE WASTE BINS LOOK AWFUL WHEN FULL
GOOD GENERAL STORE REQUIRED IN THAME
HOPE SODC FOLLOW SUIT
Our MP was pro-Europe but voted for Article 50 to enable him “still be the vicar of Bray”. Sad that he should represent Westminster in Henley constituency rather than the converse
WELL DONE TOM – GOOD TO SEE A THAMINSIAN AS MAYOR OF THAME
CONGRATULATIONS TO DAVID DODDS ANOTHER THAMINSIAN ON HIS ACHIEVMENT HE HAS DONE A LOT FOR THE PEOPLE OF THAME
The planning application to build retirement apartments on the police station site did not include a 40% affordable element. This was a key plank to the Neighbourhood Plan SODC seemed willing to just let the developer make a small contribution instead of the required 40% accommodation.
I hate the sight of the bins, not only outside Prezzo/J&A but Buddies too, but if there is an issue with fire exits etc. The council/fire officer/restaurant should discuss a solution together, rather than the restaurant being stuck in the middle of two authorities telling them they are legally bound to do exactly what the other tells them they shouldn’t. Joined up thinking please!
The Prezzo bins have been a constant eyesore since opening. The design of their fit out should have taken into account the need to store waste onsite . The planning authority should not compromise on allowing them to continue to use the public pavement . Likewise Jack and Alice need to design into their shop fit for waste disposal. Any compromise just means Thame residents having to put up with what other retailers within the town manage effectively . I fully support a strong line against both .
Is another eating not required in Thame The Town requires a General Store like Woolworths was Wilko or BM or perhaps a M & CO or Dorethy Perkins who are not as expensive as the clothes shops we have
If Angel Properties get the Planning of the DAF SITE what Supermarket and other Retail unit will go there and will there be transport from the Town come on Thame Town Council oppose this application
I’m totally in favour of building on The Elms. It’s private land that the general public has no access to, so converting it into housing makes perfect sense to me. It’s what goes onto the site that concerns me. If these were 87 apartments for general sale at affordable prices I would support this plan, however as an extra care facility I don’t think it meets Thame’s reqirement.
87 units are proposed. The access is terrible. ElmsRoad/WindmillRoad/NelsonSt already a nightmare – dangerous for John Hamden children walking to school. Overlooks the park where children play…….
NO NO NO
Totaly abhorrent, brought in under the radar on the main town plan, rejected by everyone who lives locally. Voted to be rejected by the town council, yet the greed of the developers is still shining through.
A fantastic green and open space that should never be built on.
Please please please make sure in the new design that there are SEPARATE entry and exit areas to avoid the completely chaotic nightmare that currently exists when trying to deliver or retrieve your kids from swim lessons.
Good. UK faces an unpredictable and meaner future since the “great unwashed” were beguiled by Boris and co. into “getting our country back” ignorant that it had been flogged off by Margaret Thatcher with much of it renationalised by our French and German partners: think railways, energy and water
The very same Councillors who were adamant and derided the Tesco proposal on the outskirts of town -which would undoubtedly have eased congestion and frustration! Lack of law enforcement cannot be blamed – the problem has been self-created by blinkered Councillors – passing the buck and blame to the Police is typical – wake up Councillors – get real and see what your decisions are doing – Thames jewel is rapidly losing its shine!
Who on earth thinks a Cpm employee would not park in their own car park ( it is only half full most of the time and never full) but would prefer to park 10 minutes walk away??? Whoever made this comment needs to get their facts straight. Apparently people using the Haddenham and Thame Parkway train station use this end of town ( especially the service road by Edgehill) to park then get on the 280!
Inspector Harling states that tickets are issued to cars parking on zig-zag lines ” if they are causing an obstruction “. Surely the very fact that they park there is an offence! Causing an obstruction is irrelevant! The lines are provided to ensure traffic can clearly see pedestrians waiting to use the crossing and vice-versa.
Whilst I understand the need to prioritise resources, surely the Police know that ignoring low-level ‘crime’ such as parking offences/mis-use emboldens perpetrators and leads to an increase in more serious offences. Inconsiderate parking isn’t just a Town Centre issue. On Lea Park, cars are regularly parked on pavements, corners and junctions creating serious safety issues especially for children and older residents.
Very sad to hear that the Beds are to go at The Cottage Hospital My Family have had elderly relitvies looked after there over the year
Sad to think that elderly people will be miles away from family who may have no way of getting to visit
That is why the photo caption clearly says it is a library picture. I understand from the Town Clerk that the work has been delayed once again until March 11th.
This is just a photo of Essex Road. It does not show the actual day that a parked car prevented the road resurfacing. It is worth noting that the car that prevented the road works did not belong to an Essex Road resident!
I really cannot see why this development would be a problem; the existing business might well relocate to a area with more parking. I would think that new houses would result in less vehicle traffic rather than more.
The new development adjacent will enhance this end of town and and think that this proposal will also. Now that the garage has gone this area of town is essentially residential, not industrial as in the past and the proposed new houses will fit in well.
As for increasing retail in the area, i agree this is desirable, but the existing shop has a very specific customer base, i.e. for car parts, so is not indicative of general retail that occupiers of new houses would use often.
Whilst homes are needed there used to be a Cottage there in my childhood there were also 11 retail shops Butchers Grocery Post Office Bakers Fishmonger Green Grocers Music Shop Hairdressers 2 Builders Merchants
From the Cross Keys to the Station Yard and 4 Public Houses Garage
and John Hampden School Instead of infill of 3 Houses 1 House
Park Street is a very busy road with parking on both sides Address the parking situation and repair the Road surface which is dreadful first
can anyone tell me when all the safety fencing ,cones that are laying in the road ,the orange safety gear by the roundabout
are going to be removed ,its an eye sore and hazard ,and also the 30 mph that’s been tarmacked on the road that is all breaking up and flicking on to the car , very substandard work , if this isn’t the right place to complain can you give me the contact details of the right people to do so
Many Thanks
Mr K J Sayers
we really need to keep our hospital ,as a pensioner if I had to go in hospital and recover in the the cottage hospital, near my family would be so much easier ..Over the years I’ve had my mum and friends that have broken hips etc ,and they have recovered in Thame. AS we get old we need to be close to home …And not have to travel miles to visit …Its so worrying to think the 8 beds will be closed .Buckinghamshire healthcare NHS are making a big mistake …The day centres are a life line for so many lonely people ..They will get more people going into AE and blocking beds and being depressed… as they can’t go home ….SUPID
It would be dreadful to close the beds at Thame Cottage Hospital please keep it open for Thame and surrounding villages
There are many people who are unable to get to the larger Hospitals in Oxford Aylesbury and High Wycombe
This unit should be there form them as many Thame people and people from the surrounding villages have raised money over the years Let Thame residents come there to be close to friends and family
Not sure where the question of a unitary authority in our area is at the moment Howie, but this link may help and then you can address your query to your district or county councillors. http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/about-us/devolution
Reading through my current council tax bill (valuation band F) I discover that SODC is costing me £160.68 (no change on 2015/6) and TTC £197.87 (up 9.9% on 2015/6). If the proposed unitary authority for the county goes ahead, what happens to TTC?
what police we don,t have any police in thame anymore when ever you phone them all you get is some giving excuses for not doing anything. the parking is rubbish and nothing is done.
The press are obliged to report such incidents if the police request the public’s help in finding a person who has gone missing. If concerns are raised after even a short time, it often means that the missing person is vulnerable in some way.
Dear Sonja, A note in the Thame |Gaz. please.
‘The singing group ‘Cecilias People’ of the U3A had a sucessful Christmas Concert on the 4th. Dec., which was well attended. The goup is now in it’s 9th year and still very strong organising two concerts a year. Long may it keep going.
There should be priority for existing facilities under threat rather than “nice to have” new ones. The Red Kite Centre in particular needs saving first before we embark on new projects.
It is hardly true to say the food festival has outgrown the high street – the upper high street maybe but it could easily expand further down towards the Rising Sun, North Street, the Buttermarket, even Nelson St or down into the cattle market. I fear that the showground means that the success of the event will always be dependent on the weather. Big big shame
Whilst I agree that things are jammed in at the moment and can’t be fun for people with buggies and wheelchairs I am deeply saddened by this move to the showground. I would much prefer to look at alternatives like spreading it out in other areas within the town centre. It feels like this is a backward step and the opportunity to show off our amazing town will be lost.
I fully support saving the children’s centre. Nothing is more important than the future of the next generation and support for the children and their parents at this stage is of greater value than at any other time. In an affluent area it is even more important to allow everyone to feel included,
I presume the details were correct at the time they were given to us. We can only publish the details we are supplied for a community group or club. Thank you for updating us with the later details. They will be amended in the next couple of days.
Please note that under your Community clubs the information about Thame Art Group is incorrect.
We meet in The Thame Barns Centre.
Term time only.
Monday nights from 7-9 pm
There is no tutor, just come along and enjoy two hours getting away from the hustle and bustle!
Contact details remain the same with Richard Warner but can also contact Trish Garratt on 01844 212225
Please confirm that these details can be adjusted.
Thame is a great place, so come and see us when you can and see what we have to offer. We are the best in England. I have lived here for 26 years after moving from London and love it.
Vote for Thame!!
What a great day this was again!
Blessed with lovely weather the fair was lovely. Great to see all the happy faces. But next time please spread the street food out more and have more tables and chairs!
The next French Club will be on Monday 3rd October at 2pm at Treacles cafe in Thame. Katarina, ‘the prof’, brings along all sorts of interesting articles to discuss on art, films, travel, current affairs
Hello, is Thame having a charity santa run this year? I would really love to book an event for the whole family to take part in whilst raising funds for an awesome charity?
Well done Alan.
We at Brothers are continually cleaning, sweeping and de weeding our part of pump lane so it reflects well on the salon. Unfortantly other retailers have left there areas unsightly so well done Sally and What’s cooking on highlighting this.
Adam Buckland
Brothers
Thank you for the correction and please accept my apologies for assuming all newspaper editors are male, especially as, in this modern day and age, many of your fellow editors are ladies.
You are quite right ! I have edited the reply. Thank you for pointing out the error by our (madam) editor.I trust you’ve had YOUR say on the draft local plan?
Sounds amazing Jonathan ! The Phoenix Trail has been crying out for a bike hire business ! If you would like to email me: editor@thame.net, I can give you some information about the various options for promoting your business on Thame.net.
Hi
I have started a bike hire service with direct access to the Phoenix Trail with the website http://www.chilternscyclehire.co.uk and I am getting quite a lot of visitors from all lover hiring bikes. I want to increase my profile in and around Thame. What would you recommend?
Thame and surrounding areas DO NOT REQUIRE ANY MORE HOUSE BUILDING THE CHALGROVE PLAN AND HARRINGTON PLAN JUST OF JUNCTION 7 OF THE M40 A NEW TOWN THE SIZE DIDCOT 10000 HOUSES EITHER SIDE OF THE MOTORWAY AS FOR THE HOUSES AT HADDENHAM THIS VILLAGE WILL SOON BE JOINED UP WITH THAME A LONG WITH AYLESBURY THIS AREA IS AN AREA OF OUTSTANDING BEAUTY long may they remain Thame services Doctors Schools are bursting at the seams Why is Henley omitted from the plan We hope none of these come off
Please bring along any old medical equipment such as:
wheelchairs,
crutches,
spectacles,
hearing aides,
walking frames
walking sticks.
commodes,
They will be passed on to various charities/organisations and put to good use.
I think Thame has had its fair share of new housing.
It’s all about infrastructure. Finding a school place or GP will be a struggle as I’d assume no one will bother to properly carry this out but that’s just our beautiful towns turning into urban settings, slowly.
Its just another way for the contractor to get more money from a parcel of land which should never been given permission in the 1st place. Its a bloody disgrace.
I think that the petitioners are once again only focussing upon their own little agenda. We need improved services in Thame to cater for the additional 750 residences. A marginal increase on The Elms isn’t going to have much of an impact, it’s the bigger problem that needs to be addressed.
The people who have the last word in ‘do we or don’t we build here?’, are the ones that don’t live here, (ED.sentence removed because possibly libellous!), so shout all you want, we who live here are the ones that have to live with it.
I think Mr Newitt has a bit of a cheek when at least one of his employees parks in the 2 hour parking all day every day, either outside the butchers or the thatch!
Parking is bad all over Thame NOT just the town centre. We need someone to ensure the whole town is monitored. It’s ridiculous. People park on double yellows and at junctions. Nobody pays any attention to the regulations.
the problem extends beyond the town centre. An area of grass at the junction of Cromwell Avenue and Berkeley Rd is now being used to park a Volvo 4 wheel drive.
As well as negating the safety value of the vision splay, the grass will become mud in wet weather.
So very sorry to hear of Les,s death. He was always willing to talk me through a hedgehog or squirrel medical problem. Wildlife has lost a true champion.
Waitrose is very poorly stocked we needed another supermarket just so they improved. Thame has lost its heart to hairdressers and Charity shops, I gave up shopping there after woolworths closed.
Mr A the same argument could be made about the clothing offer in Thame but does that mean we have to have a Primark ? Most of us are happy to accept the limitations of the retail offer here and hop on the bus to find what we want if it isn’t available locally. As far as I know Redline offer a free bus to Tesco Aylesbury and it’s also a simple matter to shop online for groceries. Banging on endlessly about Tesco after the decision has been made seems a bit of a waste of time. As in a democracy, that’s it, debate and discussion over, decision made, now let’s move on to the next item on the agenda please mister chairman.
I live backing onto the proposed site. Yes it might have been a little on the large side, but as has been with 1500 homes being built in Thame and more in Chinnor, people need to understand that Thame isn’t going to be a small quiet rural town for much longer. The roads will become even more congested, the schools will be over subscribed and you have to wait even longer for a doctor’s appointment. It’s not just a Thame issue, but the lack of infrastructure and facilities development to support housing is very poor. Thame’s got a great variety of shops but for a lot of people in Thame shopping it the local butchers and Deli’s is just way to expensive. Thame has a large proportion of very well paid residents, who can afford to use these lovely shops. But some can’t and it’s about giving them somewhere to shop. The sainsburys and CoOp in town are tiny and how a person can be expected to survive using just these is beyond me. I would love the supermarket to be built in the town centre, but there is no room. As the Article reads Thame will need more supermarket retail in the future and there will have to be a compromise on what and where it should be built.
Howie B after any decisions both sides are allowed to have their say in a democracy. If Thame is to be a progressive and forward thinking town then all side and views need to be considered and looked at in an impartial way.
Well said, Lee. When my next council tax bill arrives, I won’t feel quite so aggrieved about it. Someone at TTC and SODC does actually appear to care about Thame. Stand by for all the sour grapes from the losing side, that is to be expected. Why can’t they just accept the decision and leave us alone?
Bad decision. Thame is dying, you only have to drive around housing estates like 7 Acres, Lashlake, and the roads around Upper School. All pot holed, paths deteriated with overgrown weeds. Aylesbury Road, with it’s vicious potholes. Which greets most people coming to Thame, has to be one of the worst in the county
High street foot fall is very poor compared to places like Wendover, Tring, Berkhamsted.
Go ahead, Keep Thame small and insular. Even the fire service can’t be manned 24/7.
Why not bring back early closing on Wednesday too, and no shops open on Sunday.
Thame would be a lovely peaceful place then..!!
So if Lee Jones thinks it was bad the Dominos moved in, although the Planners had no say in that, what about Fat Face ,a modern clothes outlet with a rude name, what next in this sleepy market town, Lidl ?
You need to understand that the people that want Tesco, also like the. Town centre but are intelligent enough to understand that as Thame continues to grow with new houses being built all around and even near the town ( the old Thame Service Station site & Goodson Yard) then the services and infra structure need to grow with it, Surgeries, but more so car parking. Come on Thame TC , let’s have parking down on the old Haddenham road & bridge & generate yourself some income as a long stay pay & display car park to free up town centre parking for shoppers .
Think about it !
If this happens we are going to end up like Aylesbury. It’s the start of the end. It’s bad enough that the planners aloud a dominos in our lovely town.
Aylesburybused to be a nice market town and now look at it. It you lot want the facilities of a larger town then why don’t you go and live in one rather than trying to change something that is beautiful. We live here because of its small town feel we don’t want a large town.
Yes there are more houses being built but don’t come and live here if you don’t want small countryside living. Go to Milton Keynes, Aylesbury etc.
Change is not always forward thinking but detrimental to a lot more people and living standards that are already very good. The council have failed in allowing extra housing to be built as it has and are just being gready with the section agreement payments and the extra income from taxes.
I have only lived here for 15 years and have seen changes during this time. I love this little market town and its people and do you know what you can call me small minded and I don’t even care. Sometimes less is more.
Hee hee! Thanks for pointing that out! That’s what happens when organisations don’t sent out proper Press Releases with accompanying images. Have a word will you Alan Shearer? Oh, and do Thomley know you’re using their mail server for non-work related emails?
We’re seriously looking forward to it. Lots of lovely events and the biggest festival ever.
Don’t forget – you can book for Roger McGough and Little Machine now!
See you in October
Hello Sonja, We have 2 events coming up here in Kingsey which I would like to put on Thame.net, Our village fete on 23rd July and a project in our church where out white altar frontal will be restored and we are inviting people to come and see Elizabeth Bond (Royal School of Needlework) at work, this will be a 6 week project. I have posters for each of these events. Would it be possible to have these on this website? Katharine Baker
So where can we sign the petition? Thame is beautiful but already feeling the growth, the network infrastructure wouldn’t support more, let alone the facilities. More development would see it become as congested, aggressive and polluted as neighbouring towns such as High Wycombe! 🙁
I reiterate previous comments, doctors surgery bursting, nothing for youngsters, schools also bursting, nothing is being added to the town to support more houses. Thame will not cope with this. What is the point in producing a town plan if it is going to be completely ignored.
NOT REQUIRED SCHOOLS BURSTING AT THE SEAMS NOTHING FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE DOCTORS SURGERY NOT LARGE ENOUGH PARKING AT THE DOCTORS TERRIBLE ESPECIALLY AS PEOPLE PARK THERE AND GO TO WORK AND GO SHOPPING
KEEP THAME THE LOVELY MARKET TOWN IT IS WITH INDIVIDUAL SHOPS
I am a retired Probation Officer who has spent a lot of time over the last 30 years developing services for victims of crime. The most exciting venture I have taken part in is an EU funded project. It involved other countries in Europe (Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and others) sharing their experience of pilot projects, involving victims of the most serious crimes, who requested to meet the offender who harmed them, or a member of their family. As a result of what we learned from a Belgian project we have been able to give significant help to crime victims, who say that the experience has dramatically changed their lives for the better. Without the EU directive (setting out minimum standards), EU funding and the fruitful collaboration with our partners this would have been impossible.
Geoff Emerson – retired Probation Officer
Hi Sonja,
I know that Clare Nickless has been kind enough to pass on information about CATKIDS productions in the past. We have a show next weekend at the Thame Players Theatre and I have a couple of great photos of the kids in their ’50’s gear. Is there any chance you could put something out about it and possibly include a photo or two?
You’d need to contact the bus operator about that. There may already be a Saturday service on some routes – the threatened ones are those particular journeys that don’t pay because they have just a few passengers, which OCC have been subsidising.
Please could you advertise out gig this Saturday 4th June, 8PM at Tetsworth Sports & Social Club. Local Thame based covers band “Transit”. Otherwise we might be playing to an empty room.
It’s listed now Michele! Apologies – when we published the original full story a couple of months ago, I meant to add it to EVENTS nearer the time. Sounds like an amazing line-up! I’m so sorry I’m going to be away and will miss it 🙁
Most young people do their grocery shop online – this is the very reason tesco don’t build so many big stores nowadays – the town centre would cope very well with more houses! Whether the dr’s surgery would is another matter.
If the additional housing is built then surely this is a strong argument for a better infrastructure in & around Thame and the need for the Tesco proposal to be approved. The town centre would not cope !
It would be appreciated if you could please add the following event to your website :
Chinnor Open Gardens
approx 12 gardens open Chinnor, South Oxfordshire
Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2016
2.00pm to 6.00pm
Many interesting and varied private gardens will be open, all within the village, including two new gardens along with Chinnor allotments and shop. St Andrews Primary School will also open their garden.
Refreshments available on both days at various places and gardens. St Andrew’s Church will be decorated with the theme of ‘A Joyful Celebration’. There will cream teas available.
Proceeds to Chinnor Village Centre, Fight bladder cancer, the church and local school.
Plant sales:
There will be plants for sale on both days.
Cost:
£5.00 adults for weekend ticket, accompanied under 16s free.
How to get event passports:
Leaflets and tickets available in advance from the Village Centre and Parish Council Office, or on the day from any participating garden and at the Plant Sales.
Number of gardens:
Approximately 12 gardens will be open, but the total may vary from day to day – please contact the organisers if you need exact numbers.
approx 12 gardens open Chinnor, South Oxfordshire
Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2016
2.00pm to 6.00pm
Many interesting and varied private gardens will be open, all within the village, including two new gardens along with Chinnor allotments and shop. St Andrews Primary School will also open their garden.
Refreshments available on both days at various places and gardens. St Andrew’s Church will be decorated with the theme of ‘A Joyful Celebration’. There will cream teas available.
Proceeds to Chinnor Village Centre, Fight bladder cancer, the church and local school.
Plant sales:
There will be plants for sale on both days.
Cost:
£5.00 adults for weekend ticket, accompanied under 16s free.
How to get event passports:
Leaflets and tickets available in advance from the Village Centre and Parish Council Office, or on the day from any participating garden and at the Plant Sales.
Number of gardens:
Approximately 12 gardens will be open, but the total may vary from day to day – please contact the organisers if you need exact numbers.
Dear Thame.net
it would be appreciated if the following event could be listed on your website :
ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, CHINNOR : FLOWER FESTIVAL
THEME : JOYFUL CELEBRATION
THURSDAY 2 JUNE – SUNDAY 5 JUNE
10.30 am – 5.30 pm : THURSDAY/FRIDAY/SATURDAY
11.30 am – 6.00 pm : SUNDAY
REFRESHMENTS, PRODUCE & CRAFTS IN MARQUEE
DONATIONS FOR CHURCH RESTORATION
Thame show used to be the highlight on the Thame calendar. Over the years it has become too commercialised , & people have been expected to pay extortionate prices , not only to get in, but also having to pay £5 for a burger & a pint… Let’s hope the organisers stick to their word of the £5 entry fee. I would strongly suggest it’s is heavily advertised on social media as well as the Thame gazette( before the advent)
Sorry a horse and hound show wont get my support, The first official show of the Thame Agricultural Association was held in October 1888, but the unofficial origins go back another 30 years. All those years yet today they cant make it pay ? I understand times change but this was once the largest agricultural show in England and today we have more technology and attractions to offer than previously… maybe one reason being because it cost to much on the gate ? Almost everyone i know never went because it was to expensive for a family – if families cant afford to get in they wont come even after 3pm the gates didnt drop their prices as they used to. Schools used to close for the day to allow local families to attend people want to take their kids. Affter the date being moved many stalls and exhibitors were lost, it will take time to get those people back one show isnt enough. The headlines for the Oxford Mail were this, 12,000 visitors put Thame Show back on county map … so what happened??? Another sad day for Thame
The problem over the last few years is that the day changed and when changed back the schools no longer closed so less families from Thame and surrounding areas go to the show…. The price, especially when having to spend so much once in there also put people off… Especially the ‘on the day’ price. It’s a real shame it won’t be held this year.
Chris Parker & I Karoline Thorpe have put together an exciting Horse Show, Countryside Arena with “Champion Bull Whip Cracking Ben Hughes” plus Hounds and other Country attractions, we have other animals like Alpacas, and also a big dog show Scruffs that qualify for Crufts 2017,There will be plenty to see and do, so please put the date of Thursday 15th September in your diary
Anyone who parks on double yellows or worse still on the zigzags by pedestrian crossings should be fined a minimum of £500 and 6 points on their licence. That’ll show them not display such arrogance and total disregard for the safety of others
I would also ask that the parking of taxis in the parking area designated for normal road users should be stopped as this causes normal road users to have the need to park in other areas. The taxis plying there trade in Thame have adequate parking in the centre of town. It is quite frustrating to come into the centre of town to park only to find on occasion more than 8 taxis using up space other cars could use.
The two notice boards that are in the Upper Car Park should be placed outside the door of the Town Hall with ‘What is happening this month’ and ‘What is coming shortly’.
It would help to plan what to visit and take part in.
There is an erroneous posting on Nostalgic Thame that Beatrice Dobie has died. This is not true as of Monday morning. She is in hospital, being well cared for after a fall. But the prognosis is not good. Please ask whoever posted this message to get the facts straight.
The comments by Ian English reference the Queen’s birthday were at best inappropriate and to many people deeply offensive. To demonstrate such crass stupidity at a celebration was totally unacceptable. Pity they don’t sent such people to the Tower these days.
Hi,
Is it possible for me to add a local event to this page?
Its a charity event in May at Blue Cross Lewknor
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and Regards
Lee
Please can you share the following notification on your website or FB page, thank you
THAME NETBALL CLUB
Do you love netball and want to play in a team?
It’s selections time ! Friday 6th, 13th and 20th May.
As a community club we will be holding selections for the new season starting in September 2016 .
Selections are held during normal training times, Friday 6-7.30pm. At Lord Williams Lower School sports hall.
Everyone is welcome.
If you wish to be considered for a place in one of our three teams, please try to attend at least two of the sessions in May (see dates above). If you have any difficulties attending please let us know that you still wish to be considered.
Thame’s cricket pitch with the church in the background and the glorious housing around it is one of the most beautiful sights in Thame. I’m sorry, Nicola, this is an utterly ridiculous idea!! We do not have space in this country for burials and people need to get over it!!
Not everybody goes to St Mary’s Church. There are at least five places of worship in Thame dotted around. Plus those who would like a burial but do not want a church service. It would be a great shame to spoil the wonderful view of the cricket ground when arriving in Thame – imagine arriving to a view of a burial ground…..
How ever much l love the idea of people being buried next to their place of worship. l think if it was me l would like to think of people living and enjoying life. Be it cricket, walking the dog or sitting having a picnic rather than my dead body under the earth and not being able to sit or see or smell Gods great land. So sorry leave the land for what God intended and that is Enjoying it.
Hi, how can advertise for a local event?
I have a flyer, but these are the main details:
Ladies Night Out at the Thame Barns Centre
Thursday April 21st 6-8 PM
free admission, glass of bubbly and nibbles
various beauty treatments and vendor tables available:
Stella and Dot Jewelry and Accessories
Forever Living
Actilabs
Younique cosmetics
Bodyshop
Beautiful Nails
Neals Yard
Exactly why all the negativity received over the Tesco issue should be listened to constructively rather than dismissed at the mere mention of its name..community is about ALL as a whole and not just the ‘selective’!!
Hi Sonja
Could you add details of Aylesbury Choral Society Verdi Requiem concert at Thame Leisure Centre at 7.30 pm on Saturday May 21st.Conductor Jeff Stewart with Aylesbury Concert Orchestra, Uxbridge Choral Society and four internationally acclaimed soloists-Mardi Byers, Cheri Rose Katz, Max An and George Stephens.
Tickets £12,£5 (under 18s)
From http://www.aylesburychoral.org.uk,01296640221 or any choir member
My grandparents stayed in Thame in June 1944 to escape the London bombings. They stayed with Mrs Birch at Chestnuts, High Street, Thame.
Do you know how I can find out where this property is? Thank you.
Sorry, aged parent been very ill and in hospital and so I’ve had to prioritise news this past 6 weeks. I have started the feature but if you could remind me where the book is available (did you say the Belfry?) Also, I was a bit concerned that the ‘AUTHOR’ link on Amazon and another website the book is available from, goes to a famous history professor/author that I don’t think is you. A bit misleading? Regards, Sonja
sorry to bug you again,but have not heard anything from yourself
in respect to my advert for FROM BOY CHAP TO OL,CHAP.it would
be useful to correspond to say the opening of the cricket season
at tiddington presidents day 2nd of may 2016
Please could you mention on this that the Aylesbury Road is closed from the town down to the roundabout, except for access only, (it is for 5 days including yesterday in total)
Access is only available coming off the Aylesbury roundabout to head into Thame
Numerous cars were ignoring the signage yesterday and having to turn round, with some actually trying to go through the 1 way area by the roundabout.
PS There is comments etc on the Thame Bay face book page if you want to take a look
It would be far better if they use the land to create more suitable office units for the many businesses in the area unable to find suitable premises to rent.
A good plan could mean better local employment opportunities for many and would help stop the growing number of businesses who are looking outside the town for new premises from leaving.
if we lose the employment areas we’ll end up simply becoming a commuter town with no local community.
What’s the point of a bus pass if there are no buses left to use it on. Why don’t they go the whole hog and withdraw the bus pass as well and we can all stay at home, watch daytime tv and turn into couch potatoes
Not as far as we know. These markets are organised through Thame Town Council, so you could contact them for more information. Call: 01844 212 833, or email: info@thametowncouncil.gov.uk
Popped in to see the new set up yesterday – it’s fantastic….AND What’s Cooking will be catering for my very big birthday at the beginning of April….thank you Sally and Anwen….I’ve started to relax now!!
Hello Sonja,
Long time – no see !! I trust you and John are OK. I am still travelling quite a bit and enjoying life in general !
I wondered if you would add this request for volunteers in the magazine you produce?
FREE !!
Many things in life are free, like FREEDOM, FREE GIFT, FREE TIME.
But there are a number of elderly people who just don’t have the freedom to do what they want or go where they like because they are housebound due to the difficulties they experience in walking, lack of confidence, or have a partner or spouse to look after and so miss out socially.
At the LUNCHEON CLUB a number of volunteers provide a cooked meal for 36 of these friends each week but we desperately need YOU to become a volunteer in order to enable this valuable and vital service to continue.
Your free gift of a little of your free time, just from 2 hours to 4 hours on Wednesdays, is all you would be contributing – and that doesn’t have to be every week, it could be once a fortnight or even once a month.
Why not telephone either Bill Parkinson or Jane Kimber and make an offer of your time?
Bill can be reached on 01844 352216 and Jane on 01844 690358.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you
Thame.Net is only REPORTING the news that nominations are now wanted for awards! You need to click on the link we gave you at the end of the report and nominate your grandson officially there. Good luck to Samuel though.
We would like to recommend our Grandson Samuel Wilkins aged 9 and plays for Thame Boys under 10 he is a great Footballer sleeps breaths and eats for FOOTBALL Sam scored 9 goals a couple of weeks ago for Thame Boys in 2 matches Sam did play for the Reading Acadamy with Eammon Holmes and Eammon Flanagan at Oxford Citys ground till they stopped coming to Oxford then he played for High Wycome Acadamy but training was changed to Friday Night Sam and his brother Oliver took part in Grass Roots Day with Martin Keowen at Thame last year please put Sam forward for an award our contact t/ph 01844 279633
Hope we are not wasting your time he deserves to be spotted we are very proud Grandparents Thame Boys under 10 are a great team thankyou
So many people harp on about how Tesco will solve the parking problem in the Town Centre. I must admit I agree here – there will be plenty of parking in the Town Centre once Tesco is on the bypass, as no-one will visit the Town Centre anymore. While on the subject of parking, I have yet to battle to find a parking at the cattle market, so I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.
Sainbury’s and the Co-Op are very affordable, so that argument doesn’t stand up either.
You’re wrong. A ‘pro Tesco’ tweet was retweeted just four hours ago – take a look. LINK TO TWITTER and see Tony Rushforth’s tweet. I can’t be on twitter 24 hrs a day – I do have a life, but retweet as many Thame-related tweets as I can.
Don’t underestimate the damage a huge store like this will have on the town. It’s too late once the decision has been made! The scale of this will have a huge impact on the high street – it’s been proven so many times where a huge convenience store kills the high street as people will change their shopping habits and over time the essence of Thame will be lost. Having lived somewhere this happened to, would hate to see it happen again to such a thriving place. #
We do not moderate against people just because they have an unconventional email address. Everyone with a point of view is allowed to express it here, as long as it is neither abusive nor unlawful.
Well Mr “Hugh Jarse” (well done on the moderation there editor!) Try addressing: the parking problems we have now; the problem of where all the people from all the new houses are going to park. What about all the less well off people who lose out because of the lack of affordable shopping. The NIMTS (Not in my towners) need to wake up and smell the coffee. Change happens and guess what it’s for the best! Let’s move Thame in to the 21st century!
Firstly to James – bringing a Tesco to Thame will certainly accelerate the arrival of the poundshops when the Town centre businesses start to close down and to S. Foster, If there was a Tesco in Thame you wouldn’t browse the rest of Thame, you would be in and out of Tesco on the bypass.
Anyone who thinks that having a Tesco on the bypass would be of any benefit to Thame, or bring in money to anyone other than Tesco is severely deluded.
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to our bin men – Macca and the OWR crew for changing my flat tyre this morning. Truly above and beyond, and I’m really grateful!
I recall, as a former member of the management committee and volunteer driver, that the funding the Day Centre receives from the council is vital to it. But it could not have kept going for 20 years and more without the devoted input of volunteer helpers on meeting days, the volunteer drivers who collect members from their homes and take them home, and the generosity and support of individuals and many organisations in this very united and warm-hearted town. The devotion, support and efforts of all these people should receive true recognition from the council through a simple, firmly committed continuance of what I recall is a useful and not excessive grant, maybe not much different in a year from what a Premier League football star received for a day’s work. It is these supporters’ due and is owed to the people the Centre is there to serve.
Move in to the 21st century Thame please. Where on earth are all the people from all the new houses supposed to shop. How many have tried and failed to find a parking space in town so gone elsewhere for big shop? How many times worse will it be when there are hundreds more people trying to use the facilities in Thame. Thame needs a big superstore be it Tesco’s or Asda or a bigger Sainsburys. Just wait until the pound shops start opening!
Tesco needed. If there was a Tesco in thame I would be able to browse the rest of thame. Currently travelling out of thame for shopping despite living there so thame isn’t getting any of my money currently.. And I suspect many others too.
There is no need for a large out of town supermarket for thame, as the movement to dot com shopping continues to grow. However there is a need for a low cost shopping option to help the less well off in our thriving market town. The thought of an Aldi in the elms, a Lidl on the cricket pitch and converting the town hall to a tesco express (need to find a use for the place) seems to me to be the ideal solution!
Whilst I am not anti supermarket, I am anti-Tesco.
The thought of having this awful supermarket in our beautiful town is very depressing. Surely we are deserving of a more upmarket establishment, such as a larger Waitrose or Sainsbury.
I also shudder to think how many £’s will be wiped from the value of my detached home when we get know as TescoThame
The only positive to a Tesco is the hope that it may remove some of the free-loading coffee drinking riff-raff that currently frequent Waitrose.
I would suggest that the council is against having a Tresco in Thame as the majority of the people in Thame are against it as well. The council are doing what they have been elected to do and what the electorate expects them to do, which is represent the people of Thame. In evidence of this check the number of people who signed the various petitions. I know the come back on this will be that the anti-tesco lobby backed by local businesses had their petition in a lot of the stores with vested interests in stopping Tesco, however the pro-tesco lobby were very vocal in going around the houses and knocking on doors. One could say they were more pro-active, however they still received far less votes.
This is a worthwhile local campaige and the issues it raises for Oxfordshire are even reaching the national press, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35491551
I don’t understand why the council is against having a Tesco in Thame, it’s been crying out for something like this for years. Embrace change its for the better, people wouldn’t have to go to other larger towns for a proper shop if it’s right on their doorstep and as for local businesses suffering as a result, that’s rubbish! They are already suffering through people going out of town for their shopping so what difference does it make? I’ll tell you! Less pollution in the air and less congestion on the roads more money to be spent in the community! Don’t be silly the town is on a winner with Tesco!
I think that the opposition to Tesco is pure snobbery. Comments like “last chance saloon” and “I could not show my face in the council” are pure hyperbole. I also think that the cherished TNP is a fudge dictated by the needs of Henley. What do we have in the Town centre? Hairdressers, cafes, charity shops, estate agents. Hundreds of new homes are being built with no change in the Town’s infrastructure. There is already a problem with parking and that is not going to improve. If the Planning Office recommends approval spending more time and money is a complete waste.
Thame is a thriving, growing town – yet the shopping options are poor and expensive. A massive amount of people go to Wheatley/Aylesbury to shop or do online shopping. Tesco is very much needed here, do the right thing SODC. APPROVE tesco
We love to come to thame and support the local shops and market butcher’s. I live in Watlington and we mannage thame is bigger with more shops I wouldn’t have to go to asda if I lived in thame . I don’t welcome a big Tesco I think thame would loose its atmosphere. And local businesses would suffer. Rember they have families to support to.
Hi, All I can find out is that there was a Bull Inn in Thame, later to become a china shop called Taurus, and then Hadley’s. But I have left a post on the facebook page ‘Nostalgic Thame’ which is followed by lots of people very knowledgeable about Thame, so some light may yet be shed on your quest. Good luck.
Hello I wonder if you could help, I am trying to find out about a public house called The Bull Inn which was situated in Thame High street in the 1850’s I am studying genealogy for a friend whose great grandfather was the publican there. Does the inn still exist.
Thanks for your help
Alan
We need more bins all over Thame. Totally agree the dog bins are misplaced in Elms Park but what happened to the litter bin at the start of the alleyway there? The alley is full of discarded packed lunches and litter. Yuk!
Maybe the street cleaner should start earlier as every time I have been in Thame around 7am there is rubbish around the town from the kebab shop . And see on a couple of times the street cleaner going to the toilet in the corner of the cattle market is a joke …
epidemiological and visual evidence indicates that people in Thame ( and generally) are getting more than enough to eat with the present level of shelf space so there is no need for more.
The argument will be advanced by Tesco that a new store would provide more ( poorly paid) jobs. If true, this would only mean that food distribution had become less productive.
Better strategy for Thame if a new super-market is deemed necessary would be to encourage Aldi or Lidl to move in as they are much more efficient and pay significantly higher wages.
Only last May people voted for “cuts” in public finances. Since then many services especially for the poor and vulnerable have been withdrawn or reduced.
We should bear in mind that Cameron et al got voted in by 26% of the electorate ; president Assad of Syria was confirmed in office by a bigger percentage without the help of the Murdoch press.
No there isn’t, otherwise I would get all sorts of spam and abuse and inappropriate events listed there! but I will list the production in the EVENTS section of Thame.Net. If you email me directly in the future editor@thame.net, I’m happy to list your events.
I’m afraid I have no further info myself other than what I wrote in the article. I presume you have done a Google search, ‘capability brown, rycote park’ and found these articles http://tiny.cc/f8iz7x Otherwise I suggest you contact the owners of Rycote, Mr and Mrs Bernard Taylor. There is a public phone number for Rycote Chapel, which is in the grounds 01844 210210, and is open to public sometimes. Hope that helps.
interested in the 4th earl,s assiosation with lancelot brown {
capability} extent of garden works.Myself and two others are
writing a history of Rycote Magna and therefore interested
in rycote pond and its dividing walls
Hi Sonja,
Is there a way to add an event to the Thame.net website, without you having to do the work?
I would like the following event to be listed:
SISTER ACT IS COMING TO THAME
INTER CHURCH PRODUCTIONS
present the Divine Musical Comedy
Sister Act
By Josef Weinberger Ltd.
Tuesday 16th- Saturday 20th February 2016
Lord Williams’s Upper School, Oxford Road, Thame
Tuesday-Friday 16th-19th 7.45pm
Saturday 20th 3pm & 7.45pm
Booking lines are open now at http://www.thelittleboxoffice/icp
For more information http://www.interchurchproductions.com
Yes Please! Play Yes
23rd January 7:45pm
With around 35 million recordings sold, Yes, the greatest progressive rock band, had huge success in the 70s with albums such as Fragile, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going for the One. With their large scale pieces, virtuosity and imagination these albums completely exploded the scope of what Rock and Popular music could achieve.
Yes also had chart success with numerous singles including Roundabout, America (Simon and Garfunkel), Wondrous Stories and Owner of a Lonely Heart.
YES PLEASE, the UK’s leading Yes Tribute Band, faithfully reproduce this intricate, impassioned and inspirational music with full vocal harmonies, authentic 70s sounds, and gritty guitars. Add Welsh lead singer Mr Tom Edmunds soaring Andersonically high above and you have the excitement and rarity of a classic Yes performance!
I have to say . I was born and bought up in Thame, leaving in 1988. I visit my parents on a regular basis and there is nothing in the town to make me move back. When reading what goes on in the Gazette or talking to real locals the town/council is run by a load of toffee nosed twats [their phrase not mine] who are not real townsfolk. Why not allow Sainsbury / Tesco in to the town. Why try to stop the fair coming to town. Where I now live [a small market town] we have a Waitrose like Thame, but also a Sainsbury, Tesco and Aldi, the town centre is full of independent and some chain shops most of which are thriving. We also have a twice weekly market. The supermarkets bring people into the town from the surrounding area. Dave you have a fair point, when I left there were 17 pubs in Thame, you can now count them on one hand. We have had three pubs close in that time plus a Weatherspoons has opened that although other publicans were worried hasn’t affected them. I’m affraid I just find Thame boring thes days.
we reckon it’s coz it is stuffed with really friendly people. Our kids go to school here, we run a business here. No matter which shop you go in (charity or private) the people you talk to always have time for a smile. That’s what makes a town beautiful. It isn’t about buildings or cute streets. It’s people.
Dave – I would say that we have more than enough restaurants ranging from the posh (Thatch and Spread) right down to the decent pub food (Figg) with great curry, chinese and itlian thrown in. Added to that, probably the best kebab van ever. We have plenty of drinking establishments with great wine, if you bother to ask. There aren’t many small towns with a better spread of shops, so these awards are fully deserved. Also, many congratulations to those who take the time to promote our town and try to maintain it’s character – all threatened by campanies who can see the gold and want some for themselves!
Lord knows why Thame keeps getting recognition with s high st full of charity shops and hairdressers. One can only hope the large hole Cargo will leave will be filled by something worthwhile like a decent restaurant or wine bar and not left to fester empty.
Could you possibly list our event on Thame.net please?
Best wishes,
Richard
Yes Please play YES
Players Theatre
Nelson Street
Thame, Sat 23rd Jan 2016
With around 35 million recordings sold, Yes, the greatest progressive rock band, had huge success in the 70s with albums such as Fragile, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going for the One. With their large scale pieces, virtuosity and imagination these albums completely exploded the scope of what Rock and Popular music could achieve.
Yes also had chart success with numerous singles including Roundabout, America (Simon and Garfunkel), Wondrous Stories and Owner of a Lonely Heart.
YES PLEASE, the UK’s top Yes Tribute Band, faithfully reproduce this intricate, impassioned and inspirational music with full vocal harmonies, authentic 70s sounds, and gritty guitars. Add Welsh lead singer Mr Tom Edmunds soaring Andersonically high above and you have the excitement and rarity of a classic Yes performance!
Tickets; http://thameplayers.co.uk/yes-please-play-yes/
Hello. On this page, https://www.thame.net/thame-community/clubs-and-groups, under “Theatre and Music Groups”, I see you mention the Thame Chamber Choir. Would you like to add the chidlren’s section of the choir, known as TCC2? My son is a member, and I maintain the web site. The heading could be Thame Chamber Choir Juniors, and the web site to link to is: http://tcc2.org/ Thanks!
I’m 70 years old ( soon too old to drive) and thinking of moving to Chinnor. I won’t consider this if there are no buses as well as no rail services. I wouldn’t want to to isolated in such a small community.
This will affect house prices so why pay for council taxes for services you don’t get. This is a vicious downward spiral. What’s left!.
What a tragic untimely event – such a talented photographer and a great friend to many of us, a momentous loss to his family and the town of Thame. Thank you Nick, you are greatly missed.
Regarding Thame Choral Society’s concert, we published the info a couple of weeks ago in the ‘Entertainment News’ section https://www.thame.net/archives/22893 but to help publicise it, we will add it to the ‘Events’ section too ASAP. Of course, the only way to not miss ANYTHING going on in Thame, is to become a subscriber 🙂 https://www.thame.net/subscribe
The info re: Beerfest was as given to us. I have checked on the website and changed the venue to Haddenham village hall, as stated on the website – We have to use a postcode to get the map to work http://haddenham-beer-festival.co.uk/venues/ Hopefully anyone with half a brain will click on the weblink we provide and get all the info they need. Thanks for pointing out though.
Haddenham Beer Festival on Dec 12th is actually called the Winterfest. It. Is held in a giant sized marquee in Bank Park not at the Youth and Community Centre.
Can you help please with info re a concert that Thame Choral Society is giving in Thame on Sat 12th – venue, time, ticket info.
Many thanks.
Christina J
I went to john hampden school im now 23 . But is still remember the assemblys he always used to do . Mr haigh was a great headmaster and he always made sure the school was a safe place to be and always put the pupils first .
Happy retirement mr haigh and well deserved too. Xx from
Charlotte williams.
My 3 children loved being at this school, I miss this school and the reason being is that there was a fantastic understanding Headmaster! Assembly’s were always brilliant and so were your speeches Mr Haigh there won’t be another like you. Hope you enjoy your retirement and hope to see you about the town. One thing we all remember is one year going on holiday to the Isle of Wight you & Mrs Walters was on the same Ferry, the kids faces was a picture they didn’t expect to see thier Headmaster on the same Ferry Happy Retirement & enjoy from Mr & Mrs Short, Emma, Thomas & Jake xx
The mystery is solved! Apparently the wrong ‘Dung Beatles’ facebook page had been referenced & the wrong picture was taken from there. The correct facebook page has been found and the picture changed. I hope to see you there? Sounds fun!
The information was sent to me as a press release which has been mostly cut and pasted into the post. I’ve contacted the source of the PR and await their response. Thanks for drawing this to my attention.
Hello Thame dot net – the info above is not correct in as much as the article refers to the wrong Dung Beatles band! …although the web address (www.thedungbeatles.co.uk) is correct! the band that will be playing are not a comedy band but a musical tribute… Hope you can put this right!
TO THAME FIRST
We hope that the Planning Application to S O D C for a proposed outof town Tesco does not get passed this Store is not required keep Thame a Market Town if Tesco is allowed this could be the start of other out of town development for Thame
Don’t know what the cause was but the day drivers learn that the road in question has a hidden dip in it the safer it will be for everyone. Overtaking before clearing the brow is suicide, especially since most people overtaking there are topping 75mph!
Even David Cameron is dismayed by the consequences of his own policies and has asked leaders of Oxfordshire CC to number 10 to help spell it out to him. Older readers will remember when Thatcher’s slash and burn policies ended in riots and urban incendiarism. However the electorate must face the consequences of having voted them into office albeit with only about 36% of the vote.
It would appear that all of a sudden we seem to have a run of crashes near that kingsey road roundabout. I have to ask the question is this a result of the recent heavy lorry traffic that we now appear to have due to the site opposite the northern entrance to Cromwell Avenue causing during damp periods to cover the bypass road with mud
. Having recently replaced my window screen due to a lorry not covering his load I now avoid this section of road if I can. Have any others suffered with damage to vehicles as a result in this increase of heavy goods vehicle movement
Well, what we’d like is some very tall trees to hide those awful flat roofed Milton Keynes style houses.
This will also provide some privacy to us who use the park.
No Michelle, they won’t, they’ll just drive to Tesco on the bypass, and not shop anywhere in the Town Centre, which has no benefit to Thame. There is no benefit to Thame from these people at the moment, and no benefit if there is a Tesco on the bypass.
Restore a separate tourist office which is open on Saturdays. As I recall, the one we originally had was closed by the District Council. If this was for economic reasons maybe the decision was a false economy. When one visits a new town or resort its tourist office somehow underlines its difference or separateness from one’s familiar world – as a place worth exploring and values itself, and a place to which its worth returning.
How about repairing the pavements on Lashlake estate – especially Willow Road!! There’s quite a few of your older residents living there, who have been paying their rates/taxes for decades. My mum, who’s lived there since 1968 and is 80, chooses to walk on the road because she is worried that the uneven suraces might cause her to trip or fall – it has happened before!! Thank you and fingers crossed!
It might be an idea to try looking up “tournament” in a dictionary before using a similar selection of letters (with a notable substitution) as a headline!
I am but a humble hewer of wood, rather than a wordsmith, but poor spelling makes me stab my bench with my chisel in anger!
Actually the town does employ people who pick up litter in Elms Park every morning. However the lane nearby is full of litter and more to the point the bin that used to be there is gone. Hardly teaching our schoolchildren very well.
The two awards are for the work done and being done to keep the town centre and the high street viable and vibrant. The odd dumper of furniture – rare in Thame that’s why it’s worthy of note – does not detract from that. And who are these ‘litter pickers’ you refer to? The band of willing volunteers who step forward on Thame tidy Day? Hopefully you will join them next year, as you seem so concerned. We would welcome your help.
It is all very well praising our lovely town and entering competitions etc but the sofa left in the middle of Elms Park this week didn’t quite give the right impression. Happily it has been cleared away. HOWEVER the rest of the three piece suite is just left nearby and the Elms Road to John Hampden School Alley is chock full of litter and the unwanted contents of children’s lunch boxes. I think the litter puckers need to extend their area!
There is an A. Denson at that address in the phone directory: Phone number (01844) 212592 You will need to dial +44 1844212592 from Canada I would think. Happy reunion !
We are in Canada and wish to contact Dr Ken W E Denson and his wife Margaret.. the last address we had for them was 5 Hazel Avenue Thame Oxon… could you tell us if they are still there or now..
Thanks
Tim B
No idea I’m afraid but not around the Thame area. That’s why the picture caption makes is clear that the image is ‘for illustrative purposes only’. It is a still taken from a genuine video capturing a lad ‘playing chicken’ just before he was hit by a vehicle. Luckily for him he was not seriously hurt but nevertheless, a really stupid thing to do!
Spear Travels in Thame is holding a travel event on Wednesday 4 November at james figg stable block featuring specialist holidays to the Caribbean with guest speakers from selected hotels from the caribbean. Tickets £1 donated to local charity from 7 pm – 9 pm
all welcome.
A gas leak and it took an hour to call the Police and the Fire Service??!! I dread to think what could have happened in that time, and don’t the Gas people have a number to call in such emergencies so that the Police and Fire Services who are not, I imagine, expert gas leak repairers, are not the first to be called. I appreciate fully the need for these Services to be called for safety’s sake but let’s get gas turned off as a priority.
Our local U3A groups are having a community stall at Thame Market on October 13th (9.00 to 14.00) to explain all that we have to offer retired and semi-retired people…talks, trips, interest groups to learn new skills and share experience and much more.
On Monday this week I was given a shopping list by my wife and headed off to town. My experience was completely different to Mrs Blaine’s. Of the 30 or so items on the list, the only thing I couldn’t get in Sainsbury’s was a butternut.
As for Steve’s comment, Peter is an elected official, therefore he represents us, that’s how democracy works. His comment is backed up by the number of people who have voted in the various e-petitions and petitions. I know you will go down the route that the Thame Centre First group all have vested interests, as stated in the above article, but you can’t ignore the numbers on the on-line e-petititons.
The result as expected. Just shows you how out of touch most of these councillors are. As for Peter Lambert’s comment “70% of town residents opposed the store” he must live in a different town. Perhaps he should resign from the council as it’s difficult to know who he represents.
I am sure if you asked all the people that live in Thame at least 85% would say, if they were being truthful, that they do their weekly shopping out of Thame so I really do not get it when certain people say it will have an effect on the Thame businesses. Surely this is already happening if people are going to one of super markets in Aylesbury or Asda in Wheatley. I feel that the super markets we have in Thame do not always have what you are looking for. A few weeks ago I went to Coop and could only find a couple of items I needed so I come out of there and went to Waitrose and still couldn’t get all what I needed.
Interestingly, I was sent out yesterday to do some shopping, and decided to test out the range at Sainsbury’s using the shopping list my wife had given to me. Out of 30 items, the only one I wasn’t able to obtain was a butternut.
Geoff, I’m not sure where your stat of “50% of the residents do not have their needs met by the current stores in Thame” comes from, but that’s certainly not my experience.
All this fuss for a Tesco. Not so sure why. Yes we need more parking if that’s the case might as well do park and ride but that’s not what Thame is all about. We have a lot of individual shops and a lot of coffee shops and hair dressers. But Thame is a strong community and a lot of shops will not benefit from a tesco as we have Waitrose co op sainsbury and a little marks Spencer’s. And 10-15 min drive to a tesco in princes risbourogh. Or Aylesbury where there is more than enough supermarkets. I can’t see why people want to make Thame like Aylesbury. I can easily jump on a bus or in my car which keeps the bus company in service. I can get all my essential from Thame and like any other I can shop online or have a trip to Aylesbury to get everything else. NO TO TESCO. Next we will have a Aldi lidl. We already have dominios just need McDonald’s and kfc and we are there
Hi Sonia
I wonder if Bev and I can use your site to promote our support for the Alzheimers Society. We are both walking the Stonehenge Trek on 4th September, a total of 25 miles, and are trying to raise as much money as possible. Between us we have raised £680 so far but we’d like to raise more!!
I understand you are in the Keys on Wed eve, perhaps we could have a quick chat with you then.
Many thanks.
Much was made by Centre First on Radio Oxford yesterday about the Neighbourhood Plan specifying a smaller square footage than the Tesco plan. What they don’t understand is that the Tesco opportunity is about quality not quantlty. You may find it strange I mention Tesco and quality together! What I mean is that 50% of residents do not have their need met by the 3 stores in Thame. You can go on adding the wrong type of retail space for ever but it only works if it provides the quality Thame people need. The current stores do not provide the complimentary products nor do they meet the price needs.
3000 signing an anti Tesco petition is not clear resident support at all. Most of those signatures are from the cartel of self interest.
As I have stated before anyone can collect 3000 signatures but It does not represent the majority of the population of Thame and the surrounding area which well exceeds that number by many many thousands.
Thame Town Council will support this anti Tesco campaign because they have no choice. They have always been supportive of the business cartel by the long term councillors that make up the council.
SODC will be the decision makers and they will hopefully look at the bigger picture as the development of Thame has only just started. Thame Centre First is sadly stuck in the past.
So we have 3563 anti-Tesco vs 753 pro-Tesco. These being made up of 3000 signing the anti-Tesco petition and 653 the anti-Tesco ePetition and 600 pro-Tesco pledges and 153 the pro-Tesco ePetition.
I’d say that’s a pretty big majority for the anti-Tesco lobby, despite the “comprehensive door-knocking exercise”!
I’d be interested in the council’s view on how they can respect the clear wishes of the residents and avoid being overruled by SODC again!
Any news on potential bus route changes to incorporate that end of town?
Otherwise every new resident will be using cars for every single journey.
There is currently no public transport serving this area.
Sorry Sonja, I didn’t make that clear – either the “Thame needs Tesco” group or another pro-Tesco lobby have been knocking on doors asking people to sign their petition – it’s this petition that I’d be interested in knowing the numbers from.
So far we have the 3000 signing the “Thame Centre First” petition, and 563 on the ePetition. Then only 153 signatures on the pro-Tesco ePetition.
Sonja, my understanding is that there are 2 ePettions with 563 vs 153 in favour as per the article, but that there is a separate for petition and they have been around knocking on doors to drum up support. It’s this separate one that I’d be interested in knowing the numbers!
I am one of hundreds who cannot do a main shop in Thame and travel to Wycombe, Aylesbury or Wheatley. Don’t understand why people think a Tesco will damage Thame town centre and I don’t want to. Look at all the hairdressers, charity shops, cofffee shops, arty/knick knack shops that populate the High Street. Tesco won’t take trade from Newitts, Wrens or Waitrose. Sainsburys may suffer but only of they don’t improve their pricing
Tony, how is that any more ironic than an Englishman who comes from the country that gave us Waitrose, Sainbury’s, the Co-op and M&S saying the same things? BTW, it may have escaped you, but we already have all four of these! What I find more amazing is that outsiders can see the damage that a Tesco will do and people who live here can’t!
As for Simon’s comment, it will; be interesting to contrast the 3000 who signed the Anti-Tesco petition with the number who signed the pro-Tesco one! Does anyone have this number yet?
I’m from Germany and I’ve visited Thame several times. My last stay in your lovely town was two weeks ago……You have such wonderful little stores in your town and you don’t need such a supermarket at the outskirts. So I totally support your petition.
What a farce. Anyone can get 3000 signatures from local business owners, their employees, employees friends, business owners friends and so it goes on. They do not represent the general public. With the new houses being built in Haddenham & Thame the idea that we should only have the town centre to shop is ridiculous. 3000 people who need to get real.
These specific areas of rubber matting were already badly damaged due to lack of maintenance. It seems unlikely there have been any inspections for some while because the matting is damaged in several area, concrete edges are exposed, the swings are twisted and out of line and covered in pigeon crap. The whole play area has been run down in recent years, probably because certain decision makers knew that the Elms development was in the bag. The logic would be that there’s point in investing in maintenance if the developers are going to pick up the bill and glory for refurbishment. Then look at the basket ball court which hasn’t seen so much as a squirt of weed killer for several years.
I’m sorry about the links problem Eric. They certainly worked when tested before the post went live yesterday, so a bit of a mystery. It could have been a temporary problem with SODC’s website. I’ve remade the links and they seem to be working OK now. Do let me know if you continue to have problems. SF
“There is no point in conserving something that serves no purpose.”
With incredibly ignorant statements like this, its no wonder ‘Hugh’ prefers to hide behind an alias (Hugh Jarse) on this site. I doubt anyone with even an ounce of intelligence could ever describe 10 acres of meadowland as ‘serving no purpose’.
Elms Field has contributed more to this town and planet than you or I could ever comprehend. Just because you can’t walk through the land or live on it currently doesn’t mean it serves no purpose. In fact, its only the choice of the current custodian that the field doesn’t do anything ‘visible’ at the moment. Up until a few years ago I understand sheep grazed and furthermore, in living memory, the land hosted community events too. That’s not to mention the millions of tonnes of CO2 it has ingested over the years and the millions of species that have no doubt called it home too!
The funny thing is, the environmental impact of developing this land isn’t even the most compelling reason not to. Have you considered traffic generation during construction and after development? How about pressure on infrastructure such as schools and nurseries in this vicinity? What about the security implications of opening up the park on the side (bearing in mind the park was enclosed at the Broadwaters end only a few years ago to curb anti-social behaviour)? How about the privacy implications of the double storey balconies overlooking the park? I won’t go on…
I actually have no real desire to see the land opened to the public, development or no development. This is the private grounds of a lovely house, no reason why it shouldn’t stay that way to be enjoyed by someone who can afford it (which, ironically, is what the current owner told people he intended to do of course!). That said augmenting Elms Park with this land as a nature reserve would be pretty awesome and provide real benefit to the Town too. Not sure you can say that about a bunch of 3 storey, flat roofed houses?!
The fact that this land need not be developed because the comparatively few houses in this development could be distributed to other sites in Thame (as 8 already need to be) proves that this is an unnecessary development and really should be conserved as a greenfield site as it always was destined to be. Until it got railroaded into the TNP that is.
Please do not misrepresent me in your replies. I am not claiming to speak for anyone just pointing out facts.
It is interesting that you feel that 2100 is a small number and 2175 is a large number and I assume you apply this same philosophy to using the term ‘many people’.
It is also interesting that you feel the Elms serves no purpose, in stating that you are not disagreeing with me but with English Heritage and SODC who classified the Elms as a Conservation area and gave extensive reasons for doing so that you may wish to read.
Lets agree to differ as I am only interested in discussing facts and you seem to have gone down the root of personal attack so I will not debate further but allow the facts to speak for themselves.
Adrian, you asked me to explain my stance that there are many people in Thame who are quite happy with houses being built on the Elms, I believe I have explained that through the numbers who approved the TNP and the small number who signed the Elm Petition.
Unlike you I’m not making any unjustified claims to speak for the majority of Thame residents, just pointing out that there many who disagree with your views.
As an aside, the areas that were used for the Shakespeare production around the house last year aren’t being developed, so I’m sure that future generatations will still be able to enjoy similar events.
There is no point in conserving something that serves no purpose.
Thanks Hugh,
It is not safe or that easy to state that the people of Thame who voted for the TNP voted for the development of the Elms. The YES campaign leaflets explicitly stated (misleadingly) that it would make no difference to the Elms if they voted YES or NO.
Whenever the Elms was discussed at public consultation it was overwhelmingly voted against yet it still got included in the TNP. No one has been able to explain that and I have asked extensively.
English Heritage and the SODC both consider the Elms to be an important site, generally areas of a town that achieve conservation status are not run of the mill. I agree with you that the Elms can be of more benefit to the town but I disagree that destroying it is the best way to achieve that.
As an aside double the legally allowed amount was spent on the TNP YES campaign which was much better publicised and funded than the Elms Petition yet achieved only a few more subscribers despite its misleading campaign literature (I have examples of this if you would like reminding).
I hope you enjoyed the Shakespeare production in that wonderful setting it is a shame future generations will not be able to.
FYI I am not a nimby who overlooks the Elms I am a concerned resident of 24 years that cares about the town and its character and feel that now is not the time destroy the conservation area especially with all the other changes the town is undergoing (Industrial area, cattle market, extensive housing).
Yes the total population is close to 12,000, but I was referring to the number that are old enough to vote, which I believe is between 8000 and 9000 people.
I think the point in this case is that, whether you support or oppose development of The Elms, this particular application/design is not right for the town in several key ways. It does not even conform to the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.
This is all agreed upon among many of the key players in the planning process including Thame Town Council, SODC’s Conservation Officer and English Heritage.
In fact, just about the only person, other than the developers, that actually thought this application was acceptable is the SODC planning officer, Emily Hammerton who chose to accept the developers subjective opinions on issues such as the heritage impact of the development whilst ignoring the opinion of her very own Conservation Officer who clearly stated these opinions were incorrect. Why bother employing someone to advise you if you’re going to ignore their advice?
Another obscurity of SODC planning is that the committee members from the parish (i.e. Thame’s District Councillors) were not eligible to vote on this decision. Thame’s council was asked for their opinion on behalf of the people of Thame and they UNANIMOUSLY asked SODC to refuse permission as it wasn’t right in this instance and presented relevant planning reasons. Yet, of course, this plea was clearly ignored.
So if you think democracy has been upheld by the passing of this application then you are sadly mistaken. The Neighbourhood Plan has been overridden in several key ways and the democratically elected representatives of the people of Thame have been ignored, in fact, it would appear that Thame has had very little say in this application in any way.
To gain an insight into the competence of the planning committee on the night of the decision, they discussed the proposed Nelson Street 1-way system as helping traffic flow. Of course, anyone with any insight into the area will know that this proposal has been scrapped by Oxfordshire County Council and the committee had to be told by a member of the public attending the meeting that this was the case (they told her ‘sit down, shut up’ of course).
Finally, 2 things amaze me about all of this. Firstly, I can’t believe that on the night of the meeting there were only 3 or 4 Town Councillors there representing the town and secondly why has the Town Council not made a stand against this decision since it was made – not a hoot out of them saying how disappointed they are let alone launching some sort of legal case due to the breaking of the neighbourhood plan. Makes you think they just don’t care?
Claire, thanks for the numbers. All I said was that there were a great many people in favour of putting houses on the Elms, however your research seems to indicate that we have 2,175 in favour of the Neighbourhood plan that included development on the Elms, vs the 2,100 who signed the anti-petition. This could be interpreted as the majority were in favour!
Pointing out that barely a quarter of the Town voted Yes for the Neighbourhood Plan and therefore it’s not a majority view is a spurrious argument. Of those who voted, the majority were in favour, thats how democracy works!
If 2900 people voted in the Neighbourhood Plan referendum and 75% of those voted yes, as reported in the article above, that makes 2175 people who voted yes. The electorate in Thame is somewhere between 8000 and 9000 people so barely a quarter of the town voted yes. Not what you would call a majority.
The real shame is that the Elms site ever ended up in the Neighbourhood Plan. And that the planning application ended up being voted through by 4 councillors out of a committee of 11 – that doesn’t seem like democracy to me?
I find it difficult to believe but I actually agree with you this time Hugh !
I have lived in Thame for a similar time as you & my wife, more than double that & neither have experienced the Elms ! I certainly voted for the NHP to develop the site
1. The majority of the Town approved the neighbourhood plan that included developing on The Elms.
2. Only 2,100 people signed the Elms Petition depspite the widespread publicity.
I’ve lived in Thame for almost 20 years and the first time I saw the Elms Field was when the Shakespeare production was held there last year. What use is an empty field to anyone other than the nimbys who can see it?
Hugh, Could you qualify “a great many people” please because it is my experience and the experience of every public consultation there has been on the Elms that the residents of Thame do no want this development. This is also reflected in 2100 people who have signed the petition against the Elms most of whom live in Thame. I understand that you feel that it is ridiculous to call the Elms a ‘Key’ feature but this is the conclusion of the “Thame Conservation Area Character Appraisal” of 2006 which has several paragraphs on why they think that so I wondered if you could again qualify that statement a little so I can understand the alternative view. Thank you.
There are a great many people living in Thame who are in favour of putting houses on The Elms. Calling The Elms a “key feature of the Town” is rediculous – it’s land close to the Town centre that we have no access to anyway.
I think this is excellent news!! A great opportunity to promote Thame and keep it special by preserving and maintaining its unique High Street that we would not want destroying by an out of town superstore!
Thank you for your kind words Norman. It was felt important that the people of Thame who were unable to attend the meeting in person, because of the distance and the timing, were able to read about what happened, and who said what! Perhaps important planning meetings like this should be held in the towns that will be affected by the decision.
You need to sort this out with Toogle and Turn2Us, because if people google ‘Thame Welfare Trust’ these are the sites people are directed to. The web is where people seek information these days. Perhaps it would be better if you had your own webite to explain what you do and who you are etc. The point some of the councillors keep making whenever Thame Welfare Trust comes up, is that very few people know of its existence nor what the organisation does. http://tiny.cc/axb70x
Thame Welfare Trust is STRICTLY limited to the people of Thame
The remit is ‘for the relief of the poor and needy in the Parish of Thame. ‘ Help and advise is NOT available on line and this website has not been set up by Thame Welfare Trust
I wonder what this tells us about the Tories much vaunted policy of localism? When a unanimous vote by Thame Town Council and well argued presentations by our local representatives (Councillors Styles and Dodds) can be overridden by a remote council which has never had the interests of Thame people at heart, it makes you doubt the democratic process. The so-called debate in the council chamber had the passion of a wet lettuce (apologies to lettuce lovers), the intelligence of an amoeba and the vision of a sticky toffee pudding. Yes, we’ll get used to having a monstrosity over our garden fence, but it could have been so much better if profit was not the overriding motive. A modest number of cottage style homes could have enhanced the landscape, but these monstrosities, which breach the constraints of the Neighbourhood Plan the developer claimed to support, will be “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved friend”.
Good Afternoon
Another part of Thame Being buiilt on
The Schools in Thame are full
Parking difficult at times
Parking at The Health Centre impossible at times
Thame is a Lovely Market Town keep it that way and stop building all these houses
Another blow to the young and vulnerable by the ” we’re all in this together” government as it cuts local authority funding. What does our MP have to say about this?
The bus services are vital for the communities of Thame, Chinnor & surrounding villages particularly for the young people, elderly & those who don’t drive. The bus service from Thame to Chinnor & to High Wycombe gives some independence to young people who like to go further afield to shop or go to the cinema or meet with friends.
This will make the vaunted “big society” a bit more constricted for non car owners who are disproportionately the young and the elderly. However not all gloom as David Cameron’s father-in-law still has 20,000 acres of Scottish island plus Oxfordshire farmland ( all subsidised) to play in.
The 40 bus for people who live in Chinnor is our only way to get to places like Thame and High Wycombe. We don’t have any other bus service, please don’t take it away. Many people rely on it, and for the elderly, teenagers and people who don’t have cars it is our only mode of transport. Don’t maroon us in Chinnor!
Hi Sonja.
Would it be possible to put our charity event on your pages please. We are raising funds for the Shabbington Village Hut.
2nd Annual Scarecrow Fun Day . 5th September. 5pm until late.
The Old Fisherman , Shabbington.Scarecrow Competition, Tug Of War across the river, Open mike evening. Food, bouncy castle, face painting, The stocks, Splat the rat,welly wanging and much more. Free entry.
If you need any more info please call me.
THAT HOUSE ALOS HAS 2 HANGING BASKETS THAT OVERHANG THE FOOT PATH WHICH IS HIGHWAY PROPERTY AND FLOWER POTS ON THE PAVEMENT HOPE THE HANGING BASKETS DO NOT FALL ON SOMEBODY WHERE IS THE HEALTH AND SAFTY
I understand things are now More or less back to normal Gloran. For future reference, please email me separately before you go planning the involvrment of Thame.Net in collecting emails etc for a campaign. I’m very happy to discuss though. Thanks, Sonja
Does O2 consider Thame a third-world country? The evidence is in and the answer is ”Not even that Highly”.
For Thame residents and visitors on which the O2 network is inflicted (and I use the term advisedly, the O2 network hasgiven poor or no coverage for weeks. O2’s reason? The O2 live coverage checker states:
”Sorry a phone mast close to you isn’t working. Sorry, there’s a mast near you that isn’t working and we’re waiting for our third party supplier to visit the site to fix the problem. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
Frankly I donlt care that they use a sub-contractor – that is the servoice provider’s issue and not mine.
Are you affected? Well – you should certainly know by now!
This affects all networks that use O2, and that includes Giff Gaff and Tesco Mobile. While this is outside the ‘phone service providers control (unless you are contracted directly with O2 of course), it is still up to the service provider to press the network provider to deliver.
What should you do if you are affected?:
1) Complain to your ‘phone service provider.
2) Set a firm deadline to get this fixed or you will leave and request compensation. I said a week, but out of grace will give them up to 2 weeks,
3) Confirm by email and let https://www.thame.net know; let’s get some idea of how many are affected.
4) If (when I suspect) you are ready to “walk” then see Which on cancellation (LINK BELOW) – and dont forget to get a PAC code’if you want to keep your number, you may also want to get your mobile unlocked – so check first’on YOUR cancellation options.
Thame O2 mast has been down for 7 days now, a lot of unhappy people on Facebook, we all keep getting told something different!!!! The last thing I was told it should be working last night at 6pm, earlier in the week I got told it was working fine & it was low because of the useage, get it sorted O2 stop fobbing us off
Tesco’s has been demonstrating a total lack of ethics in its business, much to the dismay of their shareholders who have got a taste of the medicine that this business is built on. To ignore the strength of feeling within the Thame shows that the CEO is not intent, as he has claimed, on changing the way that Tesco does business….. its the same old destructive steamroller, ignore the public, rip the heart out of every town that they can!!
We have told them NO before, we do not want them in our town,
L I S T E N for a change!
Simply Tina for all the specialist shops, cafes and to just enjoy the town without the hassle of finding somewhere to park. We would have our own “Park & Ride ” courtesy of Tesco
Tony,
I don’t think I’m completely missing the point. What would you need to go into Thame Town Centre for if you have just done your shopping in an out of Town Supermarket?
Tina, You are completely missing the point of a courtesy bus from Tesco into the town centre.
As part of a Planning application they can be “forced” by the imposition of a condition on the approval to provide long stay car parking for those who either want to travel by car ( from wherever ) & either shop first & leave their goods in the trolley lockers or in their cars & then use the facility of the courtesy bus without the hassle of trying to find a space in the town centre to park. What a great way to get more people from outside Thame to visit out market town !
I would understand everyone’s anger at a super store being built, if the town centre wasn’t filled with charity shops?! There are more charity shops than anything else and a new one opening soon?! Those who shop in Waitrose will always shop in Waitrose!!
GOOD MORNING
PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW PLANNING PERMISSION FOR AN OUT OF TOWN TESCO STORE IN THAME WE HAVE 3 SUPERMARKETS TO FULFILL OUR REQUIREMENTS AND INDEPENDANT SHOPS WHICH WE SHOULD SUPPORT KEEP THAME A MARKET TOWN
CARPARKING CAN BE APROBLEM SOMETIMES AND SOME MORE DISABLES CARPARKING THAME REQUIRES A CINEMA FOR US ALL OR A BOWLING COMPLEX FOR THE YOUNGSTERS AND KEEP THEM IN THE TOWNINSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO TO OXFORD OR AYLESBURY THAME ALSO REQUIRES A GOOD GENERAL STORE
THAME IS A LOVELY MARKET TOWN PLEASE KEEP THIS
AND DO NOT ALLOW A SUPER STORE TO BE BUILT PEOPLE WILL GO TO THE OUT OF TOWN STORE AND NOT COME INTO THE TOWN CENTRE
I cannot imagine for one minute that people will come from the surrounding villages & do their shopping at an out of town supermarket THEN hop on a bus with all their shopping, lug it around Thame high street, why would they need to do that? They will have bought everything they need at the supermarket. They’ll just go home on the bus supplied by the supermarket. An out of Town supermarket which is what the application for Howland Road is will not encourage people to shop in Thame Town Centre it will do exactly the opposite.
Tony – there’s in zero benefit to Thame of the people from the surrounding villages coming to use a Tesco store on the bypass. If they can get what they need from Tesco, they will be in and out without going neat the high street, The only effect for Thame will be more traffic on the bypass.
I would say that more “Self Centered” opinions are coming from the pro-Tesco lobby who have no interest in having a thriving Thame centre.
There are a lot of “Self centred” opinions as why we should have a Tesco, has nobody considered the surrounding village people who may chose to come to Thame use, the Tesco & the courtesy bus into Thame town centre rather than be kept away because of the uncertainty of being able to park in Thame. Thame centre shops must continue to offer great service but by saying go away nasty Tesco will not help
The reality is that Tesco are attempting to plug a gap in their geographic coverage of the area. This has nothing to do with them wanting to provide a valued service, new jobs or investment, they just want the revenue that a new store will bring them. That revenue has to come from somewhere, which means that other stores have to lose out as shoppping habits will change.
Tesco have no interest in INVESTING in Thame, they just want a store to generate revenue.
HooHaa – you have obviously never been in to Wrens if you think that the butchers in Thame are expensive. Their 3 for a fiver and three for £10 specials are great value. Added to that, with a proper butcher you get personal service. At the end of the day, the people who will benefit most from having a Tesco in Thame will be Tesco, not us!
Dave Lewis you couldn’t care about our town centre or our local community!
You are a business and you want your business in our town.
Community does not come in to it.
By the way if I was looking for a great shopping experience Tesco would not be what I would be thinking of.
So no thank you…take your Tesco elsewhere
Thame has to move into the 21st Century, with 800 new homes and all the new people coming we need more options and facilities.
Tesco will enhance the shopping possibilities for people and give everyone more choice..
The shops in the high street will still be ok with all the new people moving in.
Thame cannot opt out from the world and pretend time has stood still, lets get real, have a choice, reduce our carbon foot print by not having to drive to Aylesbury or Wheatley.
We need this…
I didn’t realise until last night just how many people Newitts employs …… 40 and that’s just one business in the town that will be under threat if Tesco is allowed to build OUTSIDE of the town centre.
I think we have enough supermarkets in Thame, why do we need one on the outskirts? This will kill the town centre……
I understand not all people drive but there are other supermarkets out of town that can be easily reached, Tesco in Princes Risborough and Aylesbury and High Wycombe and Asda in High Wycombe and Wheatley.
Having any supermarket on the outskirts of thame will kill the town centre, it has happened in other towns…Amersham for one, it will happen here.
I take exception to the comment “don’t get caught” as related to parking on double yellows and zigzags. That’s a terrible message to put out. The message surely is: “don’t do it!”
I personally applaude Tesco coming to Thame, sainsburys and co-op offer limited ranges and waitrose is expensive. I do my weekly shop in Asda Wheatley or Tesco PR, and use the Thame supermarkets for “top up” shops. The butchers in Thame are too expensive, so I use the one in Chinnor who not only offers local produce, is very reasonable. I used to live in a town in Kent that had a similar outcry about 10 years ago, the local businesses were not affected and still going strong. It’s a competitive market and we, as consumers want choice and value for money.
Childcare isn’t really the issue.
Zero hours doesn’t pay, or support, any families long term.
As a town, we voted for a Town Plan.
This application would invalidate the legitimacy of every town plan in the country.
I, personally, wouldn’t mind a corner shop.
But the people voted against it, so we cannot stand in the way of democracy.
So DWTSOT you don’t consider part time employment of use to younger families where one of the parents is willing to work evenings or weekends instead of using high priced childcare. Try looking at the wider picture
To say that the arrival of Tesco will not affect town centre businesses is simply not true. The Thame Neighbourhood Plan clearly states that;
“any major shopping outside the town centre would be likely to undermine the town’s vitality of the town centre shops. This would be detrimental to the overall sustainability of the town and would be likely to reduce the accessibility and choice of services and facilities available to the community”.
FACT: a study in Fakenham, Norfolk found that town centre food retailers experienced a 64% decline in market share following the opening of an out of town supermarket.
Furthermore, government policy on both a national and local level is
focussing on the use of town centres for convenience shopping. Therefore, if there is a need shown for an additional store, then this is exactly where it should be placed, to act as an “anchor” for the independent shops, just as the current supermarkets do.
Is should also be noted that many independent retailers also buy their supplies locally which obviously contributes to the wider local economy and also employment.
On the subject of employment, these supposed 200 jobs are likely to be part-time or on zero hours contracts and permanent, full-time positions would be lost in the town as a result of businesses closing or relocating, so no gain here!
What would happen to Thame Market if Tesco came to town? This has been in existence since the 14th Century and is one of the most successful markets in the South East of England, providing great variety and choice at a reasonable price.
If people really do ‘care’ about the town then help to preserve what is truly great about it ……. Its High Street! Estate agents describe Thame as “a bustling market town” … let’s keep it that way and say no thank you to out of town shopping.
Tesco coming to Thame would stop a lot of people having to do their shopping out of Thame I for one would change my shopping from high Wycombe to Thame
Thame is a market town. Do we really want our local butchers, sandwich and tea shops closing due to Tescos coming to our town. They take over. . Opening all hours. We have Tescos in Aylesbury, Oxford, Princes Risborough, a brand new one in Stokenchurch.
Excellent article; very heartfelt and true. Thame desperately needs Tesco – bring it on! We aren’t all retired people who have time to shop in lots of shops/use the market. Some of work full time outside thame and have to shop outside Thame. I would welcome the chance to shop in Thame but the current supermarkets are too expensive, too small and offer little choice.
It sounds very NIMBY to say that Tesco ” will cheapen the place! ” . I suppose if you are trying to price younger families and couples starting out on married/ shared lives together then high house prices & limited choice stores would be a route to getting your own way ! The reason you don’t see the current stores ” heaving” is probably down to higher prices ( Waitrose ) & a limited range ( Sainsbury & Co Op ). We shop at all of those but do the ” big shop” at Tesco . Finally your comment that brands everyone who supports Tesco implies we are not welcome as Thame residents ( after 50 Yrs ) and should go & live in Aylesbury just beggars belief !
I live near thame and I certainly don’t want tescos. Tescos will cheapen the place. If I wanted to live in aylesbury I would have moved there in the first place. These large supermarkets have no place in areas like thame. I have no objection to express type supermarkets but we already have waitrose, sainsburys, coop and a mini m&s, I don’t see any of them heaving with shoppers so I’m sure another 700 houses will bring good business to them without the need to go to the dreaded tescos super giant.
The worse thing that could that happen to Thame would be to have a Tesco on the outskirts of the town, many of the small shops would disappear for ever.
I disagree strongly with the Tesco plan. Why disrupt the balance of Thame’s high street and independent shops? Retail development should not be allowed away from the centre of Thame.
I live in Chearsley and if I want to shop in Tesco I can drive to the two stores in Aylesbury.
I support the sentiments expressed by Thame Centre First. I agree that traffic congestion and parking are a problem in Thame predominantly exacerbated by the availability of free parking in the town centre. However most retailers and other businesses rely on the free parking to maintain the footfall,any any measures which end up in decreased footfall would sound the death nell for some businesses who are surviving on very small margins.A supermarket on the east of the town would increase congestion as people in the centre and the west of town will drive through the centre to get there. Think of the effect that will have on Park Sreet alone, added to the increasing intake to John Hampden School.
Sounds amazing! Just email all the details about how/why/when you started the group: a nice picture too! Also how people can join (if you want new members) and info about some of your past events, and an email contact. editor@thame.net
Well said to both contributors below! Please ensure you sign the against petition on the SODC website and send in your objection letters prior to 25th June to help ensure we retain our unique High Street.
Hi Sonja, are we newsworthy raising money for Alzheimers disease by running in our pants. That is the Can You Navigate Thame running club (because we have a seriously convoluted route around Thame in winter to stay under street lights. We run every Tuesday and meet at the Falcon for rehydration! Photos available if it helps…
THAME SHOULD REMAIN A MARKET TOWN WITH INDEPENDANT TRADERS PLEASE DO NOT START TO HAVE RETAIL OUTLETS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE TOWN IT WILL KILL THE LOVELY PLACE THAME IS PERHAPS A FEW MORE RETAIL SHOPS THAT BICESTER TOWN CENTRE HAS AND LESS CHARITY SHOPS AND HAIR DRESSERS KEEP THE TOWN CENTRE ALIVE
Hi Sonja
I wondered if you would put our Sugarcraft meeting on your events page please.
We are the Thames Valley branch of the British Sugarcraft guild.
We meet at the Girl Guide Hall,Southern Rd,Thame,on the second
Saturday of each month.
This month (13th) we have a demonstration on Vanda Orchids.
Doors open at 1pm. An entrance fee of £7:50 for visitors.
All welcome.
Save the money and hire a mini bus for all the councillors to go to Tring and Prices Risborough and see what a small TESCOS has done to their high street shops.
A BROADBAND upgrade is on the way for two business buildings opposite the DAF site in Thame, once two new cabinets currently being installed in Thame, bring faster broadband on stream for the area. Also, you might find this website ‘Better Broadband for Oxfordshire’ useful http://www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk/home
I don’t particularly want to live next to Tesco, nor do I like living where the DAF staff can see into my living room, and watch me shower. A Tesco car park seems marginally preferable.
However.
A proposed petrol station either within or just on the edge of a blast zone next to existing housing, is lunacy.
A 24 hour petrol station would bring traffic to the site 24/7.
Next to existing housing.
And a smell of petrol.
And diesel.
And exhaust fumes.
I’m not a NIMBY
I’m not a BANANA either
I shop online.
I shop at Amazon
I shop at Sainsburys, Waitrose, Aldi, Co-op and sometimes even Tesco.
I bought food from What’s Cooking yesterday (thank you, it was delicious)
I’m trying to work at home today and I have no mobile signal due to the lack of mobile masts in Thame on this side of town.
I have limited internet as we have no fibre broadband on our street – internet shopping is so much fun when it cuts out and you don’t know if you’ve bought something or not.
And my landline crackles.
I’m living in a communication dead zone.
BT sort it out!
I’d quite like a free (Tesco paid) shuttle bus to town. We don’t have a bus route over here in the ring road industrial estate wilderness. I could go to town without the car.
If Tesco dropped the petrol station, brought super fast fibre broadband to us, brought a mobile mast (not too close to my house, thanks) and planted a huge number of trees all around the site, I’d be happy. If they clad it in wood and added a grass roof, rather than the standard ugly box hypermarket design, I’d be even happier.
Tony, it woudl probably have served you better to do a little research on where the Sheringam Tesco is before citing this as a comparative example. It appears to be directly directly opposite the Raiway station and therefore right on the high street, not situated more than a mile away. Customers are using the Tesco car park and the 2 hours free parking and then just walking down the street into town. In the articles I can find there are also examples quoted of shops closing and “Tesco being the final nail!”.
Sure Tesco have made comments about providing a bus into town from their store in Thame, but I can’t realistically see that taking off – how happy are they going to be ferrying people into town and effectively sharing the profits around – that doesn’t seem like a good business model to me.
Out of town retail developments, such as that planned by Tesco, are discouraged by the government, it does not comply with the local development plans and would draw trade away from the Town Centre having a detrimental effect on the nature of Thame.
By all means support Tesco’s if you want Thame to become simply a mixed housing development with no sense of community, no centre or soul (much like Tesco’s me thinks!)
Do you really think that it is sensible to place the interests of ourselves, our children and our town in the hands of a company whose behaviour has done so much to damage our local and national rural community and its farmers and even, it appears, defrauded its own shareholders? Only a fool would do so.
It has been recognised that we need an affordable children’s clothes store but this does not have not to be a large Tesco on the outskirts of town!!! Sounds like an independent business opportunity to me located in the town centre!
I couldn’t agree more with Hugh Jarse’s comments here. I believe this echos the experiences of many people in our town that our local shops provide good quality, inexpensive items …. a High Street to be proud of and to be protected from Tesco’s mass produced offerings.
Hugh,
As you clearly stated in your previous response to me , you fit neatly into the ” Grey Pound ” bracket , as in fact do I,but come on, Austins for clothing ! What about families , on a budget with young children, where can they shop for reasonably priced childrens clothes in Thame ? The bookstore is great if you want something a bit different or are willing to pay the cover price and as for newsagents being threatened, I don’t think many people would drive to pick up their morning paper , when they can park on the double yellows outside the ” Chocolate Box ” in the morning or pop into Martins . As I put on twitter last night, the One Show covered the recent opening of a Tescos in Sheringham , Norfolk, a town not dissimilar to Thame and there was some evidence that footfall to the town centre shops had increased since they opened.
Unfortunately, even though I work in Thame, after a hard day I don’t want to spend my evening driving to a supermarket 9 miles away.
I shop at Tesco every week and we make the trip at the weekend which takes us out of Thame altogether.
This means that Thame town centre misses my custom totally. I am at work Monday to Friday and then drawn away on a Saturday, visiting other town centres instead.
(I have to say I have tried delivered shopping many times and just don’t like it. I like to be able to make my decisions in front of the food.)
Things change, times change, and Thame needs to move with the times not be left behind. There is a good book most of the anti’s need to read, it is called “Who moved my cheese” Maybe you will start to realise that change isn’t bad…..
Steve, I’m not anti Tesco and have been in their stores many times, I just don’t believe we need one out on the bypass where it would take business away from the Town centre. I’m far from anti-growth and fully support building on Elms Field as we need more housing. However this growth needs to be managed and directed, which is why we have a neighbourhood plan that Thame voted upon.
We need to protect what we have and balance this against the need for growth, not threaten what we have just so that Tesco can make profits by plugging a hole in their geographic coverage of the UK. We indeed do have a quaint town centre, but I take issue with the comment that the shops offer little. Clays/Wrens are not expensive and provide great quality meat. For something a little more up market, try Newitt’s. Both are great butchers with friendly and helpful staff. The bakeries offer great bread and flour, Austins provides good clothes at reasonable prices. Bookshops, toyshops, a deli, newsagent, coffee shops I’m not sure what more you want, but all of these will be threatened by Tesco. I agree with the comments on the business rates being too high, but having a Tesco on the bypass will kill these irespective of the rates.
I suggest Hugh that you take a trip to a Tesco’s then you will see what can be bought. Cloths at sensible prices, electrical goods, computer tablets, in fact just about everything you can’t get in Thame.
There are far too many blinkered views on one extra store. Whether people like it or not Thame will be forced to grow and this idea that we can keep a quaint town centre full of shops that offer little is just pie in the sky.
I have lived here all my life and am sick and tired of a small vocal group along with local councillors blocking any new development which would bring extra services and save people having to travel to either Oxford or Aylesbury for simple requirements.
If the local vocal group and councillors want to make a fuss about something then try campaigning about the outrageous business rates charged on the small shops that will cause their eventual downfall, not a Tesco store.
Living in Chinnor there is no difference in distance between going to Thame or Risborough. I choose to go to Risborough because Tesco is my preferred supermarket. While I was there today I also used a bank, hairdresser and several other shops. And I checked: there are only 2 empty shops and one of those has been let. I believe there are more than that in Thame. So a Tesco store on the edge of the town need not be the death knell to existing shops. I for one might start shopping in Thame if there were a Tesco there.
Tony – I’m quite happy for Thame to evolve, that’s what the neighbourhood plan is all about, and I support building houses at The Elms, but a fourth supermarket just won’t help our eveolution, quite the opposite. What will Tesco offer that Waitrose, Sainbury’s and the Co-Op don’t, or Asda in Wheatly once I am in the car. The infrastructure that’s creaking isn’t the supermarkets, but the dentists/doctors and schools.
Lastly, I’m nearly bald and bite my nails, so the hairdressers and nail bars are no use to this middle-aged “grey pound” man.
The so called “urbanisation” of the East of Thame is already underway with the housing estate, conversion of Angus Fire offices to flats & the second & larger industrial estate almost opposite Leyland DAF .
People have got to realise that Thame is evolving. As for the “small independents ” struggling that is largely due to lack of choice & price and as for driving 7 miles instead of 1 mile, I just don’t see the logic. Thame’s current infrastructure is already creaking under the load of it’s current population and even though the majority of people moving into the area will be limited to those who can afford the now extortionate house prices we still need to look to the town’s future albeit if we restrict it’s growth it will be those middle aged ” grey pound” , nail bar , hairdresser & estate agent visiting , who can afford to shop at Waitrose or want to restrict their menu choice to Sainsbury’s limited range !
All the visual and epidemiological evidence indicates that the last thing Thame needs is another food outlet offering spurious choice. If food supply is now adequate, how and why will a notional extra 200 jobs be created?
Will food distribution really be that less efficient if Tesco get permission to blight the town.
Regardless of whether you would actually like a large Tesco in Thame (and I count myself as a regular Tesco customer) the fact is that large Tesco supermarkets on the edge of small town centres tend to decimate that town centre. This has been seen time and time again, with small independent retailers, particularly in the realms of food, clothing and household goods, proving unable to compete. The out of town centre (ring road) location also adds to the general ‘urbanisation’ and growth of small towns, leading to more housing and urban sprawl. One leads to the other… before we know it, the eastern part of Thame will be totally urbanised with traffic lights, multi-lane roads and housing estates (Bicester provides a stark example of this effect).
No need for a Tesco! I’ll just keep going to Waitrose where I can get free coffee, free newspapers and enjoy their ‘spilling into the car park’ gardening & plants section, without worrying what the “No’s” think of me taking trade from the High St coffee & newspaper retailers or Petals, just 50 yards from the store door. Oh no, Waitrose is completely different to Tesco… it brings shoppers, especially from the surrounding villages, into Thame…. whereas a Tesco store, on the edge of our massive sprawling suburbia of a town, would strip the town of trade and decimate all of the independent shops that make our town so special. Total double-standard, no basis in fact, hogwash!
I just can’t see the benefit that having a Tesco store would deliver to the people of Thame. For a big shop I’d have to drive to get there anyway, so I may as well go to Asda in Wheatley, it’s only 7 miles. I walk to get the top-up items and the Co-Op, Sainbury’s and Waitrose offer plenty of choice.
I can see the downside of Tesco sucking business from the town centre and the specialist shops in the town centre closing due to lack of business.
Well done! What a great event. The preservation of Thame’s High Street shops is vital for its continual survival.
Should we not enter the competition for 2015 considering we have so much to offer?
Not intentional Jennifer I can assure you. You may have noticed that I did not link to the ‘AGAINST’ page when I reported ‘Tesco supporters want their voices heard’ https://www.thame.net/archives/19874 But took on board the fact that I did not link to the ‘other side’ in the item you refer to either, and think it’s a good idea to link to both sides from now on. Let’s hope there will be something new to link to!
Thame.Net reports facts and records of meetings; You will find two links at the end of the article about the ‘For Tesco’ group. Unless the ‘Fors’ mobilise themselves as well as the ‘againsts’ there is nothing to report! Don’t call yourselves ‘the silent majority’ and expect people to feel sorry for you. Write letters to the editor; have a public meeting for those who want a Tesco; DO SOMETHING and it will be reported! The facebook page has nothing about the arguments ‘For’ a Tesco.
I don’t use the high street very much, much of the items are nice but overpriced and those that offer lower prices don’t survive so I buy those items online. I only ever go to the High Street for the bigger chains such as Boots, Robert Dyas or Superdrug so I would welcome a Tesco! More choice, better value and much much more continence. I do all my grocery shopping online with Tesco and having a Tesco wouldn’t affect my shopping habits at all! Hope they get the go ahead!
A nail in the coffin for the town centre! Totally flies in the face of the neighbourhood plan that the people of Thame voted for. We also have to put our trust in the councillors that the town recently elected
who gave their commitment to support the town and its neighbourhood plan.
No thanks … love the heart of this town too much to contemplate any erosion. Deviation from the town plan is very scary …. as it could be just the start!
Very encouraging news, rather than “hair brained ideas ” like paying the business rates , perhaps a more sensible one would be a shuttle bus service to & from Thame town centre,funded by Tesco then visitors could park out of town rather than a futile attempt to park in Thame
If Tesco is serious about becoming a part of the community perhaps they would be willing to cover the costs of the business rates for Thame town centre. Small businesses are struggling and a major competitor being added to the mix is not in Thames benefit.
Those that support this (small) TESCO in Thame should go and have a look at Tring and Princes Risborough. Their high streets have been decimated, full of empty shops.
Great news. Now the “self interest” group will try and convince the silent majority that it’s not needed. Just like they did with the in town application by Sainsbury. I fully support the Tesco application as do many others in the local surrounding villages.
You’re very welcome. It was a pleasure to be involved and to record their epic trip. I’m sure there will be lots of enthusiastic walkers who will want to joint the Twinning’s 15th anniversary walk from London to Thame next year! A bientot, Sonja
Merci beaucoup Sonja pour ce bel article sur l’exploit de nos quatre cyclistes inspirés par les Haddeham Hillbillie l’année dernière?. tout cela est rendu possible grâce à l’amitié forte entre nous.
Effectivement pour les 15 ans du jumelage nous nous préparons à faire à pied Londres/Thame ! nous sommes déjà 6 fous à être prêts.
A bientôt
Huguette
Hi – would you like to do an article about my Welsh cob mare who won and was Reserve Champion at the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Friday? I am a secretary at the JR and an amateur owner so to do so well at one of the largest shows in the country against the professionals is quite a feat, but I did have to ask a friend to take her in the ring for me due to my recent slipped disc! Have lots of pics if you are interested?
I would like to wish all those elected by the people of Thame all the very best for the future. Thame is wonderful place and I would like to respectfully remind the elected councillors that they are there to represent the wishes of people, which I’m sure they will do.
Name: Charles Boiling
Discharge Unit: Oxford And Bucks Light Infantry
Regiment: Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Regimental Number: 16826
Rank: Private
Badge Number: 311373
Piece: 3118
List Number: LA 0001-0400
Record Group: WO
Record Class: 329
I am reminded that Boris Johnson, when he became MP for the Henley constituency, did not live in the constituency for quite a long time. It is not unusual for a candidate to stand in a constituency far from his home.
You’re quite right! My apologies to Don! Somehow Helena’s last paragraph got pasted at the end of Don’s profile. Don Butler is standing as a Conservative
Dear Helena,
It is heartening to hear that you consider party politics have no place in market town councils. I understood you to have been a key campaigner for the YES for Thame group, a group that was blatantly driven and guided by John Howell’s intent to steamroll in his party’s neighbourhood planning policy; this seems to contradict your stated position on party politics.
Please could you clarify your position on the Elms development? Are you against all development on the site and would you fight to save the Elms if elected? Presumably, being an architect, you would have heeded the concerns of English Heritage had you been shown their letter during the consultation period when housing was allocated within the Thame town plan, is this so?
Kind regards,
R. Jeffries
Dear Mr Jeffries,
I have been a member of Chinnor RFC for about 18 years. The Club is incorporated by limited guarantee, as recommended by the RFU. As a paid up member this effectively restricts my liability to £1 equal with all the other adult members who have paid their subscriptions for the season. For 14/15 season I believe this to be around 500 people including players, parents, sponsors and vice presidents.
Property development will affect all of us. Those living close to a construction site will undoubtabley endure the noise, mess and traffic of the construction works for several months. Once complete the additional neigbours and what they bring will certainly be absorbed into Thame as the town evolves as a positive.
I am unable to comment with authority on any specific development as I have not availed myself of the detail. If elected, I will make sure I am well informed of any topic within my domain.
OMBUTSMAN FOR THAME
I agree with Cllr Dyer. I wanted to complain about the Town Clerk a few years ago and was not able to as ALL complaints are handled by – errrr the Town Clerk
Well done. This will be a brilliant thing for the people and especially the children of Thame. I for one would offer my full support and help, if required.
Hi Sonja, It would be good if you could put a article on your website about how many votes electors can have as many people I have talked to have been confused by one election leaflet stating that they have twelve votes.
The position as I understand it is you can vote for the following-
One vote for a M.P.
Upto three votes for S.O.D.C. Councillors.
Upto eight votes for the Thame Town Councillors
Electors do not have to vote for three S.O.D.C. if they just want to vote for one.
Electors do not have to vote for eight Thame Town Councillors if they just want to vote for just one.
Pretty sure that when I filled out my postal vote ballot, it told me that Mr Juthani does not live in our constituency – instead, he lives in one of the Reading constituencies. Call me old fashioned, but one of the first things I would look for from my MP would be someone to represent the views of local people – and to do so it would help if he or she was actually someone who lived locally. Why is Mr Juthani not standing in his own constituency? How spectacularly arrogant of him to talk about “their vote of confidence in me” – voters are not choosing an individual, they are choosing the representative of the party whose policies they believe will best serve the local population. This is not the X Factor Mr Juthani, this is a little more important than that.
Spot on Peter Butler. It’s also well known that some teachers are left wing and preach their own misguided propaganda to pupils – some who will believe this rubbish. Howell is right, when they grow up they realise that socialism is complete tosh peddled by hypocrites. The poor have been voting for Labour for decades and they are still poor.
Sam’s claim that “Socialists outlawed gender and racial discrimination in jobs (something incidentally that Nigel Farage wants to repeal” is misleading. UKIP believes that the person with the best ability should get the job and not because they simply tick a box for their sexual or racial orientation. That is social engineering!
Also his boasting of what socialist have achieved in the past is one sided. The one about the NHS is true but that was in the day when the Labour party looked after the working class. He makes no mention of the fact they have bankrupted the country every single time Labour have been in power and it was the Labour party that closed more mines that Thatcher and they ruined the coal, steel and motor industries in this country. Not to mention that every time Labour have been in power there are more people unemployment when they leave office than when they went in. I could go on for ever. Up the workers!
I had the pleasure of visiting the village of Thame high in the mountain ranges of Nepal in 1996. The people were lovely and the children were so happy. They are very proud people and would never ask for any hand outs unless they were in desperate need of help.
I would plead with everyone to please do or give whatever you can to help.
Thame is a growing town with new houses being built all over and it needs more strong business brands to help continue the growth and modernisation of Thame!
Thank you for responding. While you seem to recognise that The Elms is controversial, it seems as if you are pro-development of The Elms. I note that you state that you have no business interests in Thame (which I would not view as a problem for a Councillor); does that not contradict your stated long-term involvement with Chinnor Rugby Club, which is a private limited company? I would be interested in your views of how The Elms development will affect traffic and parking issues in the short term construction phase and long term completed build.
Dear Mr Jeffries.
Now I am no longer working after some 40 years of employment, and children have left home, I have a lot more time to devote to another calling. I have been looking for another cause or organisation to get involved in. I have been talking to friends and others about different opportunities, and they have come up with several suggestions including Lions, mediator, or parish councillor. I met Jeanette Matelot-Green at a local event and mentioned to her about no longer working, and stepping down from rugby. She asked if I had considered applying to be a town Councillor for Thame in the forthcoming election. No, I haven’t been “head hunted” to stand as a candidate in this election! I have applied using the applications open to all people who meet the qualifications. This year Thame will have a formal election in both North and South wards as there are more candidates than seats. Should I not be successful I will continue to look at other opportunities in the local area.
There is much more to consider when either standing as a candidate or voting for a candidate than just one issue. I did read the TNP prior to the referendum. I like to think that I made an informed decision when I voted based on the information made available to me. Not everyone will be satisfied with the outcome of any vote. Such is democracy. I do hope that the majority of Thame electorate turn out on May 9th and so feels they have made their mark as to what happens for the next term.
The Elms is one development, and represents a low number of houses when looking at the overall numbers both within the TNP and applications outside TNP. The current proposal of 37 dwellings within 6 acres opening up this private space to all residents and visitors seems like a gain for Thame. I accept it is controversial and much time and effort has been put into the pros and cons. Perhaps fresh eyes and ears of tenures of both SODC and TTC will bring this to a swift solution and we can all move on.
I am more concerned with the number of small applications e.g. demolishing 1 property and building 2,3,4,5, or more properties is more of a concern as these are considered outside the TNP i.e ‘windfall’. Too many developments go for quantity rather than quality and cram in too many ¾ size properties. I would like to see any property development to be of a decent standard and proper size. By this I mean rooms of a suitable size to take full size furniture, wardrobes, cupboards etc to stash the trappings of one’s lifestyle. E.g. pram, bike, golf clubs, mobility aids, adequate parking for residents and visitors, a garden large enough to sit in, play in and dry the washing all at the same time.
I hope my response goes a long way to identifying my reasons to stand in this election, my view of the Elms, and other property development. I have views on leisure, parking, sport, and transport amongst others. Please feel free to ask me about those!
Dear Tony,
I have to admit that I don’t know who is responisble for paying our traffic warden but I am doubtful that the local community would appreciate a hike in their council tax to fund another one. Perhaps a better way would be to encourage more people to bike or walk into town rather than use thier cars
St Mary’s Guild Summer Fayre
Saturday 16th May
9.30am -1.00pm
In St Mary’s Church, Thame
Variety of stalls, including plants & refreshments.
Free Admission
Sonja – there is a huge great extension to a house in greenway being built. Today there is what can only be described as a “helipad” been built on the roof – if I have your direct email I can send pics. All the neighbours are up in arms about it. Just 5 neighbours were written to by SODC in September – all of whom objected. Planning ref: P14/S2971/HH-4 (SODC) where you can see the plans and responders comments. our neighbour, Thame Town Council and moreover SODC have let U.S. down very badly. We have been in our house for 33 years and most of the other residents have been long term too. The houses were built in around 1963 as 3 bed semis, but the house in question will be 5 beds with an annexe in a very tiny garden with the garage knocked down – going to look like a terraced house- greedy owner 🙁
Not only would I not support any new build on the Elms site, I would push for a full independent inquiry as to how it made it onto the Town Plan in the first place.
Dear Carol,
It sounds like you have been head-hunted for the role of Town Councillor; who asked you to consider it? You say that you voted for the Thame Town Plan, what is your opinion of the proposed Elms development and does it concern you that many people who also voted for the Plan feel that they were duped by a well orchestrated campaign?
Dear Peter,
You state that you will only support development of brown field sites, the inference being that you therefore disagree with development of Elms FIeld, is this the case and, if elected, would you fight to have the site removed from the Town Plan?
Dear Catherine,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to some of my question. Have you any views on part 2 of the question, regarding the current abuse of parking restrictions
Dear Tony,
Given the constraints on space in the town centre I think very little can be done to increase the area for parking. If the parking limit in the market square was reduced from three to two hours hours it might ease the problem a little, but it isn’t going to have a huge effect. I feel there ought to be some sort of residents’ parking scheme for those who live in Park Street, East Strret, Southern Road and North Street but short of putting up a multi-storey car park – which I would oppose – there is little that can be done. If the catlle market were to be moved out of town it would ease the problem but not if a large supermarket moved onto that site as Sainsbury had plans to. I think if this was an easy problem to solve it would have been done so by now.
If it is believed that a Tesco for Thame will be detrimental to the town centre shopping what plans would you put forward to improve parking in the town,( to encourage more shoppers ) and how would you address the fact that illegal parking is considered by TVP to be a low priority and is often left un controlled ?
Dear R Jeffries,
I am against The Ems project but I have to accept that we need more affordable housing in Thame. As a result I support the Neighbourhood Plan but I do not wish to see further development beyond that. I have no wish to see what has happened to Bicester happen to Thame i.e. that Thame becomes a sprawling mass of housing estates and not a market town with a defined center. More house will be good for businesses in Thame – more footfall in the shops, more money in the local economy – but it mustn’t be allowed to get out of hand. I aim to make sure, to the best of my ability, that the Neighbourhood Plan is adhered to.
Dear Bob,
From your profile it is clear that you are concerned by the threat of overdevelopment of Thame. What is your opinion of the manner by which the Thame Town Plan was adopted and, specifically, do you agree with development on The Elms Field?
Dear Catherine,
You say that you are keen to see Thame develop; do you think that the Thame Town plan is delivering the protection of Thame which we were promised it would? Do you agree with development on The Elms Field?
If Mr Jarse (really, how much longer can you get away with that pseudonym ?) would like to contact me through the Town Hall or Town Council web site I would be very pleased to provide you with a copy of the original Conveyance for your own consideration.
I will now be away in France for 4/5 days so regret that Mr Webb will have to be patient for any response.
Hi Pete, can I ask you to please send me a Press release with all the relevant information about the author and the book, and we’ll be very happy to spread the word about your book. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to research the website etc as I’m a one-woman-band here 🙂 Many thanks SF
As the vast majority of us do not have copies of these document we cannot judge one way or another. I, like many other people in Thame, saw Elms Field on the Neighbourhood Plan and, once I was satisfied that it wasn’t Elms Park, happilly said YES to the plan. It’s fallow land that we have no access to, so to see it developed and provide housing that we are going to have to put somewhere still seems the most sensible solution to me.
Nicely put Mike – it’s time the pesonal attacks and bulying tactics by the Elms Petition group stopped and we can let the correct processes be followed.
Hi Sonia,
We are looking for 2 new members of staff to join our team. A florist and shop assistant . Can you pop in for a chat about advertising this for us?
Many thanks
Katie.
Bizzie Lizzie
Good to see the return of Hugh Jarse and his Rugby Club type humour. Some valuable comments below from Peter Butler and Tristram Maclean; these are the type of guys we need on the Town Council. Cllr Lambert, sorry, I don’t understand your excuse; do you compere your quiz night from Spain via your in-pub surveillance equipment? Is the Spanish villa holiday to be popular with Thame Town Councillors again this year?
AtTuesday’s meeting there seemed to be much confusion and “Simon” (as the Mayor referred to the planning applicant) was able to make his representations via his agents as a long presentation, rather than the 5 minute limited slot for Public participation. The report from Tibbalds appears to have been another waste of public money. Thankfully there were some sensible assessments made by some councillors and refusal was recommended; hopefully the councillors will maintain effective in the next rounds.
Finally, for now, why was Helen Stewart in attendance at the meeting? She appeared to make no contribution. Surely the new Clerk is more than capable; why are we paying for 2 clerks?
I would just like to point out that I think it’s grossly unfair to state that councillors only voted against the proposals as there is an election coming up and also imply that they have changed their votes with this in mind. They unanimously voted to refuse the original proposal and now this subsequent one.
I, for one, think they are doing a very difficult job under very trying circumstances and the unfair criticism that they have taken over the proposals for Elms Field have been way over the top.
In response to Tristram. I did not volunteer to attend the meeting as It coincides with my Wednesday night quiz at the pub, which I host myself each week. In fact, the week the application is heard at SODC I am in Spain. I am also confident that many other councillors have legitimate reasons for not being able to attend which they didn’t wish to share at length at the meeting.
Thanks for your excellent and accurate report.
Cllr Dyer rightly pointed out that the planned 38% affordable housing fell short of the SODC target of 40%, but even this missed a point that Jane Dann made, almost under her breath, that the houses in the plan which were described as “affordable” had as many as four bedrooms and two bathrooms. I’d like to see an affordable example of that spec anywhere near Thame!
Like so much of the amended proposal, the developers are just paying lip service to the objections, and despite a second unanimous vote, they obviously won’t be going away. Some of the councillors were unexpectedly quiet, and one felt that the voting was forced by the imminent election – supporters are obviously hoping that the SODC meeting will do their dirty work. Mary Stiles was the only Councillor prepared to represent Thame’s opinion at the SODC Planning Meeting later this month, and the awkward silence of the others when a volunteer was called for told its own story.
Hope all OK..! …just a quick note that Toni Shelbourne (Animal Tellington TTouch Practitioner and Wolf advocate) has a new book ‘”Among the Wolves” out next month… it’ll be an amazing read if you want to cover it 🙂 we’re in Thame a lot currently but permanently moving to Thame next year…cannot wait!
I have a letter addressed as shown below, dated 1855. I am trying to track down any possible relatives who might be interested in this letter:
“Thos. (short for Thomas) Martyn Esq (short for Esquire)
Ludgershall Rectory
Thame”
If possible could you put me in touch with anyone in the area of the same last name? Thank you.
So are Tesco going to give us the details of this research they did, what was the sample size, how did they gather the data, what were the questions that were asked, what was the radius of the area sampled, how did they ensure that the sample was representative of the population as a whole, was the survey done by a recognised independent market research company.
Unless they are able to give us the details of their “own research” then we are entitled to assume that it was as accurate as their financial accounts, I.e. Not at all!
I can only assume ‘the enhancements’ mentioned in this report about the recent ground-sharing agreement between Thame and Aylesbury football teams https://www.thame.net/archives/19869
It would be no more damaging than endorsing building on The Elms; can we assume that was a poor April fools joke gone wrong too? Don’t worry Mr Hunt, its not the Costain scenario in Thame just yet.
I think the most telling comment here is that Tesco’s research has found that 50% of shopping is done outside Thame and Waitrose is doing more that they envisaged – reading between the lines I see this as “we want some of that”! It’s purely a case of corporate greed. I accept that we probably need a children’s clothing shop, but we don’t need to destroy the whole high street just to get one!
I support Tesco in thame, it will save me driving to Aylesbury at least Tesco has food on the shelves unlike waitrose. The nimbies blocked Sainsbury for what, what is happening to the eyesore cattle market!!!
Dear Sonja
Could you please include the following in your events listing, and maybe do a short news item?
Many thanks
Ruth
Saturday 28 March
‘The Changing Seasons’
Concert with two of Britain’s foremost singers, Carolyn Robson and Moira Craig, with guest harpist Steph West.
Towersey Memorial Hall, OX9 3QY
7.30 pm
£10
Presented by local community choir Village Voices Towersey.
Carolyn and Moira hail from Northumberland and Scotland respectively, and their repertoire reflects their roots.
I have emailed but not heard anything back. Could you please add an event to the calendar being held at the Thame Barns Centre please? Details below:
Friday 17th April starting at 8.00pm at the Thame Barns Centre,
Church Road, Thame, OX93AJ
£3 per person to enter, teams of 6-8 maximum
Come and pit your wits in aid of a great local charity
Bring Your Own Snacks and drinks
There will be a raffle on the night
There are limited tickets available so to reserve your table/spaces please email: info@homestartaylesbury.org.uk
Or call us on: 01296 485615
Or send a cheque direct to Home-Start Aylesbury
8 Temple Street, Aylesbury HP20 2QH
All proceeds will be donated to:
Home-Start Aylesbury – local family charity see website for details.
Thanks very much please email me if there is any problem,
regards
Jane
Hi Sonja
Please could you change the write up about Barley Hill Church as we appointed a new vicar last year.
If you have any questions please do come back to me
You have re tweeted my tweet addressed to Barry Gibb about my approach to the grave of Robin Gibb, be finally honored with a headstone and I thank you. We hope to drag the case to the British press.
Almost three years that Robin passed away and was buried in the small cemetery of St. Mary’s Church and his grave looks like an anonymous resting place.
Almost three years Dwina and Robin-John GIBB, her son, tell fans around the world, Robin’s headstone is in process…
Already in 2013, Dwina stated that the headstone would be placed in summer 2014.
However, to date, it is not.
We all know the derived benefits of the famous Robin Gibb by the sect “Brahma Kumaris” to which Dwina Murphy / Gibb claims to belong.
The Prebendal, owned by Robin Gibb seems sadly, (to have) become the sanctuary of this, what we think is a (word redacted for legal reasons) dangerous cult.
We, fans of the Bee Gees and Robin Gibb are asking that an investigation be conducted seriously into this sad affair by the British press.
The Bee Gees became famous and rich thanks to their fans, so it is our legitimate right to claim a headstone in honor of Robin Gibb !!!
April 2 deadline: makes me think it might as well be April 1, considering the amount of time, effort and money everyone went to in good faith to agree the Neighbourhood Plan, which seems to have been so swiftly superseded.
Thame people spent months attending meetings looking at plans and considering the Neighbourhood Plan in fine detail. The town council must have spent a lot seeking advice from its planning consultants,whom people will remember attending the Town Hall meetings. I would like to know whether any higher planning authorities right up to Whitehall knew at the time that this further requirement was on the cards. If so they were making a mockery of all the effort and expense which we in Thame undertook in good faith. And good faith is something which the public life of this nation sadly lacks at the moment.
We just don’t need a Tesco on the DAF site. The Town Centre is thriving with a good variety of shops and Tesco will just suck shoppers away. Where Tesco proposes to place their store will mean that people will drive there rather than walk. No-one will come to Tesco and then also visit the Town Centre. If you are in the car already, then there are plenty of store nearby to drive to. I do my monthly shop at Asda in Wheatley, but then use the Town Centre for everything else. I don’t need yet another store!
Oh No It won’t!
I cannot think of one good reason to allow this dreadful company with it’s dreadful designs and appalling track record should be allowed within 20 miles of Thame.
This will completely wreck the town centre killing local business
We have enough national supermarkets already in Thame
Get motivated and help stop this dreadful idea.
Perhaps residents thoughts should be brought into the equation – it’s not all just about the traders in the town centre. Thame is growing and needs to move with the times. If we had a strong town centre (and I don’t believe we have), an out of town store would not present a challenge. The majority of residents do their food shop outside Thame (or online) and a new Tesco would encourage people to stay in Thame as well as provide jobs. come on Thame – move out of the Dark Ages! I had a rare Tuesday off from my full time job in Zoxford this week – it took me a full half an hour to peruse both the market and town centre shops and no, I’m not a “newbie” I’ve lived here for almost 37 years so have seen the size of the town double already – unlike the town centre.
I would love to know if an offence has been committed here and if so, hope he would be prosecuted. Community Service at Stoke Mandeville hospital would seem a fitting punishment.
Couldn’t agree more regarding the state of the verge on the Aylesbury Rd. No one cares anymore if you are in Thame park/dump your vehicle wherever you want.
Pity they dont ticket the cars parked on the pavement along the Aylesbury Road,
The Builders have made it into a bog where they have parked while building the houses, cars further down parkedon the path so no pushchaire can pass. I always understyoo pavement were for pedestrians not CARS
Long may it continue! I run a small business in Thame and my driveway is blocked by careless or thoughtless drivers regularly and up until recently it has been very hard to get anyoine to do anything about it.
OMG I lived in Simmons Way 30 plus years ago, no problem parking then, feel really sorry for them, as I now live in Haddenham, and the parking is creeping down Sheerstock like a cancer.
As a witness of the accident I can confirm a child was hit by a car. The driver did not see the red light apparently and did not stop in time. The driver did pull over however and was beside himself. The low winter sun being the main culprit. I personally would like to see the return of a lollipop lady and more signs down park street or on the actual road warning of the school’s presence. In the child’s defence they did nothing wrong, except did not wait until all of the cars had stopped. Something the school has addressed immediately during an assembly. As a parent at the school I have to say on the whole the children are pretty road wary, they have to be! I have seen many near misses so it’s not an exceptional case. It’s a shame that someone to hurt before we realise how dangerous Park Street can be.
Completely agree that a lower speed limit should be in place by this crossing and school and Elms Park – I can’t personally see how Park St and Chinnor Rd are going to manage the increased traffic the town plan will bring.
I agree with your original contributor that Park Street should have a 20mph speed limit as should other streets in Thame including the Town Centre. In fact on most occasions with the number of parked cars in Park Street it is not possible to do more than 20mph. I think that the problem outside John Hampden is that some motorists accelerate into that area in order to get past the constriction before the car coming the other way. It’s completely bad driving and I’m afraid there a few careless drivers around the Town. I have noticed that the PCSO is sometimes at the crossing in at the time most school children are crossing and a member of staff also on duty certainly in the afternoon. The primary school children for the most part are very careful in contrast to some of the Lord Bills students who seem to think that they can wander across junctions willy nilly.I think some road safety education for everyone would be desirable.
I completely agree with the other post, whilst I accept that some drivers don’t pay enough attention in rush hour. However I am regularly amazed at the lack of road safety the children have – the other day I was driving down park street and a child was riding his bike the wrong way down park street at 5pm it was dark I had my lights on he had no lights and no helmet. I’ve also had children run across the crossing without waiting for the lights to change outside the school. Perhaps there needs to be a grater emphasis on road safety from parents schools and drivers. You can be the best driver in the world but not stand a chance of a child bolts out in front of you.
Whilst I’m glad no one was seriously injured I think that there needs to be some responsibility on the pedestrian, whether adult or child, for their own safety. A crossing does not automatically mean a car will stop – I’ve lost count of the times in the town centre that pedestrians cross at the traffic lights whether they be green or red.
Getting across the town in the morning whilst children are walking to school is a minefield in itself – twice in the last 12 months I have written to Lord Williams due to students jumping off pavements on their bikes into the flow of traffic, walking out from behind vans, cars and generally assuming that everyone else is responsible for their safety.
It seems that the younger generation are being taught that it is not their responsibility to make sure that they are safe – it is up to everyone else – including the person you’ve never met behind the wheel of a car, who if the lights turn with only a second before you reach the lights had no way of stopping.
Whilst I agree that the level of traffic down park street is unacceptable – it is also one of the main arteries from one side of Thame to another – this will not change – therefore surely the answer is to educate our children, teach them responsibility and that it is not a stranger’s place to make sure they are safe. That responsibility sits with them.
I agree about the Friesians. First thing that struck me about them. My great uncle had lots of them on Canvey Island yonks ago. . However, dare I say: this is basically a good moos story.
Oh please let them stay black and white and actually looking like cows! It would be such a shame to spoil them by making them multi-coloured garish monstrosities.
Tesco should not be able to develop on the daf site. It is too far out of town, is on the wrong side of town and is in a residential area. Not only will a supermarket there affect the high street but it will also affect the desirability of local houses such as those on pickenfield as traffic flow will be greatly increased. The cattle market is by far the better location for a supermarket although I don’t think thame needs a 4th supermarket. Sainsburys were campaigning to move on to the cattle market in 2013 so there is obviously a desire from them to do that and this would be my preference, with the existing sainsburys site given back to the high street as independent shops. TTC, SODC should not bow to the pressure of the corporate animal and should instead focus on how to develop the high street. Many plaudits were given as a result of the thame town plan, however nowhere in the plan did it mention the development of the daf site or the addition of a new supermarket to the town. How and why was this omitted ?
Not sure how people can be pleased with this news.
Do they want Thame to turn into just another over-developed ex market town? no independent shops in the centre, another bland/ same old high street?
Say no to Tesco – we want to keep the heart in Thame.
Thame does not need a big Tesco! We have a wonderful range of independent shops on the High Street, plus 3 supermarkets already with Tesco already located not far away for those that really must!
This is not good , it will destroy the heart of our town
I’m beginning to think that Tesco are deliberately targeting Thame because it wants to undermine the neighbourhood plan process. Neighbourhood plans would stop them running railroad over residents, which they probably see as a threat
i agree with t rushforth. The answer to all this is to allow sainsburys to move on to the cattle market (which they were campaigning for last year) or alternatively another supermarket brand (although my preference would be sainsburys). I believe that the cattle market planning application is now for “non food retail” which the town doesn’t need. To be fair to all thame residents, nowhere on the ground breaking thame town plan did it mention putting a supermarket on the daf site, or indeed give options for siting a new supermarket.
The “answer” in my view is to allow a supermarket on the cattle market and use the daf site for housing. This would expand the housing stock, within the perimeter of the ring road and also it would complement houses in the surrounding streets.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but perhaps Thame should have not voted against the Supermarket in place of the town centre cattle market. Instead of being completely negative look around at similar size & thriving towns in Oxon & Bucks as I do during the course of my job. For example Marlow, Sainsbury’s right in the town centre, large car park ( which Thame lacks ) for everyone to use when either at Sainsburys or into the town centre ( Planning S106 ) can make this happen ) and a thriving & well served town centre , including new small business opening up
Very well said Richard! We are having the exact same problem and it’s just not fair! I used to think Thame was a lovely area…. Having second thought now! Full of criminals not a great look.
I work in Thame and for those suggesting using the cattle market where should I park on market days? I pay council tax I park careful and not on corners or blocking people in so why should I not be able to park my car on the road?
I travel over 30mins each way to get to work and contribute to the local economy by working and spending money in the local area.
I have had WD40 sprayed on my wingmirrors outside one house in particular when parking legally and safely on lash lake. So rather than park their I now park elsewhere. I regularly witness the ‘residents’ double parking or taking up unnessary space to park their cars on the ‘public highway’ because they feel they own that space outside of their property.
How about the local residents complain to local government that they need to provide suitable parking rather than taking it out on people who are trying to get the economy out of recession and make a living for their family’s rather than the mindless stupidity of vandalism which is the easy way out.
The cars are taxed and tested; get over it. If you are sad enough to take it out on the car and not on the (owner) of the car, very childish if you ask me. It happens everywhere. Just to warn the people who are tampering with cars down that road, some people have had cameras fitted to their cars so be very careful because you will be caught.
CPM and Travelodge (employees) have done it for years round our way and football people at the weekend. No roads are private so you can park there. End of!
The police in Thame and everywhere else are too busy giving out food hampers and serving food to the oaps to do anything about this issue. Bring back a full time traffic warden who would sort the whole town out as Peggy Long did.
I don’t blame the residents of Simmons Way – good on them! I have been tempted to do the same down my road which is round the corner. Every day for years we have had to suffer poor and selfish parking by people who dump their cars to work in the town. Put your hand in your pockets and pay to park in the cattle market, up in the town or behind the Co-op. I know of residents with Young children who have to park miles up the road because they can’t park outside their own house because of employees cars (mostly Waitrose). I’m so glad Sainsburys plans for the Cattle market weren’t approved as it would be even worse. I really worry about emergency vehicles not being able to access properties if required. I also really feel for the young parents with babies/toddlers and old people with either push-along shoppers or wheelchairs, who take their lives in their hands by having to walk in the road. Don’t even talk to me about putting a child’s life at risk Kim!!!!! A child’s life is far more in danger in this area trying to walk along the pavement than someone smearing something on your windscreen – what utter tosh! I will also say though that some residents are at fault – well certainly down my road – they have drives but choose to double park, or is that just to stop the freeloaders? I work at the JR in Oxford. I cannot park there so I have to pay £2.00 a day to park my car at Thornhill and then get the bus for another £2.80 a day. Freeloaders – pay to park in the car parks.
It seems this “selfish parking” is occurring all over Thame’s residential roads. Unfortunately we have the same issue down my road with the CPM employees. Some days I can’t even park outside my own house. That being said I get on with it. The cars usually dissapear around 5.30pm – 6.00pm and hey presto! There’s a space for me. You don’t see any of our residents touching peoples cars because of it though!
People need to get a grip! and find something better to do than to spend their lives watching who parks where all day.
To the comment below! I have to park in Thame myself and I don’t park “selfishly.” I come back to my car most evenings to be welcomed by a lovely person saying I’m causing them unnecessary stress!! How the hell can I be causing stress to a Woman who has her “own gravel parking area.” The way she spoke to me was disrespectful! I have to collect my little girl from nursery after work which is in Aylesbury so if they had put stuff over my windscreen they would have been putting a child’s life at risk! I think yellow lines should be put all down that road. That way the residents won’t even be able to park there!
Have a good Christmas!
We live just around the corner just off the lashlake estate and this sort of thing has been going on for years now. We walk up Moorend lane daily and the parking up this road is horrendous from 08.30-5.30.
The workers from The High street (Waitrose,co-op,Topsport,estate agents to name a few) all battling for the limited spaces available blocking access to driveways, parking on corners,blocking off dropped kerbs.Double parking nr Simmons way is a major problem where we have seen vehicles have to turn around and go via Lashlake to get to Greenway and surrounding areas.
There would be no chance any emergency vehicle would make it through!!
We can understand peoples frustrations in the area with the inconsiderate parking shown by the workers, the double yellow lines on the corner coming into Moorend Lane which never used to be a problem has now turned into another 3 parking spaces for the workers and nothing seems to be done about it. Bring back Peggy the traffic warden!
We wonder if the workers should be given a subsidised permit to park in the cattle market and free up all the streets around Moorend lane and Lashlake areas due to the car park mostly being partially occupied most of the day.
We dont think the residents have a problem with sensible parking but when they have to face selfish ignorant parking everyday then these problems as stated in the previous letter will carry on.
This sort of thing happens everywhere have a look in the Shearstock estate close to the Haddenham station next time you pass and feel for the residents there which have the same problem as us. We feel if the workers parked sensibly and don’t upset residents with poor parking then problems like the above letter just wouldn’t happen.
As the report plainly says, the housing plan is for Site F, as designated in the Neighbourhood Plan. Secondly, Tesco has not yet put in a planning application. This is a pre-planning sort of testing-the-water, consultation stage.
So is this actually part of the Neighbourhood Plan or just an independent application outside of the plan. I am totally lost at what is happening in Thame at the moment, one minute reports tell us we have no need for another retail food outlet then Tesco put in an application. One minute we had a Neighbourhood Plan then next its all changed.
I just can’t see how an out of town supermarket can be of any benefit to Thame. Once people get in their cars to go to the shops, they may just as well go to Wheatley or Risboro, why do we need to suck shopping from the Town Centre.
Thame has always been a quality, and much admired traditional Oxfordshire town and is well known for that among its residents, local communities and visitors from wherever, and to go along these lines will surely kill off that respected and affectionate standing . In other words, let it retain its pride as it is now and stand out from the crowed.
An edge of town development will kill Thame town centre. As previously stated, there is no way that people will walk to the centre of Thame to visit other shops – but park up shop in Tesco’s then drive home. with the 3 supermarkets we already have (and the BP garage for the other end of town, we already have a great choice of supermarkets. what these current supermarkets provide is parking WITHIN the town centre placing shoppers within the centre of a thriving town and encouraging them to visit other establishments. Even the recently proposed supermarket on the cattle market site would have discouraged visits to the rest of the town. For those who support extra larger supermarkets, be careful what you wish for. Open your eyes on your travels and when you go through places like Risborough etc., you will see that there isn’t any vibrancy and quantity of people in the same way as you get in Thame.
It would appear that my last 2 comments did not meat the moderators standards, so all I will say here is that there are many people like Melanie who put convenience ,competitive pricing & choice high on their agenda but may not voice their opinions as fervently as the ” Antis “
Concern expressed by health agencies and simple visual evidence of obesity, indicates that there is a surfeit of food available in all areas including Thame so a reduction rather than an increase in supply is called for.
The claim that 200 new jobs would be created is nonsense unless consumption is to increase or retailing to become less efficient.
Totally agree with these sentiments. How can we possibly have rejected a town centre supermarket which would have retained trade to now consider building one on the outskirts!
Bring it on, also a wetherspoons pub!! That’s what Thame needs, not any more coffee houses or hairdressers we need to move with the times for the sake of our future generations… End of!
Just heard another alternative ….allow Tesco’s on the ring road, which would drive out Sainsbury’s which is useless anyway , & then let the building to Poundland . Lateral thinking ?
Most of the “against comments” are based on scaremongering over reactive feelings. So Thame, will become a victim of the Black Friday hysteria if we have a retail outlet of any sort on the DAF site ?? People who shop at ‘Risboro Tescos , leave their cars & walk into the Town centre ?? really ! , Oh come on people retaining a thriving town does not mean we have to restrict progress. We need Tescos and we also need more car parking spaces near the Town centre to allow additional visitors , so do not build on the cattle market, build out of town , and then what about a courtesy bus………now there’s a thought !
Referring to an earlier comment, I am not sure how having a Tesco will achieve reasonably priced accommodation in Thame. Also Tesco in Risborough is at the end of the High Street, not out of town.
Opposing Tesco will hopefully result in retaining a thriving town centre full of shops for future generations to enjoy, which is surely what we all want.
My objection is not with “Tesco” building on the DAF site, it’s with ANY supermarket being built on the outskirts of Thame. Look around at other nearby towns and then compare them with Thame – we are doing much, much better without any out-of-town shopping. Without a doubt, building a Tesco will be great for people in Long Crendon, Haddenham and Chinnor, as it will save them coming into town!!! No-one is going to do a weekly shop, load up the boot and then say, “I think I’ll go for a walk into Thame” – get real. The town centre retailers will suffer. Without a doubt, low cost food and petrol will attract many, just as we saw on Black Friday, so our ring road will become congested, right-turns into it from nearby roads will become death-traps and increased parking down those neighbouring roads from shoppers who can’t get a space will be a safety problem, particularly to children and the elderly living there. This will be further exacerbated when the Groves and Windles businesses are built on the opposite side of the road, adding another stream of cars and lorries on the ring road. To even contemplate building a retail and petrol station on this location is short-sighted and with no regard to the future of the town we all love.
Having just looked at some comparables to Thame, it is interesting to note that Chipping Norton has just granted Planning for an ALDI supermarket , where next Thame ???.
Could my previous conspiracy theory be correct , Tesco gain consent then sublet to Aldi or Lidl.
Then the High St will have even more Charity shops, hairdressers & nail bars
The “Say No to Tesco ” person believes we have three adequate supermarkets in Thame , many people , especially those on lower incomes would not agree. You can certainly discount Waitrose for reasonable pricing, Sainsburys for lack of product range, due to their restricted floor space , and so that leaves one shop in Thame. Sometimes you have to think ofothers, young families struggle enough to get reasonable accommodation in Thame unless they can rely on the bank of mum & dad, don’t drive them away by restricting facilities available to them. Thame will become a town where only the mature in years , & those commuting to London can afford to live . ‘Risboro is still a good place to shop & they allowed a Tesco on the outskirts or do we think we are better than them ?
I am scared for the future of Thame, as a vibrant busy Market town.
A Tesco super store will destroy local shops and bleed the life out of our community. We all need to voice our protests to our MP and our local councillors.
We really need for the Thame chamber of commerce, or whatever it is now, to step up and fight for the centre of Thame again.
An out of store a tesco of the size planned will rip out the heart of our town, and many businesses will go under.
After spending an afternoon shopping in the very busy town centre in Thame, with shops full of customers, it struck me how different it would be if people spent their time and money at an out of town shop like Tesco. Let’s be realistic here. People will drive to Tesco, park, shop and get back into their vehicles and drive home without visiting the town centre. This can only have a detrimental effect to business and livelihoods in Thame. Imagine the town centre with a number of empty shops and misted windows. If you are of the same view then please get behind this campaign and don’t just leave it to other people
Out of town supermarkets are the death knell of town centres. We are lucky enough to have a very vibrant one with a plethora of individual shops to choose from. I am a passionate Thame resident of over 30 years and want to protect it for generations to come. This proposal puts this in jeopardy and cannot be allowed.
Having just spent an afternoon shopping in a very vibrant Thame town centre with many of the shops full of customers the proposal of a Tesco on the outskirts of the town can only threaten this.
The fact is that when people go to shop at Tesco they will drive in, park the car,do the shopping then drive home without visiting the town. This WILL impact on the shops in Thame.
The thought of walking through the town in the future with shops closed down and misted windows cannot be what people of Thame want. Please get yourself involved in apposing this plan and don’t just leave it to others.
Completely agree with you Bob. As concluded in 1994 and 1999 a huge supermarket on the edge of Thame would significantly impact our Town centre. As Tesco plan to offer ‘click and collect’ all shops would be affected as would local businesses that rely on these shops and the footfall they bring.
Lets support our Town Centre and the Neighbourhood Plan that commits to keeping shops in the town centre. If this supermarket does go ahead it will bleed Thame’s heart dry and our vibrant town centre and the community spirit it has fostered will quickly be a distant memory.
A large supermarket on the outskirts of Thame will significantly reduce footfall through the Town centre. In addition Tesco plan to operate ‘click and collect’ at this store, so all local shops will be impacted.
Our Town centre is the heart of the community and the envy of other communities up and down the country. With so many High Streets struggling we should be supporting our High Street and local traders rather than turning our back on them. If this supermarket goes ahead, more out of town retailers will pop up on the outskirts of Thame and I’m afraid our vibrant Town Centre will be just a memory.
Bob is right. Tesco would be bad news for Thame on every level – for the High Street, for nearby residents, for traffic and (despite what Tesco says) for local jobs. The suggested ‘200 new jobs’ takes no account of the jobs currently located on that site that will be lost/relocated out of Thame or other inevitable job losses from town centre businesses.
I couldn’t agree more with the comments highlighted in the article above. However, there is a real danger that the businesses in Thame will just ‘sleep walk’ into closure unless they become a much stronger force in Thame and oppose this ridiculous development. Wake-up – time to take action now!
It would appear that Tesco needs to get its Financial forecasting straight before it considers building yet another White Elephant!
We don’t need you Tesco,we are OK without you.
Mr Vickers, in his comment, talks of accusations of malfeasance and corruption levelled at various persons. The fact is that no such accusations have been levelled by the elmspetition group. What we have done is question why Councillors were fed misleading information and why, on questionable grounds, was an important letter from English Heritage apparently withheld from Councillors at the same meeting, where they passed the Town Plan for referendum.
Remember that that letter was written shortly after a site meeting with Mr. Vickers’ (then) planning consultants. The letter dismissed the site assessment of those ex-consultants and concluded that development on Elms Field would be deeply damaging. The letter was not “late” as Councillors were told.
We have asked who were the persons, unnamed in the meeting’s minutes, who were responsible for misinforming Councillors. Not only has no person stepped forward, there has been no denial of our assertions. Voters will make what they like of that fact and they can remind themselves of the facts by checking on thamenews.net and on elmspetition.org.uk.
Also we have also questioned the involvement of the Council’s Planning Consultant. An independent planning consultant rang me to express the opinion that the involvement of the Council’s Planning Consultant was unethical, given his close link with Rectory. When we asked the Town Clerk to comment on this, she responded “That is a matter for Mr. Collinge”. Yes, she was that dismissive!
The matter is currently being looked at by the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Disciplinary Committee
Mr Vickers also zeros in on three of our members and ignores the fact that we speak for well over 2000 signatories. He also complains that the Thame Gazette publishes our letters. If the subject matter gets to be repetitive, that is because no proper answers are given.
The accusation of a “demand” for free land by myself is totally untrue. The fact is that I have long wanted to purchase a small plot at the back of my garden, before Dutch Eelm Disease a copse, which I hold on a long lease arranged with the Purser family. It was Mr. Vickers, who visited me and, finding that I was against development, said that my single objection against his plan would not count for much, but offered to give me the plot if I would agree not to object. I proposed that, any plan submitted should allow for a 30 metre division between the backs of my house and those on Park Street which overlook the field. Mr. Vickers agreed to this and that the area would be planted with trees. Not only is all this is writing, the matter was fully reported to the dozen or so persons who met to establish the elmspetition group. We agreed a tactical response but when Mr. Vickers later decided to take no action prior to receiving a planning consent, we decided to drop the matter and I added my signature to the petition.
People should recall that, at the start, it was put about that The Elms had been bought as a retirement home. This despite the fact that Surveyors were quickly on the scene, despite the fact that sheep did not need to know exact boundaries and tree locations. Scepticism was widespread and the story appears to have been dropped.
Remember also that Rectory threatened myself, and others, with legal action for having the temerity to resist the spoliation of what SODC has described as “important open Space”. Mr Vickers’ earlier lawyers are also on record demanding the names of all signatories on the petition (at that time 500) so that they could be threatened with legal action also. We refused to give this information but the 2000 odd names and addresses appear on the SODC planning website (go to planning and type in P14/S2176/FUL in the search box), so Rectory can now issue proceedings if they wish. Signatories can be sure of course that this, frankly silly, threat will go nowhere.
As we have said before, we are not questioning Rectory’s ability to produce a quality product. All we have said is – not on this site. The reasons are clearly laid out in the petition, which can be seen on our website. No sense to build on Elms Field and no need. Go build on sites C,D or F. Of course that would reduce the profit from what we estimate to be an extraordinary level in Elms Field, so we do understand Mr Vickers’ desire to press on.
What is mystifying is why there are Councillors supporting him and apparently prepared to renege on the contract they signed in 1948 to protect The Elms; and not to open a public access into the sheep pasture. Also to ignore the conflict within their own Town Plan between an agreement to build on land which was not one of the sites proposed and analysed for suitability by the Planning Authority and the same plan’s promise to protect existing open space.
The same Councillors have allowed rectory’s application to “improve” the park to go forward, despite the fact that all the “improvements” benefit Rectory and have not a jot of benefit to the owners and users of the park. The former being the people of Thame.
Instead of a row of mature trees allowing sight of the open space of a sheep pasture, users will be faced with a wall of houses within feet of the boundary. The re-locating of the paved play area, with the loss of one basketball court in the process, is surely proposed in order to move noise away from Rectory’s buyers. And the proposed mounds seem to be a cheap way to dispose of spoil from excavations on the housing site. Dump it in the adjacent park. Furthermore, the proposed footpaths are totally useless and do not shorten the distance for pedestrians going from the Broadwaters area in to the town center.
Mr Vickers is wrong to say that his scheme will be judged against the plan and established planning principles. The fact is that, being in the plan removes from SODC the normal right to consider a site’s suitability. As for “sustainability” (a much abused word) – read the petition.
This is why we are asking for the Plan to be revised. The Council already has a backup plan to relocate houses to sites to the sites analysed by SODC originally, if less that 45 are allowed on Elms Field. Zero is less than 45 so we say re-allocate the lot. And restore SODC’s proper power to assess all applications on
their merits.
Yes, my personal main concern is my outlook. Others have different main concerns. The point is that there are many reasons against this development and signatories of the petition are united in mutual support. Please read the petition and, if you sympathise, add the signatures of the over 18s in your family.
I am pleased to respond to Simon M’s Questions as follows:
It is a long established principle in National and Local planning policies that Town centre sites should always be considered first as they are the most sustainable, compared to edge of Town sites where everyone will need to get in a car to go to the Town centre. Existing publicly accessible open spaces would be most unlikely to be considered, but The Elms is privately owned land that no one can enjoy or access presently and very few people can see. This will change when the land is opened up and a new park and footpath links are provided
Planning permission has been granted for the seven unit development and is now built. In our experience the public are often concerned about the implications of additional traffic, but in reality there is no discernible difference once developments are completed. The highway department were consulted throughout the Neighbourhood Plan process and confirmed The Elms suitability for development. The site will have significantly less impact on the town centre traffic compared to the other allocated sites, due to its highly sustainable location.
English Heritage initially objected to the principle of development, but subsequently withdrew that objection once they fully considered the site and its history. Furthermore they reinforced their view at the Examination in Public.
In response to Mr Webbs statement below:
Mr Webb continues (to) disseminate his misinterpretation (of) the facts in an attempt to justify his argument and garner support. As noted above, English Heritage withdrew their objection to the Elms allocation and reaffirmed the removal of their objection at the Examination in Public. Mr Webb was in attendance at the Examination, yet he continues to deny the facts.
Mr Webb’s interpretation of the covenants in the transfer of Elms Park to the Council is wrong and has no substance whatsoever.
It is unfortunate that Mr Webb will not accept (that) all of his arguments have been considered throughout the Neighbourhood Plan process and beyond by senior planning officers, local councillors, district councillors and legal professionals, as well as an Independent Examiner. Nothing he has said, and continues to say is new or of substance.
Unfortunately the PCSOs may not have strayed from the Town Centre down towards the Two Brewers end of Wellington St. , the same vehicles most days, on the Double Yellows even in Wellington St & who work in the offices there ! Taking the micky !!
Seems Cllr. Dyer is right on one point. The Plan promises to protect Elms park but does not extend that protection to Elms Field, despite the fact that the Planning Authority had designated the two, together, as important open space and ignoring the fact that English Heritage said that development on the field would be deeply damaging.
Another “mistake” in the plan, Councillor?
As for the Conveyance not referring to Elms Field, this seems somewhat at odds with the facts.
The Conveyance is clear but first, let the public understand that, following WW2, the government was faced with a need to build a large number of houses and the 1947 Town and country Planning Act gave them a right to compulsorily purchase land which had access to a road.
The land belonging to The Elms had such access by virtue of the Park Street entrance to what is now the Park. Leonard Purser gave the land for the park to Thame to avoid the danger of a council estate on the land behind his property. This is totally logical and his motivation can be attested to by witnesses with whom he discussed the matter.
Going to the conveyance, Cllr. Dyer should read clause 2. It states – “The Council hereby accepts the said property and so as to bind the property hereby conveyed into whosoever hands the same may come and so that this covenant may be for the benefit and protection of the premises known as The Elms Thame aforesaid which said property is coloured green on the said plan herby” etc etc.
THE PLAN CLEARLY SHOWS THE GREEN AREA TO BE ELMS FIELD PLUS THE HOUSE ITSELF AND ITS GARDEN.
Furthemore, in clause 4, referring to two small gates intended to allow the owners of The Elms sole rights of direct access to the park, states “ No other occupiers of premises abutting on to the Park are to be allowed private entrances to the Park” etc. etc.
It will be interesting to see whether this Councillor will withdraw his remarks.
I’m sure there would be no problem with that Cheryl. Could you please drop one of the leaflets you will be distributing, either into me at Thame.Net, Jordans Courtyard, 8 Upper High Street, Thame (white gates to the right of Rumsey’s, black post box on the wall on the left as you go into the courtyard past the cow ! OR to Racquets Fitness Centre, North Street, Thame (back of the cattlemarket) sometime before Saturday. Many thanks.
We would like to thank you for the flyer posted through Thame doors today highlighting your intention to destroy a town that has been around since the 12th century. As residents, we already feel that Thame offers a great range of food, groceries and household goods many of which are supplied by local independent retailers that have thrived even during one of the worst recessions in history. Your plans will do nothing to enhance the shopping experience for residents or visitors to Thame and will put many of the retailers out of business.
Clearly, new jobs are always welcome and 200 is not to be sniffed at. Except there is evidence to suggest that for every superstore that is opened results in a net loss in employment – so we are probably better off saying thanks but no thanks.
Similarly, We are not sure how the 295 free parking spaces are considered a benefit. All it will do is to encourage both local and out of town shoppers to drive to the store creating excess traffic, noise and pollution. So these exciting plans for Thame you talk about are actually of no benefit to the local population and will only enhance your corporate pockets.
As for the modern employment space, I am sure that DAF and the other residents of the site would be glad of some new and environmentally sustainable offices ensuring that jobs do actually remain in Thame. To achieve this laudable goal certainly doesn’t require the development of a store that is not in keeping with the local character of our community.
Finally, You are probably correct in saying that your proposal will encourage more people to shop locally but in reality this will just be at your store with no economic benefit being made to the Thame high street so please stop misleading this great community we are all so proud to belong.
It is very important that the traders of Thame play a prominent role in this process, as the advent of Tesco will impact many livelihoods. Evidence in other market towns tells its own tale. Well done to Sue and Sonja for helping to bring the traders together and give them the opportunity to collectively voice their opinions.
Dear Thame.Net.
I run a small business from my home in Thame and wondered if it would be okay to hand out some leaflets on Saturday.
Many thanks
Cheryl Cordall
Family History Researcher
Extract from ‘Supermarket’s bid to build in Thame’, 10 Nov 14, 3.15 (thamedotnet): Jack Pearson, Tesco’s Corporate Affairs Manager, said: “We have been keen to open a supermarket in Thame for many years and think that a store would be popular.”
Tesco’s application to have a presence in Thame has already been rejected three times – in 1994, 1999, and 2004/5. What is it about ‘We don’t want you in Thame’ that Tesco doesn’t understand?
I have a small shop in Thame,and the introduction of Tesco will have a direct impact on my shop and possibly all small independent shops in the town.
Thame has a thriving town center and it needs to stay this way, Having a large Tesco so close to the town center will only draw people away from the high street and this will have a major impact to the majority of the independent shops
Everything Tesco has to offer we already have on the high street,and as for the 200 jobs they will offer to Thame i fear there will be a lot more than this lost.
We need to stop this going ahead for the future of Thame and its thriving high street
As someone who has followed this story for some time and who has absolutely no vested interest. I believe the vast majority of residents who signed the petition would feel a lot happier if 3 simple questions were answered rather than this constant repeating of the same arguments,
Q1, Why when there was plenty of scope in the larger developments to absorb the 45 houses did the neighbourhood plan choose a green area in the heart of the town that was always going to be controversial.
Q2, after refusing permission previously for a development of 7 homes in a similar area due to traffic concerns do they now think it acceptable to build 45 homes using the very same roads?
Q3, Why were English Heritages neutral and important views totally ignored?
From the outside it seems bizarre that all this upset has been created unnecessarily and if the houses had been shared between the other sites the town would be a happier place.
Why was this site ever considered a good idea?
I look forward to not receiving sensible answers to these questions and expect the respective camps to continue their bickering.
Regardless of who said what, how it ended up in the ‘The Plan’, whether the plan is right or wrong, who’s in who’s pocket, who’s got vested interests, etc etc……
There does seem to be an overwhelming raft of objections, according to the SODC website,towards building on The Elms….. And this cannot be ignored.
Correct, as a member of the public, I cannot access The Elms, (neither can I access the majority of Thame Park) but this is not an argument for building houses on it?
This is an one area of Thame that does not need houses on it, plenty of space around the ring road!
I support the objections to Tesco plans.
The structural changes to food shopping habits indicate that large supermarkets are not the choice for many shoppers, they are losing popularity.
In addition, Thame is an interesting and vibrant town centre, an out of town large Supermarket would seriously damage this – we must not allow that to happen.
Affordable housing and housing is required – lets put people first.
Recent publicity indicates that Tesco is the supermarket chain that lacks any ethical values, we want them here because….?
Tesco, isn’t that the supermarket that piled ’em high and sold ’em cheap? Arn’t they now the supermarket that piles ’em high in jail?, And thats just the senior excecutives!
They are also the chain that took the beef out of beefburgers, the ethics out of accounting and the profit for farmers out of milk – and now they want to take the heart out of Thame centre.
The Tesco promise is a couple of hundred jobs, but how many will be lost from other retailers in the town centre – what will be the NET gain?
So we want Tesco in Thame because…………..?
I understand that most large Supermarkets are under pressure as a result of excessive sales space BUT the Country, and Thame, have a shortage of affordable homes or land to buIld those homes?
We want Tesco because……..?
Please do not let a major Supermarket rip the heart from a delightful and successful town centre.
Mr Vickers has rightly pointed out that the Elms Petition Group, and Peter Webb in particular, have repeatedly stated and re-stated ‘facts’ which they know very well to be untrue and I am compelled to point out three such transgressions in Mr Webb’s short comment below.
Firstly, there were no ‘delegated sites’. There were sites that SODC had evaluated and sites that they hadn’t, but there was no limitation or direction on what sites could be considered under the Neighbourhood Planning process.
Secondly, the Neighbourhood Plan did not promise to protect existing open space. Policy ESDQ1 (Neighbourhood Plan, page 43) stated that the open spaces identified in Fig 11.1 (Neighbourhood Plan, page 44) will be protected and retained. The identified sites include Elms Park but not Elms Field.
Thirdly, the Council is not breaking the contract that was signed when they accepted the gift of land for Elms Park in 1948. The conveyance makes no reference at all to the part of Elms Field retained by Mr Purser. In fact it does not even preclude building on Elms Park but specifically alludes to the possibility, and lays down conditions that would need to be met. Thame Town Council, however, have chosen to protect Elms Park from any development.
All of these facts, and the evidence to support them, have been made clear to Mr Webb on numerous occasions yet he continues to ignore them and persists in bending the truth to suit his own agenda. I wonder how many of those who have signed the Elms Group Petition have done so under the influence of such misinformation ?
“I would refer to Mr Juthani’s letter last week on the Elms. I am quite sure that if Mr Juthani were aware of the manner in which the EPG have conducted their campaign he would no longer describe them as demonstrating outstanding citizenship. It is surely not the Labour party’s official stance to condone misrepresentation and completely unjustified accusations of malfeasance and corruption levelled at elected officials ,their officers ,their advisors and our Company. This has caused great distress to many hard-working and honest people. Equally when he talks about the democratic process needing to be followed, were he to research the process that took place over some two years I am sure he would conclude that democracy was first and foremost in all of those processes and in line with the Localism act that the Labour Party endorse. Were he to read the report that Thame Town Council prepared he would be suitably illuminated on this matter.
I have also written to Mr Juthani and offered to show him the justification for my comments above that he might be better informed
On a separate matter I wonder for how many months more the Thame Gazette will continue to be the mouthpiece for Messrs Webb, Marianczak , Jeffries and Clanfield. How many times will they allow them to repeat the same old lines that have been disproven time and time again. Can I suggest that the Editor review all of the letters that they have submitted which must run to many hundreds of column inches and they will see that from many months, if not over a year ago nothing new has been said. Surely a community newspaper should not be a perpetual mouthpiece for a few people that are highly motivated with self-interest to keep repeating the same old lines?
The people of Thame should also be aware that some two years ago Mr Webb told us in writing that he would not object if we complied with a set of demands including the free transfer of land adjacent to his property. As we did not accede to his demands his objection can therefore not be one of principle but more of retribution.
Our current detailed application is still under discussion and once refined will be judged against the Neighbourhood Plan and soundly established planning principles. These will demonstrate we believe that the development will exceed all national standards and result in a development that will be of the highest quality. It will also be of the most sustainable nature in the centre of the thriving market Town of Thame. In addition it will provide a very accessible new area of parkland accessed directly from the Upper High street. Many objective people have pointed out that presently no one can see this land or enjoy it apart from of course a few people that currently overlook it – Mr Marianczak and Mr Webb included
Thame is a very vibrant town and needs to remain like that for the sake of its future. Putting an out of town shop will only draw people away from the centre and putting local business under financial pressure.
Tescos portfolio of offering
Groceries……………Already availabli the the town centre
Optician……………….Already available in the town centre
Butcher………………..Already available in the town centre
Florist…………………..Already available in the town centre
Clothes………………..Already available in the town centre
Newsagent…………..Already available in the town centre
Shoe repairs……….. Already available in the town centre
Wines and Spirit….. Already available in the town centre
Chemist……………… Already available in the town centre
Cofee shop………… Already availablein the town centre
Etc.
Why on earth do we want to take people away from the town and put all these businesses under threat and have a ghost town like has already happened to so many other places. this is not scare-mongering it is fact, We need to fight for the future of our town.
Does anybody ever shop at an edge of town superstore and then pop in to the local town centre for a coffee or to visit the butchers? Any big supermarket on the edge of Thame will attract customers to the edge of Thame and not to the centre of Thame. Town centre shops are the only option that really brings trade in to the town centre.
Reading the comments in the local this week, Cllr Welply ” cheap food of dubious quality ” & Tim Chapman quoting Tesco’s CEO about slowing down or cancelling out of town developments, could it be that they ( Tesco) will gain consent & then sublet to Aldi or Lidl ? Conspiracy theory ?
At last someone with a pragmatic view ! Well said GB ! We should be encouraging people to come to Thame & a shopping ” attraction” like Tescos will do just that. The specialist outlets should welcome the fact that people from surrounding small towns and villages have a reason the come to Thame and whilst at Tesco come to the smaller town centre shops as well.
If we allow this development to take place, contrary to the town plan, then it is just a matter of time before developers start targeting other parts of Thame. We should be vocal in our opposition.
GB is totally wrong, having an out of town supermarket will make the town centre less vibrant. The town plan clearly wants retail to stay within the centre, and we should do all we can to make support the plan and stop Tesco.
Hopefully Sam Juthani will now speak out against the proposed out of town supermarket that Tesco want to build. Especially as it is completely against the town plan which wants to keep retail in the town centre
why are people so keen about trying to kill off a beautiful little town like Thame,Ive worked all over the country and the market towns are vanishing quick ,this is a true gem lets keep it this way.
There are many business in Thame which will suffer because of this development if people are so obsessed with Tesco go online for your shopping.
This must NOT go ahead.
I own a small business in the center of Thame,this will be the end off my shop if this goes ahead.
Thame has such a great reputation for small independent business and this will only put a abrupt end to that,lets just hope this goes away before many small shops in Thame do.
I just do not believe the 45 properties will so significantly increase the traffic compared to the hundreds of properties that already use these routes. That said making Nelson street one way and adapting the design to create a vehicle entrance / exit from the town centre would make sense.
Maybe if some people dont know what the issues are they should take a look at some of the many objections lodged with the SODC. One of the main problems is that the planned access will create a dangerous increase in traffic along Nelson St and Southern Rd – both main pedestrian routes for local residents and children going to St Joseph’s and John Hampden Schools, and the town centre. The roads are single-track for the most part and other local developments have noted this problem with the council. Cars are already going up on the pavement daily, only just missing families. There is evidence of this. The construction traffic and the 90+ additional Elms resident cars that the development would bring, will cause more problems and I have no doubt injuries and worse. SODC are taking this problem seriously and the planning officer has come to see for herself. It’s not just about the actual site and buildings, it is whether this is a safe suitable area to develop as the access is far from ideal.
Couldn’t agree more Adam. The elms is privately owned. No one can use the land unless you are invited to visit the house. It is waste land at the moment so I really don’t understand what the issue is here. If it was the park they wanted to build on I would totally agree with the no building. So many people I speak to rant on about building on the park and I then have to explain to them it is a private house and property they want to build on and not the park!
Every time I read a letter or comment re: the Elms petition I feel like starting a separate petition to build on the land. Then I remember that Thame residents have already voted on where new housing should go including the Elms – the Thame Neighbourhood Plan! It was and still is a good plan
Nothing Sam Juthani said is anti-growth. Building the houses on the delegated site instead of on supposedly protected open space is simply good sense and responsible.
“Thame resident” has no name to show who it is that can’t see that building on Elms Field contravenes the Town Plan’s promise to protect existing open space. “resident” has also failed to pick up on the fact that the Council appear willing to break the contract they signed when they accepted the gift of land for the park in 1948.
Hopefully such “residents” are few in number.
Others can join the petition by visiting elmspetition.org.uk. They might like to help out friends and neighbours who are not connected to the internet. All that the petition needs is names and addresses of over-18 persons who are against the unnecessary devlopement on Elms field.
I worked in Thame for years and I can say that some people are loyal to their local stores but a lot will seek out the cheaper option as I’ve seen loyal customers who shop in the local stores for years move onto the bigger supermarkets because in the times we’re living in they want more for their money. I said this a long time ago but Thame is slowly turning into Aylesbury, Thame can be a buzzing vibrant place to live without the need of big names and chains, I think the main buzz for the town at the moment is the fact that theres plenty of local small shops, as soon as the bigger chains start coming in the small local shops will perish as they cannot compete and Thame will no longer be unique
GB is mistaken. A Tesco store on the fringe of the town will, as similar developments up and down our country have done, destroy the independent Butchers, Bakers, Outfitters etc. no matter how good they are. That is pragmatism. At the same time, the life of the town centre largely destroyed and with it much of the health of our town,
It is no accident that central government have at long last come to see just how destructive such developments are, they are based upon 1960-80 concepts, devoid of humanity and ethics.
GB does really mean be pragmatic, he/she actually means that Thame has nothing worth protecting. I am sorry I disagree.
I’m not anti-growth, anti-change or anti-investment at all. But I am pro-civilised debate, civic action and community engagement. I think that development can be done with the support of the whole community and not a divisive, fractured way.
I believe that investment for the future works best when everyone in the present supports it.
I think people should take a more pragmatic approach to the delivery and expansion of Thame as a town. Tesco will deliver an alternative food and fuel “option” at competitive prices. Thame does not have a big supermarket. Waitrose will never be affected as it draws consumers who stays loyal to the brand. Sainsburys and CoOp have prime positions in the town and will always bring in customers. The independents such as, Newitts butchers will never struggle, again with loyal customers.
Tescos will draw people from the surrounding village area to either live or shop in Thame as opposed to travelling to Aylesbury. This will reduce car usage and in my view be of benefit to the local economy. Thame has the infrastructure to cope with an edge of town store without affecting the traffic on the High Street and its residents.
Tesco could draw certain shops from the high street, namely, Sainsburys and CoOp which, are the biggest eye sores of them all! If you look at all of the vacant premises in Thame, they do not stay empty very long at all. It is a highly desirable location for small retailers (none of which are ever food companies). I think Thame needs to stop filling vacant space with hairdressers and look at the town models of Marlow and Henley. If you walk around Marlow or Henley there is a buzz which, Thame distinctively lacks. Both examples are heaving with restaurants, bars, high street shops… “options”. Have you ever seen Prezzo empty?
Investment brings money to an area which, increases house values, creates a desirable location for more stable retailers and will make Thame a more vibrant town to live in.
There has and will always be the “anti growth” movement. People do not like change. I urge residents to look at the bigger picture. Think of the future of the town and the opportunities to make it better as opposed to reasons to stop growth and let Thame fall into the dark ages. We all want Thame to be a more desirable and affluent town to live in.
The reaction to Waitrose was not as strong as may have been expected, partly because it was being based adjacent to the town centre so would not draw people away from it.
Speaking purely for myself, I was more relaxed because from my viewpoint Waitrose/John Lewis are far more ethical than Tesco’s are and were.
What next – high rise flats on Oxford road? This would just be another nail in the coffin of the town plan, which clearly states retail should be kept in the town centre. If we don’t all work together to stop the developers then our own part of town will be next.
Tell your town and district councillors if you oppose it. Even if they personally support it they have to represent you. The same for our MP and residents associations; make it clear to them if you are against this.
Tesco are being investigated by the serious fraud squad , that’s a Criminal investigation at head office level!!! They do not care about local communities, just their profits.
I personally welcome an opportunity – it will be good for the consumer especially when most people still do a ‘big’ shop outside of the town – let alone the job opportunities it will create plus the potential to bring more people into the the town – whether it be a Lidl/Aldi, Tesco or Poundland!!
Please go along – you will find something you need for Christmas. Not just cards, but candles, aprons, stocking fillers, gift wrap and such lovely smiling assistants !!
The independent food shops would struggle with a larger supermarket but if Thame absolutely needs a bigger supermarket then the best solution would be for sainsburys to move and be part of the cattle market development. m&s or similar shop to move into sainsburys site. Tesco should keep out…thame should remain a tesco free zone !
No thanks not against new development but very much against supporting Tesco,known for its bullying tactics ! Hopefully people will rise up against this bid and keep Tesco out !
Makes me laugh all you people saying no we don’t want you no stay away tesco but your the first ones to say stuff the farmers we want houses for are kids we are happy to alow Lord williams school to move on to farm land so they can build houses on there old site happy for them to take grass fields around the by pass to supply your kids with houses but no tesco’s your not welcome really some people that live in thame need to just think about what they are saying
No thanks Tesco or anyone else who wants to build out of town shopping in Thame. One of the best things about Thame is the High Street, exactly how will this development enhance that.
100% against this development. It would overload the already busy roads and take much needed business from a classic market town. There are already two supermarkets serving the local area as well as a host of good local businesses.
We don’t need or want this Tesco and I urge every resident to attend the planning meetings and raise awareness. Block this proposal! As for Tesco, they have stores in Aylesbury and Princes Risborough, which is more than enough.
With any luck Tesco will not have the business case anyway looking at their finances.
Thame is vibrant shire market town with a busy, diverse and successful town centre – and one of the main reasons for this is because it doesn’t have an out of town superstore!
Those who talk about allowing “progress” need to visit some other market towns and see the empty shops or the endless charity shops in their high streets. It is not “small minded” to want to stop this potential development, it is vital to the town’s ongoing success.
Thame is a huge success – dont allow Tesco (or anyone else) to set up a store and suck the life out of our lovely town.
A lot of small minded people on here trying to stop development.of Thame yet again. Its about time Thame moved into the 21st Century. Tesco’s would be welcome as far as I’m concerned and well overdue. A lot of “self interest” people blocked Sainsbury’s plan for the town centre so now an out of town plan is hopefully what you will get.. I have lived in Long Crendon / Thame for 61 years and ran a local company for 28 years so am well qualified to comment on this.
The “Thame Plan” is pretty clear that this site is for Employment use only, not a food store, and the additional retail space that the town needs should be predominantly in the town centre.
Thame, deserves quality.. Tescos is everything but this!!! Understand thame is a thriving town, which is doing absolutely fine without the bull dozer tactics of them!!! It’s a BIG NO from me!!!!!!
its time people stopped living in the past thame is an ever expanding place and needs improvements like this I also think putting a 99p store or pounland here would help keep locals happy to shop in thame instead of oxford or Aylesbury
In 2012 the Sainsbury plan was rejected which would have at least retained customers and spend within the current buoyant town centre. So how now could an out of town store ever possibly be considered as an option thereby driving custom out of the centre! For the sake of the long term future of our successful town centre we should come together and fight this ludicrous proposal.
Puzzling that Tesco want to do this, given the recently reported downturn in the trade of some of their supermarkets around the country. I can’t see that this would be anything but deleterious to town centre trade and life. As for the description of the site: it is on the outskirts of Thame. It is not a suburb of Thame. Given the other nearby developments already approved, one of them contrary to the Neighbourhood Plan (Howland Road), I wonder whether Tesco are envisaging the scene as a future suburb. That up to now is not on the public map. Beware thin ends of wedges.
We certainly do not need another supermarket or more petrol pumps in Thame. It would drain money from the centre of town by taking people out of the centre. Haven’t they got the message yet?!
This would be ideal! Co-op and Saisnbury’s arent big enough for thame and arent the best!, also with the number of houses going up a bigger supermarket and another petrol station IS needed !
Tesco would be great for Thame, if people don’t want to use it that’s entirely up to them, surely more choice & competition is good for the consumer.
With the large number of new houses proposed the current supermarkets in town are inadequate. Large numbers of residents already drive to Wheatley and Aylesbury, if a new store reduces this then that has to be a good thing.
It is time Tesco’s accepted that we do not want them here!
If they insist upon trying to force themselves on us, they are simply demonstrating how unethical and immoral that they are, simply using their enormous financial muscle to force themselves upon our community. We should deal with them in the same way as we would any other bully; resist them, reject their approaches, use the law, and make it impossible for them to function here!
This new junction layout doomed from the start, it’s a very dangerous junction to use, one crash happened on it not long after it was opened (probably because it wasn’t well signposted about the change). To add insult to injury whilst these works were carried out the two pretty big pot holes leading to the junction were left untouched….
The 40 bus service is a life line for many people in Thame, especially visiting the hospital at High Wycombe and shopping locally. After all, by the time the bus reaches High Wycombe I have often noticed that people are standing. Surely it cannot be said the service is not commercially viable. My husband is disabled and can no longer drive a car so for people like him the bus service is even more important.
Yes. They should be removed and I will when I get time. But interestingly, one report was of interest recently to an insurance loss adjuster in a road crash investigation !
A very dangerous junction now, the other day there was a telephone engineers large van parked on the left completely blocking what little vision you have to turn right I was also puzzled for a few seconds as to who had priority at the junction, needs sorting quickly as I believe there has already been an accident recently.
I emailed Thame Town Council regarding this dangerous road layout in June this year which was forwarded to OCC highways ( haven’t heard from them) It is not down to Taylor Wimpey to rectify this dangerous road junction.
With or without the new homes due to be built, the road layout is just the most ill thought out design I have seen in a long time. It’s an accident waiting to happen and I cannot believe someone was stupid enough to sign off on the plans in the first place. It shouldn’t be down to Taylor Wimpey to show how they will improve it.
It’s down to the moron who originally thought it was a good idea to fix the problem. When the work began we all assumed that finally someone was using their brain and thinking ahead to the new home and putting a small roundabout there.
The new layout is dreadful if you are coming from Wenman Rd to turn right you can not see far enough round to the left to see if any traffic is coming, I had a couple of near misses , It will become a nightmare and death trap with all those new flats there , Sort it out quickly !
Only now is the council worrying about traffic from Site C?! It was obvious from the moment that Site C appeared in the draft Neighbourhood Plan that traffic to and from it would be an issue for the town. It would have been better to allocate these houses to a site nearer the town centre and with better links to the road network such as Site F on the Oxford rd. Site C is not a very sustainable site to develop.
Councillor Lambert stood out from other councillors as being very defensive. He also seemed confused; how can 2100 people who have signed a petition against any development of The Elms Field be described as “pockets of people objecting to building behind their homes”? Cllr Lambert appeared to be looking for sympathy for having apparently been called a traitor; he might be well-advised to look at why a longstanding resident of Thame would be so moved to verbally express this feeling.
SODC say that a reason must be supplied to justify re- examining, and possibly amending, the Town Plan. Surely the discovery of a conflict of objectives within the plan is such a reason.
The elmspetition group has recommended to the Council that a small committee be set up to examine how to handle the situation at minimum cost. This could include a postal vote for a change, simply calling for the deletion of Elms Field as a site. Why can’t this be done? There is no need to rewrite the Plan. It is a simple editing job.
The essential thing to keep in mind, and a fact that Cllr Lambert seems incapable of understanding, is that SODC Planning’s normal power to examine the site for suitability is limited by the fact that the site is in an adopted plan. It needs to be taken out so that SODC powers are restored.
“The development proposals include a number of potential public benefits for Thame, such as the public open space, new footpath/cycleway linkages and an open space link between Elms Park and the new public open space for but at present the design of the scheme would not successfully realise these benefits.”
I can see no public benefit for Thame in opening up access from the park into Elms Field (apparently in contravention of the original conveyance in 1948), who would want to go and sit in the middle of a new housing development if they did not live there?! The only benefit is for the developers, to make their investment more attractive. Many of the proposed changes to Elms Park will reduce it’s usefulness, such as moving the basketball courts closer to the kids area (presumably to ensure their colourful language is easier to hear) and creating a toddler playground with no line of sight to the existing playground. The total usable are is also being reduced at the edges, so the park will effectively be about 40% smaller.
The ‘consultation’ was a sham, I don’t know of any regular users of the park who were engaged in the consultation or who support the changes now being proposed. Changes can be funded by other means and it’s a sad reflection on the council that they are in reality supporting these plans by asking for minor changes only.
Thanks Norman – well, Thame.Net tries to be get the important local news out as soon as possible, though I must admit, I didn’t mean it to take so long, but it’s important to have a comprehensive record of these thing on the public record for those who couldn’t attend. Public statements and press releases don’t tell the whole story.
Cllr. Lambert is totally wrong to continue to maintain that the letter from English Heritage was late or that as presented in the minutes it was received late – 3 weeks after the closing of the public consultation period. The same fiction is repeated in a press release issued by the Town Clerk in August 2014.
The letter was NOT written in connection with the public consultation.
The opening sentence of the letter makes it clear that it was a report to Council, via the Clerk, and followed a site meeting with the developer’s consultants. It was written within less than a week of that meeting.
The letter plainly dismissed the report of those consultants. It provided a true history of the site and it said that there was no question of any justification for this housing to be considered as enabling development. The minutes show the Councillors being misinformed on this matter also.
What the Councillors were told is clear in the minutes. They were given incorrect information. By whom? The minutes do not say. They also do not say who said that the 35 houses the plan group originally had put in the plan, was to be increased to 45.
Cllr Dyer is on record stating that the plan was produced, as if by magic, through public consultation. He has denied the existence of a plan group. Obviously though, somebody had to resolve the conflicts arising from the public consultation. According to the Council’s own planning consultant, a plan group was established, and of course it was lead by none other than Cllr Dyer.
The Clerk, along with Cllrs Dyer and Lambert, are evidently very distressed by the personal implications. Understandably. Wouldn’t an admission and an apology from all three not be more appropriate?
OK, I declare my interest as a long-retired journalist. CONGRATULATIONS. Prompt, comprehensive, therefore very helpful to the community, and you caught the ‘first edition’!
This sounds like a common issue with the Neighbourhood Plan. This is for a site where all that is at risk is design and consultation but we have an even greater issue with The Elms development proposal. Consultation has been poor, designs are hideous, traffic increases risk the safety of local residents and there is destruction of conservation land and protected trees. I hope we get equally strong support from the town council and SODC when those plans are presented for review.
Just for the record, Thame Town Council carried out a public consultation on whether or not to move the fair. Here’s the report from the time, from Thame.Net’s archives: https://www.thame.net/archives/4075
Oh dear, here we go again ‘new’ Thame shopkeepers and residents complaining about a traditional fair that has given generations of children and adults great entertainment and memories for many many years.
I suggest the fair is very important part of Thames history and tradition and should remain exactly where it is.
If a minority of moaning new residents and shop keepers can’t cope with a few days disruption once a year then perhaps they should find somewhere else to live or manage their businesses a little more efficiently.m
Please don’t move to our wonderful town and try and change it to suit yourselves, give a little thought to those families who have lived here for generations and want some important traditions to remain how they are.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand why Thame businesses are compromised during this time for an annual event that takes over the whole high st…. Please can it be reviewed/ discussed to move it to the showground! Somewhere less disruptive? It is now 4 days of trade that our local businesses lose (not forgetting another couple of days in October when the fair returns) I am not saying stop it altogether as I know its a tradition enjoyed by families, but the question of its location being the most suitable, especially as its for a lengthy time, needs addressing when we have a showground ideal for this type of event
I am really surprised that so little note has been made of the fact that this development has been given approval by both Thame Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council despite the fact that it contravenes the principles of our Neighbourhood Plan. This site was allocated as 3ha in the Neighbourhood Plan and permission has been given here for 4.6ha which is 50% more than we signed up for when we were encouraged to VOTE YES. We need to defend our Neighbourhood Plan.
Full marks to “Save the Elms” the truth has emerged, now it is up to the people of Thame to register their opposition. Sign the petition at the pet shop or on line.
By the way @A.Victor, what was wrong with the Americano? I only ask because I work there and I’d like to make sure we’re giving you a good service 🙂 (I am the waiter who wears glasses) Sorry to hear it wasn’t quite up to scratch this time around.
We actually had an issue today in the afternoon in that, due to the restaurant being completely full over lunch and the coffee grinder being in constant use, the grinder became jammed, so we had to use a backup grinder which may have made the coffee more coarse/less fine. This might have changed the flavour somewhat I’m afraid, so I’m sorry about that.
Our manager Dawn is extremely approachable so if there’s an issue feel free to come in and have a chat about it, or alternatively I’ll be in from 9-5 on weekdays so you can ask for me (My name is Cole) and I’ll try to resolve that for you.
Tried Treacles this afternoon and was charged £2.30 for a mediochre Americano with milk. Which by my reckoning the milk cost in the region of £0.45. Is the owner having a laugh?
Feel I’ve really been taken for a ride.
@Richard – to say the land is not used for anything is incorrect. This is the grounds of a grade 2 listed property. Just because the public don’t have access to it it doesn’t mean its insignificant. Would you suggest that the millions of square miles of countryside in the UK are also not used for anything and therefore should be built on?
It would appear your definition of progress is to build houses on greenfield sites (where there is suitable infrastructure).
Agree with your point re the infrastructure issues though, certainly the road access is very poor to this site.
@Matt – firstly, some of the most active objectors do not live in the immediate vicinity of the land. Secondly, because this land borders a public park owned by the town and people of Thame, it is EVERY resident’s concern. thirdly, what is wrong with protecting your own interest? If you stood to lose £££s then I’m sure you’d stand up and object too.
Finally, there’s a fair amount of information about the development available now allowing people to make informed decisions. This is due to the hard work of those opposing the development. I encourage you to seek it out and make decisions based upon it.
As stated everyone had some part of the NP they did not like or want, but had to vote on the whole selection or risk having it imposed at one site not of any choosing. This would be fine but the Elms site was not highlighted clearly and would be the wrong choice for Thame.
Quite clearly some bully boy tactics being offered by the powers that be.
To remain fair to the process the Elms should be out to referendum in its own and let the people of Thame decide.
If it goes through then descuss planning etc…
It would also appear to me that the most vocal in opposing this project happen to live along Park Street. Would I be a cynic in saying these people are more worried about the value of their house prices than the development on land that is unused?
I cant see what the problem is. As far as I can see the land is not used for anything anyway but has Thame got the interstructure to cope with more people moving into what used to be a small market town? I’m all for progress as long as everything is taken into account when decisions are finalised.
Oh this is disastrous. We will have to keep a closer eye on our Eric. The kids love him and he has been photographed no end of times. He is also world famous as we have many international visitors to the shop and they all take photos.
Jenny
A Piece of Cake
Having just seen the plans I can safely say I am not amused by this joke. Did they really just submit these plans for an area of land forming part of a listed building grounds and in a conservation area?!
I agree with the stance taken by ElmsPetition.org.uk that this is merely a way of directing public focus to design of houses rather than the fact that houses are being built at all!
We must not let this happen to Thame, we do not want any houses built on The Elms and we must continue to fight this desecration.
Anyone is welcome to let Thame.Net know there views about anything reported on. I have been in contact with the Elms group and I understand that a response is pending. You’d be most welcome to come to our Christmas party by the way Simon.
The park is only being ‘improved’ for the benefit of the property developers, to increase the value of their investment in Elms Park. The Elms Park residential development is already highly controversial so I’m very suprised that Thame.net published a puff piece direct from the developers PR without any context or alternative view. Did you seek a comment from http://www.elmspetition.org.uk/ for instance?
Or have they offered to fund improvements to your Christmas party as well as the park?
If the people of Thame are forced to accept a major expansion of the town is the County Council going to build more school buildings and provide for the additional G.P.s the increased population will require.
Good to see the Councillors are taking a sensible stance on this and not blindly following the due process.
However, maybe they should be putting some focus on more immediate dangers including the wholly unnecessary and very questionable development of Elms & Elms Park.
Don’t forget you can register your objection to the Elms Park Residential Development here: change.org
Was a fantastic night – despite the torrential downpour!
Thank you to EVERYONE involved, walkers, sponsors, supporters, marshals – whatever your role. Your support makes a huge difference to us as a small, local charity – we simply couldn’t do it without you all!
I’d like to respond to Mr Knight’s comments in my capacity as the director of the film. What a shame the first and so far only comment is so negative, given the spirit of the project for which the film was made.
This was a practically zero budget film and, sadly, we were unable to afford an actor who had been trained in the correct method of wearing first world war military uniform. In the end, my son gave up two days of his time, free of charge. Similarly, of the limited crew on the two day shoot, none of us had any first hand experience of how to wear webbing or puttees or how to correctly dress a soldier going to war in 1914. If we had enjoyed a full production budget we would would have employed an expert, such as Mr Knight, to correct such mistakes. Sadly, we had to guess. From a personal point of view, I don’t think he looked ‘dreadful’ at all. I was very proud of him.
I’m surprised Mr Knight didn’t mention the fact that the soldier was wearing Doctor Marten boots, which were obviously wrong for the period, and that some of the hand grenades in the battlefield scene were from a different war entirely. We made do with what we had available to us.
The one concession I will make is that he should indeed have had a haircut. Unfortunately, when we started shooting on the Sunday the barber was closed.
I think we did a good job with the film and I like to thank everyone involved for freely giving their time. I’m very proud of what we achieved given the limited resources available to us.
I apologise in advance for being negative but the chap portraying the Tommy looks pretty dreadful. It is not difficult to get it right. His puttees are completely incorrect he needs a haircut and he has not been shown how to to carry/ wear his webbing correctly It is a shame when so much effort has obviously been put into this project. I hope the poorly turned out Tommy doesn’t detract from the film!
I think you two are two are talking about two different meetings? I believe Mr Clanfield is talking about the AGM on May 13 when the councillor agreed to no longer support the TCAC, not the Grants panel?
This subject was talked about when I was at school nearly 30 years ago, and be be honest it is a complete waste of money, rebuilding existing facilities including the drama facilities becasue some of the teachers do not want to organisate themseleves and cycle between the two sites and makes their lives easier. Instead they clog the centre of Thame with cars!
Dear Mr Clanfield
I am sorry that you feel the Council is responsible for the possible disbandment of CAAC. That was not the intention. All councils have been affected by major funding cuts as have all community groups who by their very nature must apply for grants to be able to continue their work in the community. The remit of the grants panel is getting more and more difficult as more groups apply for grants. The Panel has a set amount of money and has the task of deciding which groups they can help. We cannot fund the same groups every year whilst ignoring new applications for very worthy causes. For instance, ARC which organises volunteers to read to children in our local primary schools, is doing very worthwhile work in the community. As is the CAB. Other groups who applied did not receive grants and I’m afraid this has to be the case with only a finite pot of money. We always encourage groups to seek further grants form other sources.
Speaking from my own experience as an applicant, when the Twinning Association was refused a grant I set about finding another venue to hold our meetings. Racquets were very kind in offering us free space for out monthly meetings and we have met there for almost three years now.
Your personal attack on the Town Clerk is both unwarranted and inaccurate. Helen Stewart was not present at the Grants Panel and therefore did not have any say in the decisions. We did have a senior Council official present but she took notes, ensured the meeting was carried on efficiently and did not make any comments at all in respect of the applications. I have been on the Planning Committee for seven of my eight years on Council and, as a former urban designer myself, and with an architect as our Chair, feel that we have the expertise to look at applications in the conservation area and make appropriate decisions. We took great pains to make sure our conservation area policies were thorough in the Neighbourhood Plan and every application is tested on these policies.
Yours sincerely
Jeannette Matelot Green
Thame Town Council
I would like to vote for Ken Bennell who is a valued member of Thame LIons.
Ken is very hands on with everything that is asked of him
He has been raising money for Thame for 30 years
I haven’t read all the stuff about the latest planning proposals and I’m happy to be corrected if I’ve got anything wrong, but I wonder just what the input of the whole town – all the meetings about the Town Plan, the discussions, letters, anxiety among residents and residents’ groups, and the expense, most of all to Thame Town Council, and that will have been very great – will have counted for when the developers move in. It does make one wonder whether we all trustingly bothered to take part. Our Town Clerk is the Town Clerk. Her work has clearly been beyond the call of the duty she fulfilled so expertly. I would have thought an MBE was the least she deserved. I don’t know why I bother by now, getting towards 80 years old but this seems to be the kind of situation which my dealings with officialdom in various places, have pre-occupied me for more than 50 years.
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.
Utterly disgraceful, to still be reading that the lift hasn’t been fixed! What are Sanctuary Housing thinking? I understand Twitter can be useful in shaming companies that ignore complaints, no-one wants to be a hashtag! May I suggest that this article is shared through Twitter by those that can?
Congratulations from Montesson for these nice words ! We have appreciated this weekend and all the friendship shared with our hosts … and other Montessonais that we met for the first time at this occasion !
I gather the idea is for something more than just a painted line along the side of the road for cyclists. A lot of preliminary work has been done to add to and upgrade existing bridle ways and footpaths across the fields. Some info HERE about a local group campaigning & HEREMost importantly, such a route is in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.
So to cycle from Thame to ‘our’ rail station, we have to dodge gargantuan pot holes, speeding cars and hold up large lorries at our typical sedate 12mph while we struggle to cycle up the hilly twisty A418? No thanks, I value my life more than that!
Typical ostrich-like local gov’t attitude; who did the last structural damage risk assessment and when? Cllr Woods: stating the bl**ding obvious ‘after the horse has bolted’. Just glad that no one was killed by the unattached stone ball that could have fallen down! And then the councilors wonder why the population doesn’t trust politicians!
Fine but…I don’t know how landowners would feel about it, but from Thame, an equivalent of the the Phoenix Trail would be the only feasible route to the station, unless the cyclists are young and very fit and can eat up the hill from the Aylesbury Road roundabout.
My name is Marc Kenny and Shay is my son,I would like to thank everyone involved in an amazing night for my son,the Red Kites are a great charity and have gone out of there way to make a big difference to a little boys life,I have met Serena and a couple of others from the red kites aswell as Sandy and Tracey who are Shays trustees for his fund,these are amazing people who deserve all the credit for setting this up,thanks again Marc Kenny
The details of how to join in with Thame Tidy day have been published several times on Thame.Net. The start point was Racquets, in North Street this year. Be sure to keep your eye on the website for the next one. Better still, become a subscriber and we send you all the news! See our contact page: https://www.thame.net/contact
Glad you like the picture Trish. Follow this link to my flickr stream https://www.flickr.com/photos/thamenews/14108670604/ and then just right click, and save the image on your own computer. Save the file on a memory stick and take it into the Fuji shop in Buttermarket and they’ll print it off for you.
Can somebody explain to me why a “car park” gets to be resurfaced yet every day I drive down the road outside Churchill Crescent, especially on a motorbike, its like dicing with death because of the craters – and that is just one road in Thame – I am sure there are many more equally as dangerous.
Do hope you’ll be doing something about the alley that runs from Elms Road to the back entrance of John Hampden School. Fly tipping and rubbish is terrible up there.
What a shame the clear up was so poor though. The park is littered with cigarette butts, plastic cutlery and pieces if lemon. Not great when you’re walking your dog!
Well done Peter. Every Mayor including myself is surprised at the school children’s knowledge of Thame and their interest in how the council works. Some of their questions can be pretty incisive too.
Re. Thame Park Road closure. We only found out about this by accident. There has to our knowlwdge been no information about this important matter disemminated locally. Certainly nothing about it in the Thame Gazette and nothing from the Town Council. Not sure what Mr Nimmo Smith means about informing locals but we certainly have not been informed. Thank goodness for Thame.net.
In the light of there being as many as 2000 houses added to Thame might it beappropriate that the completion of the ring road (from Thame Park Road to the Oxford road roundabout) be seriously considered. This would help to identify a suitable area for future development and if carried out in the near future will resolve the inevitable road traffic problems in Park Street and Chinnor Road which will arise from developments already in the Town Plan.
To clarify, as I recall, since Adam Buckland’s staff, particularly Mark Green and Jade, stepped down from driving the carnival after June 2013, Cllr Dyte took over as Chair with yourself and other councillors on the committee. The Clerk and Councillors made it very clear at the CLR Committee meeting (Feb 11) that the council wanted the community to take responsibility for it as they did not ‘have the resources’ to take the lead. See: LINK Happily, Sue Downhill has done just that, and I’m sure looks forward to working with you Jeannette and the others on the committee.
This is incorrect. The Carnival was in danger of being cancelled as the Chair, Adam Buckland, had to step down due to business commitments. The town council is offering the same resources as they did before which includes me !
How could the cheques have been allowed to fall into the fraudster’s hands? Presumably they were taken without consent from the Council Office; it will be interesting to hear the outcome of a Police investigation into the attempted fraud.
It would seem some murky doings are afoot, should it not all be brought into the light. As a longstanding resident and local Business i would not feel comfortable supporting any council or councilors unable to be open and honest in there dealings.
This competition is being run by the Rycote Practice. You need to click on the link in the article, and then, once on the Rycote website, click through where it is says ‘click here for more details’. It seems you then need to download a poster with the details. If this doesn’t help, I suggest you call the surgery. Sorry, that’s all the information we were given.
You’re very welcome! Well deserved and a lovely good-news story on Valentine’s day. Best of luck for the award; see you in the pub for the quiz on Wednesday – bring ‘lady luck’ along with you!
Many thanks for allowing me such a generous write up, Sonja. I’m very lucky to have this space. Hopefully, luck will still be smiling on me when I go to the quiz next week!
Lee James raises another issue over the question of democracy in SODC. This Council will allow Councillors to speak on any issue but when it comes to a vote, a Councillor cannot vote if the issue concerns his or her constituency. The Democracy Manager says this rule was adopted to ensure that the Council would not ever be sued for vested interest votes.
SODC admit that this is not a pan-UK rule and they say they have no idea whether it applies anywhere else. They say the rule was adopted by the Councillors themselves and have not yet supplied requested minutes of the relevant meeting where the matter was discussed.
I suspect that as is usual, the matter was raised by officials and Councillors simply accepted their advice.
In fact, the Council does not need to fear suing, in my opinion. If a Councillor does have a personal interest and fails to declare the fact, then the council is a victim and can discipline the Councillor, in the same way that Parliament would discipline an MP.
Another fact is that Thame’s Councillor on the SODC Planning Committee, Anne Midwinter, has told people that the Elms Field proposal will go through. How can she say this in advance of knowing what is proposed? Also is she not there to vote on behalf of her constituents? Is she proposing to ignore the fact that the majority are against? Possibly none are for.
Anne has refused to talk to me, and says this is on the advice of the SODC legal department who tell her not to talk to opponents of the scheme.
This surely means that, if she did ask for opinions from other constituents, then she would immediately cut off the conversation when they say they are against?
I wonder how many people realise that Councillors are now salaried. Value for money?
EDITOR’S COMMENT: My understanding is that councillors are nor salaried, but receive expenses and allowances.
I would not be surprised if Lee James’ comments above bring a threat of legal action from Rectory’s lawyers, for his criticism of the process which has lead to the proposal to build houses in Elms field.
Both myself and Ron Clanfield, who have had similar temerity, have received threats of legal proceedings from Rectory’s Cardiff-based solicitor. In fact they also demanded the names of all who had signed the petition, in order to threaten them also. The threats were met with the promise to fight any action vigorously and the demand for names and addresses of others was rejected.
I have also been threatened with legal action by the Thame Town Clerk, for the crime of “harrasing” Councillors, who are refusing to speak to me. Demands that we cease writing critical statements about the development have also been made, personally by Mr Vickers, to Richard Jeffries. Let citizens of Thame be aware what is going on behind the scenes.
Many other questions spring to mind as I glance at the Thame ‘Neighbourhood plan’. The Elms is in the conservation area as is my home. This means that I can’t even chop down an annoying tree on my land yet it is apparently fine for the owner of the Elms to plonk 45 houses on his bit. Surely areas A,B,C,D & F (What appened to E?) which collectively have about the same area as the entirity of Thame could easily accomodate these houses without wrecking the town centre?
His first statement states that allegations by objectors are ‘patently’ untrue. They may well be untrue but they are not ‘patently’ untrue. ‘Patently’ means openly, plainly, clearly or obviously and if that were the case there would be no challenge. It’s is precisely because the process is not open, plain and clear that the issue exists.
His second statement describes the Elms as a ‘highly sustainable’ location. What does that mean? it can’t refer to its impact on traffic because Nelson Street and Southern Road are already groaning under the weight of the additional traffic created by developing areas such as the old football ground up the road, the busy Sainsbury’s car park etc. It can’t be a reference to the preservation of green spaces because this is about the last bit of greenery the council hasn’t already flogged to developers that doesn’t have a covenant on it. It can’t refer to the architectural merit and longevity of the development because like all modern development plans it will consist of squeezing as many houses as possible into the space to maximise profits. So what exactly does ‘sustainable’ mean? Is it just this decade’s buzz word like ‘partnership’ was last decades?
His third statement states that ‘consultations including the site were exhaustive’. Well they can’t have been that exhaustive because I wasn’t aware it was even proposed until very recently and I have since spoken to lots of Thame residents and have yet to find one who was aware of this development. Consultations were not comprehensive, all-inclusive, all-embracing, extensive, intensive and in-depth; in short they were not ‘exhaustive’. By the same token ‘subjected to scrutiny by SODC’ doesn’t give me any confidence at all; I have seen their processes in the past. Take for example corporation yard where SODC had to decide whether developers could build on a piece of land in Park Terrace. They granted permission of course, not surprising given that they also owned the land! Go have a look at those houses; they are not attractive, not well built and the parking spaces are so cramped they only work if half of them are empty. So no, scrutiny by the SODC is not reassuring.
His fourth & fifth statements are interesting in that they can’t decide whether The Elms and Elms Park are the same place or not:
On the one side it will result in ‘less than half the area being developed’ and on the other ‘The proposed housing is on privately owned land to the rear of Elms House to which no one has access’ and ‘…Elms Park will remain undeveloped’ so which is it?
Glad you find the article interesting. I assume you mean MR Vickers?? (Not MY Vickers?) Can you be more specific please. For instance, which comment(s) in particular?
The whole process pays little more than lip service to the pricipals of democracy and open government: look at the ‘Yes’ vote nonsense. Nothing to do with presenting two or more arguments and letting the public decide; all to do with the council marketing their own preferences under the veil of a mock democratic process. This is hardly surprising many councils employ ‘democracy officers’. This sounds good doesn’t it, someone to promote democratic processes? except that is not what they are for, they are there to ensure the council does the minimum it can get away with doing in order to avoid being outragously un-democratic. For examples see almost everything the SODC does in any planning applications involving big business or council partners against simple members of the public.
E.R.King.
Makes you wonder if any palms have been greased, I don’t suppose it would be the first time; NO one is worried how many houses they build, the majority of Thame people just want the Elms Park left alone, not destroyed for the profit of just a few. (Edited)
It is quite obvious that members of the council are attempting to force this through in accordance with their own agenda’s and I wonder whether outright corruption is not at the heart of this conduct?
In any event no action should be taken while the council is not behaving in an open and accountable manner and while no MEANINGFUL public consultation has taken place.
On thame.net, neither of the two links above work.
Much anti comment has focused on cost, disruption and scenic destruction. More has to be said about need. Business persons work while on a train and a small time saving is of no real value. The person traveling to see friends or relatives in either London or Birmingham is also unconcerned about time. Also, such travellers are likely to reduce in numbers as conference calls take over from direct meetings.
Further, where is an analysis of the passenger makeup on the current Chiltern route. That is to say, what proportion of passengers start in London or Birmingham and travel the whole distance, as opposed to getting on, and perhaps off at the intermediate Chiltern stations. These latter passengers get no benefit and are surely the greatest part of the customers.
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.
I teach at CES and the students we have are lovely people. It is great for them to stay in Thame or Haddenham as they can catch the 280 bus to school. It is a great way to get to know people from other countries. If you have a spare room, give it a try for a week or so. I am sure you won’t regret it.
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?
Apologies – the report was a follow on from Tuesday’s report of one of the crashes at Junc 8 spur road. I should’ve repeated. Corrected now. Thanks for pointing out the omission Peter.
Having witnessed people parking on double yellow lines everywhere recently, I googled to find out if we still had a traffic warden. I didn’t know she had retired which explains a lot. Peoplke are parking badly everywhere in Thame and no-one is doing anything about it!
In response to these comments we can confirm that not only were the Elms proposals featured in all Public exhibitions at the Town Hall including one exclusively for the Elms but was also included in the written housing options from the very start of The Thame Neighbourhood Plan process which were advertised extensively . We would urge all interested parties to attend the exhibition to see for themselves the current proposals and to make any comments which will of course be listened to and taken into account in the next stage.
I think it is important that people be aware that the event is being organised by a planning consultant, engaged by the developer to help get consent from the planning authority. This is what they are paid for and sucess is what assures future paid work. Expect therefor that objections to the development will be listened to and maybe a show made of recording them. Don’t count on them getting through to SODC Planning. As most people know anyway public presentations of this nature are part of the show and can often be classified as “Going through the motions”
Has anybody met anybody else actually in favour? But a problem is that many people feel that this is a “done deal. NOT SO.
Those who have not already registered their opposition can still do so by emailing name and address of all in the household (Over 18s of course and also neighbours and friends if they authorise to do so and provide their own addresses) by emailing a brief statement to elmspetition@hotmail.co.uk. Anybody not showing an OX9 postcode will be listed in the petition as a “Friend of Thame”.
Written objections, In an envelope please can be dropped into PetCare in the Buttermarket. Buy a little present for cat or dog if you wish.
My husband and I totally agree with you . we signed the petition on Remembrance Sunday and since then , have been trying to find out how we could help . Maybe you could forward something I could print out , and I could circulate around our local chapels in the North East . If this is possible who where would I send the lists to and by what date please ?
I cannot believe that such a beautiful piece of land in the centre of Thame could have been approved in such a way, its plainly wrong.
There is plenty of land on the outskirts of Thame with so much better access into the site.
Furthermore its development is a sham and should never have been included into the Neighbourhood planm,
How dare the Councillor not ask for a document from 1826 regarding land rights (?). As long as the houses are affordable, they get my vote for go ahead! Can’t stop progress.
My vote is for the ‘the Tom Wood’ room. I’ve struggled to believe what’s happened to my friend Tom this week. It still doesn’t sit well, to be honest I’m really struggling and at a loss to why such a great bloke has disappeared from our lives. All I know is I’ve spent some of my best memories up the club with my mate Tom and all the Chinnor boys. He was the life of the party and made us all smile. Singing ‘Take That’ on the microphone at my leaving party to Sydney, shouting buffalo, I could go on…you will never leave my memory. Tom I’m just lucky to have had you in my life and you will continue to make me smile. My kids will never know you but I will be telling them of Uncle Tom. Rest well B. I propose the ‘Tom wood extension’ – May it be larger than life and be the holder of great nights! Clarky
I have lived in Thame all my life and moving Thame show to earlier in the year is just wrong!! I think the ticket prices are the reason also why people can’t go nothing to do with the weather! I know for a fact I would take my little family if it was more affordable move back to Septemeber where it belongs and always has been is great but make it like the old days and bring back the original and loved format!
Well done to the organisers to let common sense and the will of the townspeople prevail by putting the show back to where it belongs in September. Nobody can predict the weather these days, especially the summers, so it was a small wonder that attendance at this year’s dropped on one of the hottest days this year.
At least in September, the weather is a little more consistent and you can prepare for the cooler weather. Farmers have finished tending to the fields and fruits have ripened and been turned into all manner of goods.
Innovation seems to be a bit of a dirty word, particularly when it comes to challenging the status quo. I have an idea that may breathe some life back into the show and foster better links with the independent retailers of Thame.
What I propose is that we reproduce what is good about Thame town centre and create a ‘Little High Street’ that will form the spine of all the market stalls. I will write a letter and try to get feedback from our retailers to see if it is worth approaching the organisers with this proposal.
What I hope this will achieve is to take advantage of the thousands of people, both local and from further afield to get a taste of what Thame has to offer when the Show is not on. Pitch rates would have to be reasonable and if we gather momentum now, it will give retailers time to prepare for it. Before you brush aside or rubbish my idea, fish and chip shops can get portable fryers, pubs can get portable pumps and estate agents only need a display and a desk. Should some of the higher value items stores or chains wish to participate, if you can’t afford mobile card payments, you can always use your mobile phone and get a card payment put through back at the shop in town.
Rather than grumble about the show taking trade away from the town centre, let’s be proactive and be part of the show. This used to happen years ago, so when people talk about how reinstating what used to go on, why not think back a little further, as it was in the Fifties?
Doing away with the moratorium on catering was one of the best moves yet, encouraging smaller local food retailers and breweries to attend. Yes, by all means bring back the beer tent, but make it communal ground that doubles as shelter from the elements.
By representing the town centre at the showground, not only will it fill all the stalls up and make the show bigger and better, it will keep some money in the town with people from all walks spending money at local stalls. If people agree with me, then I am happy to lead a quiet revolution!
Flabbergasted that the organisers blame the warm weather for deterring people; if it was raining you can bet they would be saying the exact same thing!
It doesn’t take an Alan Sugar to know the problem lies with the admission prices, which are nothing short of extortionate.
Excellent news that the show is to revert back to its traditional date. But you will have to also bring back the traditional format as well. with Beer tent, catering tent lots more trade stalls and exhibits – like it used to be. If it is anything like last years, then I agree that it should be the last one, as I certainly will not support it beyond 2014 A tradition of Thame that has been ruined. Also – watch the pricing. Families cannot afford the costs you imposed and therefore as much as they would like to come, just cannot justify the expense to do so. My niece with 3 children, would have cost her more than £60.00 for a show that took an hour to walk around.
Glad show back in September next year.
I suggest the committee plan a proper AGRICULTURAL show like 3 Counties at Malvern or Newbury, animals and not all stalls.
Sadly, Denis Margrett passed away on 7th July 2015 aged 96, 10 weeks after receiving his Ushakov medal.
You’d think that the numbers trying to access the site would be a clue that people need places to swim. Fair enough – this site is dangerous. (Although is it? no quotes from anyone who has actually been injured there, and the birds look quite happy!) But why not create a safe site? If a quarry can be dug, why can a natural swimming pond not be? Natural swimming has well documented health benefits. Why is so much energy spent trying to keep people out of the water, when it’s clear there is huge demand for good natural swimming facilities.
Laura … what an exciting time!
I have total confidence that you will do an absolutely sterling job of bringing together the community, both from a business and social perspective, and I know you’ll be injecting some fabulous new ideas and initiatives.
Wishing you phenonemal fun and success!
Faz
I can help, my grandfather was frank Honniball (he went to Epsom) and we know about Lionel Crabb, his mother lived at my grandfathers house till she passed. Happy to help with any questions you have!
Please have words with the Cottage Bakery on Upper High Street, Thame. As a resident I am regularly forced to go into the bakery to get them to let my car out of its parking space. They park their vans entirely illegally in front of the bakery with no hazard lights causing hazardous conditions for people crossing the road and trying to park in the spaces that they have obscured. I have photographic timestamped evidence from today Friday Dec 11th, where I received undue road rage abuse due to their vehicle being parked in the highway whilst I was parking my car a few metres ahead. They left their vehicle in the middle of the road for 45 minutes with no lights on and no hazards before they were advised to make use of the adjacent parking space which was there throughout. Happy to supply timestamped photographic evidence for today. Nb. This is not a loading/unloading issue, I have no problem with that as they are a business and people can see what is going on.
Thank you Sonia
You have been a great help and a credit to Thame businesses over the years hope to see you soon Frazer
Thank you Anita. I hope to see you along the Phoenix Trail sometime! X
Such kind words Ken! Thank you. I’m looking forward to a new adventure!! May be we will see you at a planning meeting before long. No doubt you will have a view on the proposed new Health hub under discussion!
Sad news for Thame but sounds a good lifestyle choice for you and your family. Thank you for all you have done for the town. If I ever attend the Planning Committee it will be strange to see you on the other side of the desk! Enjoy retirement – you have earned it.
Very best wishes,
Ken
Good luck Sonja,
We will miss you.
With Best Wishes from Anita & Gary.
Thank you for those very kind words Elaine and Alan. You have both been loyal supporters, particularly Alan who designed our very first, beautiful logo!
Wishing you all the best in your retirement – but it seems there islots of other activities to keep you busy. Thank you for keeping the residents of Thame informed over the years. You will be missed.
Hi Maria, here’s the address for the Thame Love-in-a-bag Facebook page, from where you can message the organisers: https://www.facebook.com/loveinabagthame/
Hi Sarah,
I know this is an old post but I’d love to help. I’m based in Walter’s Ash, near High Wycombe. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.
Maria
I built those crendon sheds in the mid sixties took six days to erect ! Ken.hyde44@icloud .com
Young families will have more than one car. The plans only allow 1 car parking space per household. The site does not provide parking space for any extra cars therefore the congestion already seen in Windmill road and Windmill place will only get worse. Why do planners never look at providing parking and space when designing new estates?
John Howell MP has again voted to support breaking international law. What are his grounds for doing so? Unfortunately, his website justification doesn’t make legal sense and the Government’s law officers are now in breach of their constitutional roles and professional obligations, so this isn’t a normal day in the office at all, but a very slippery slope. He has failed to stand for democracy, the constitution and his constituents. It may be called the Conservative Party, but it is clearly controlled by totally different people to say, in local terms, Lord Heseltine. History will judge those harshly who just went along with it. Where was this in the Manifesto John Howell MP was elected on? I would call on constituents to raise these basic issues with him and ask why the careers of politicians should be prioritised over democratic norms.
Hello again Lorraine. The reply I have received from the promoter of the project is: “Assisted living would be available to anyone with the need of a care package. This is usually for elderly people needing assistance with daily living; dressing washing, maybe cooking as well as giving advice on managing and leading their lives on as normal and independent a basis as possible. This can be a holistic approach and include matters of the mind as well. All people in need of care would qualify although some youngsters will need more care than this facility can offer.” If you have any further questions about the Health Hub, can I suggest you contact Cllr Nigel Champken Woods via the Town Council, who is the council’s representative covering this proposal. nigel.champken-woods@thametowncouncil.gov.uk
31 units won’t cut it! Thame needs this kind of housing all over the town not in a ghetto on the edge of town. This development would mean 50+ cars crossing the Phoenix Trail. The Nelson St/Southern Road/Elms Road/Windmill Road axis is already a traffic nightmare….
The right idea but 100% the wrong site!
Has anyone lost a Hearing Aid?
I found one on Thame High Street, near Sainsbury’s on Tuesday September 8th. It was probably dropped whilst remo ing a mask!
If you know who it belongs to, please call or text : 07977 147273.
Hoping we can find the owner.
I have asked the question on your behalf and will bring you an answer as soon as we have one. Editor
Hope the assisted living units are for young adults with disabilities autism learning disability Nit just the old people.
Congratulations to Lord Williams’s school for doing the right thing and committing to using school assessed GCSE grades, BEFORE the Government U-turn.
What a wonderful tribute. I am so sorry for your huge loss
MAY HE REST IN PEACE
CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Arthur, Thame has had a community bank since 2013 https://www.thame.net/archives/10798 Admittedly it could do with more promotion. Regarding local development initiatives, we have the Thame Neighbourhood Plan which involved a lot of community workshops, consultation etc, and which is now in the early stages of revision. So I’m sure there will be lots of opportunity in the coming months for local, community involvement in that local development initiative – it has to by law. Out of interest, do you see anything of merit in the Green Living Plan?
I don’t see anything within the listed topics you presented about social interaction other than ‘joining in’ under the main headings. What about community involvement around such areas as a local development initiative and a local credit union? These would help to develop a keen sense of community involvement in local concerns which are clearly of benefit as well as furthering this local green living plan.
So are we! Waiting to hear back from Derek Lester.
We are still waiting to hear were John hampdens final testing place is
A bit late Norma ANDj Jenny but I will really miss you both
Thank you both for dll you help posting me my supplies to usa and finding the crazy things I asked for
!!!!I hope to see you soon at the moment I am recobering from a broken hip. Much love to you both. Anna xx
He wrote the same to me
Building on this site will increase yet furthur traffic travelling along Southern Road which is already very busy in an area where many children use it to travel to school and older people using mobility scooters or walking aids to access the shops. It has become extremely dangerous with very narrow paths and cars parked at the kerbsides.
Can you please provide some information about ‘a similar plan about 10 years ago’ ? We can find no reference to such a scheme in the archives. Thank you.
We met Peter and Barbara when holidaying with our friends, the Lawrence’s, in South west France. They were so very friendly and welcoming and they became part of our secret engagement party that year, which was something I will never forget. They touched our souls. Paul and Amanda Hensby xx
I was against a similar plan about 10 years ago which was before Corbetts Way was built. I am certainly against this new plan. Thame can hardly cope with all the new housing which has appeared in the last few years.
This is such a lovely tribute Barbara. We have been lucky to have known you both for so many years in Towersey and Thame. We have had such great holidays and family gatherings. So many wonderful memories. Our love goes to you and all the family. Sue and Les.
Peter has been a great family friend for many years, and in the noughties I had the privilege of directing him in many of the Towersey Pantomimes, where he was so much fun to work with with his spirited good humour and lovely smile. I’m glad to have known him and he will be missed by many. My thoughts go to his family at this sad time.
Absolutely against this plan, the thin end of the wedge for destroying this part of Thame, windmill rd, southern rd and Nelson st are already a nightmare with parked cars blocking one lane of the road, this area is completely unsuitable and more traffic will only make thing worse, we already have problems with the traffic/drivers from the new corbetts way estate, the tiny access rd to the allotments should be left alone
The details of how to get involved are are at the end of the article Jo! Clink on the web link.
I am a Thame resident and would be interested in helping out if I can.
Congratulations to all the Councillors who have been working so hard on this
This is great news for democracy and the environment
ABOUT TIME ! NON DISABLED DRIVERS PARKING IN DISABLED BAYS AND NO BLUE BADGE ! AND BLOCKING DROPPED KERBS SO ANY BODY WITH A PRAM WHEELCHAIR DISABLES PEOPLE WITH ROLATORW AND WALKING STICKS THEY MAKE IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THEM SAME SHOULD APPLY TO THE CAR PARKS IN THAME
Hi Cherry, the instructions for how to apply are at the end of the article. You need to email Nick Marriner, the project lead, directly: nmarriner@chilternsaonb.org
Hi, I’m very interested
Can I be added to the lists pls.
No special skills but enthusiastic learner
Thank you for asking the schools! Absolutely outrageous that this happened in the first place.
I’m afraid Jim Barrett is no longer with us, but it lovely to hear from you and hear your connection to these wonderful local characters.
UPDATE – I’ve just learned the said news that Jack too recently passed away.
My mothers cousin Jack Winward was onboard HMS Mounsey and was killed when th torpedoe hit. He was in the aft section of the ship and was a sick berth attendant. I have visited Loch Ewe many times but only discovered by accident about ten years ago that Jack set sail from Loch Ewe.
This cycle route has been an aspiration for many years and several feasibility studies etc have been done by SUSTRANS and Bucks CC for instance. The overland route has been thwarted by problems of Land ownership. But, a route is currently being worked on, hence the current public consultation. Such is route is supported by by OCC, SODC and Thame Town Council, where it features in Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan, currently being reviewed. There is ‘money in the pot’ towards such a scheme, so we can only hope that something will finally come of this latest proposal.
I have thought for a long time that there should be an off-road cycle route from Thame to Haddenham and Thame Parkway Station. It is afar too dangerous to cycle along the main road, so this would reduce traffic.
NB the road from the station to Haddenham centre is in a dreadful state for cyclists.
SO local districts as poor as the government then!!!! Is it a wonder there is not enough money for basic services when our systems are so inefficient?!
Not sure, Sorry. but I guess there will be diversion signs and access for residents.
Do you know if Priest End will be accessible?
I am a person, that voted leave at the referendum, but I am so sick and tired, of the way Parliament has acted over the result, I have changed my mind and I think we need to stay.
I have seen your adgenda for the upcoming election and I am impressed that you are for the people of the area you wish to represent.
There is only one thing that is holding me back, it is your leader, I am not a fan.
Please tell me why I should vote for L D.
Regards.
Peter Maidman
Let’s remember this was started by the Conservative administration
A bit late but, I hope you are enjoying your retirement, Jenny and Norma and thank you for supporting the Christmas Sugarcraft shows I used to organise at the Winter Gardens, Weston-s-Mare, for Bleadon Sugarcraft Club. I was interested to see that Norma is/was intending to learn to swim. I’d be interested to know how it is going. I was a qualified swimming teacher here in Weston for 54 years. I remember reading in one of my swimming magazines that a lady of 90 years had learned to swim and got her 10m badge! It’s never too late to learn to swim Norma, if I can help with any advice please contact me. Best wishes, Rachel
the park belongs to the residents of thame not the council it is quite clearly on the contract . it is also the council.s job to provide a shelter a drinking fountain and toilets . elms park has nothing to do with rectory homes they can do nothing with out permission from the owners which is us the residents.
Brain slip I’m afraid! Thanks for pointing it out.
Freudian slip maybe? Surely Ms Cooper thinks the government’s intervention is UN-acceptable???
Say what you like ,Its the same old story .
You can demostaight and shout your head off
The goverment pretend to lisen but in the end They do what suits them
They do not give a toss until election day
Who needs them
I strogly request that if option A is voted upon, that within this a strong consideration is given to working towards zero carbon, as this must now be an overarching goal in all aspects of the districts work. With any limited powers the council has, I want them used to protect our environment and not result in more climate damage.
Chris, thank you very much for your feedback which we appreciate. We report actions etc regarding our MP John Howell whenever they are drawn to our attention as you will see from this link: https://www.thame.net/?s=Howell but we are basically a ‘one man band’ and can’t have eyes and ears everywhere. We depend on local people to keep us informed about what’s going on in Thame and the surrounding villages, and on social media. But it is not always appropriate as a politically neutral news service to publish what goes on there, as you will appreciate! John Howell does issue news letters on his website https://www.johnhowell.org.uk/news which can be informative if you’re interested in his daily goings-on. Thanks again. Sonja
https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/prorogation-constitutional-principle-and-law-fact-and-causation/
John Howell MP has dangerously mischaracterised the key principle of the Constitution in his communication to constituents. See the article from the Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford.
Good letter Roy. I think we should more coverage of the actions of our MP wiht regard to brexit matters. The constituency that elected him is 57% remain yet he persistently puts his and his party’s interest before those of his Constituents and the country. We have a representative parliamentary democracy which means he is supposed to represents us in Parliament. Regardless of political persuasion, on this most important matter he does not do this but he is mere government lobby fodder. I think thame.net should be doing more to cover and question the actions of Mr Howell so elector’s can be well informed come the vote.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain on Monday night, and I wasn’t expecting musical and comic genus!!! They were amazing! They are obviously talented Ukelele players, but are also good harmonic singers with a fantastic sense of humour. I don’t know how they managed to all sing different songs at the same time to the same accompaniment (pretending they couldn’t agree what song to sing), but it sounded wonderful. What a collection of songs and tunes as well – very versatile and something for everybody. I would definitely recommend that you go and see them somewhere if you get the chance.
I have gone into a depression!! It is interesting that there has been nothing said about this on the website before it opened on Thursday. Also, the line up is really good for next year already – reminiscent of having Joan Armatrading on the first festival on the Thame Showground site. I guess those who come from outside Thame will not be bothered where it is being held.
I Love Towersey Festival – it is a highlight of my year and marks the end of Summer. I especially love the fact that is is walking distance from home. I understand why they are doing this, I suppose, but am in mourning!!!
Anita.
This is worth considering. I understand residents of Nelson St, Southern Road, Windmill Road and Rocks Lane have been asking for a re-ordering of their roads / parking etc for some time now too. Do any councilors / former councilors live on these roads who could bring this to the fore?
I am very pleased that SODC are meeting to discuss ways of reducing CO2 emissions. This is the most important issue of our times and I will give this issue my full support, by supporting SODC and by taking action to reduce my own carbon footprint.
(OX39 4QU)
You’re right !! Thanks for pointing that out; the post has been amended. Someone needs to go to ‘SpecSavers’ !
According to TVP’s press release, a car cover was stolen, not a car.
I should like to point out that that council’s explanation for turning down the proposed Climate Emergency ‘…, by declaring an ‘emergency’ environmental issues would be put ahead of all else in decision making (e.g. social well-being / personal safety / equality / prevention of crime etc),’ is absolutely NOT the case. Throughout the debate it was reiterated that the council was only being asked to do everything it could ‘WITHIN ITS POWERS’. Putting anything “ahead of all else in decision making (e.g. social well-being / personal safety / equality / prevention of crime etc),’ would be totally illegal, and therefore not expected nor asked for!
SO SAD TO HEAR THAT THE THAME GAZETTE IS FINISHING AFTER SO MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN PART OF THAME AND SURROUNDING VILLAGES WITH LOCAL NEWS ETC NOT ALL PEOPLE HAVE THE INTERNET PERHAPS SOME LOCAL ORGANISATION WILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE A LOCAL LETTER/ BULLETIN THAT CAN BE OBTAINED AT LOCAL SHOPS OR THE TOWN HALL
How about offering the service to people on benefits
I would like to say thank you and all the best for your retirement, I will still use piece of cake for all my sugarcraft items.
Well done!
I have a blue badge and occasionally park behind the town hall so I can walk a few yards to my hairdresser, butchers, etc. I have been blocked in by taxi driver parking alongside my car and I have had to knock on driver’s window to demand they move so I can drive off. How bad is that? I used to live in Aylesbury and know an awful lot about the behaviour of the taxi drivers.
Apologies for not mentioning the most important information – where the show is being performed and the date! Thanks for pointing out the error Chris.
This is on at https://www.thameplayers.co.uk/ on the 17th May
I have noticed a new habit taxi drivers have now – they don’t just park on the double yellow lines behind the town hall but also regularly park in the High Street on double yellow lines right in front of the Black Horse . Why do they think they can come to Thame and just ignore traffic laws?
I will ask for the High Street to be monitored in future
Thank you so much for your service over the years ladies, you will be missed, two of the greats in sugarcraft, so dedicated.
I would like to wish you bothe allthe best. Thanks you for your care and cosideration with my orders I will miss the phone calls.
Jeanette Phillips
So helpful and full of tips and great advice for us novice bakers. Thanks for all your help over the years. Enjoy your retirements and good luck to Pauline!
We have a nature reserve in Thame that is maintained by a group of volunteers and the town council. The CuttleBrook Volunteers meet regularly in the Cross Keys pub and form work parties often. Here are the website details: https://www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/business-directory/11742/cuttle-brook-conservation-volunteers/
All the best Norma and Jenny in your retirement . It was lovely to have work for you both 16 years old. My first little job. X
Hello, my friend and I are looking to do some environmental volunteer work that can be done together.
If you can please let me know the relevant opportunities available in the Thame area, that would be appreciated.
Anything to do with wildlife, outdoors, etc. Would be great.
Thank you.
A great little business which I have used over the years. Enjoy retirement Jenny and Norma.
The continued uncertainty over Brexit is creating a huge loss to businesses generally each and every day that it continues. People are delaying decisions to invest, expand and grow etc. whilst they await an outcome. That cost is almost impossible to quantify. We all need certainty.
I’m glad it was a great night Tom. Really sorry to have missed it, but I had a calendar clash with family. Next time!
It was a great night, brilliant musicians. Where were you Sonja?
CONGRATULATIONS JEAN ON YOUR REWARD YOU HAVE ALWAYS HAD TIME FOR OTHERS WELL DONE EMMA AND JULIAN MUST BE EXTREMELY PROUD OF YOU
DISGUSTING THE PUPILS IF TODAY ARE OUR FUTURE FOR TOMORROW MONEY MUST BE PUT INTO OUR SCHOOLS WE HAVE 3 GRANDCHILDREN AT LWS AND 2 THAT ARE NOW AT UNI
1 NOW READING LAW AT OX BRKS HAVING GAINED A DOUBLE FIRST AT UEA IN HISTORY AND POLITICS WITH HONS AND OR 2ND GRANDAUGHTER DOING A DEGREE IN FASHION MARKETING AT FALMOUTH I GRANDAUGHTER IN LOWER 6TH
1 GRANDSON 1ST YEAR AY LWS UPPER 1 IN 1ST YEAR AT LOWER SCOOL WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH EDUCATION THEY RECEIVE
PLEASE MR HINES GIVE OUR SCHOOLS THE MONEY THEY NEED TO EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN WELL DONE TO MR WYBRON AND HIS STAFF THEY ARE GIVING THERE ALL UNDER VERY DIFFICULT FINANCIAL TIMES FOR SCHOOLS
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU GIVE
Couldn’t agree more. Have posted something uncannily similar on the Oxford For Europe Website: https://www.oxfordforeurope.org/a-stranger-s-eye
Excellent piece, and it very much applies to his Parliamentary neighbour David Lidington.
The inevitable loss of BMW from Oxford in the event of no-deal will be a body blow to the city. It will hit the hard working communities of Blackbird Leys the hardest where many of the workers live. However, BMW workers are not just restricted to Blackbird Leys, they live in Thame, Haddenham, Aylesbury and a host of other places scattered around Oxon and Bucks.
Thank you Robin Storey for writing this. I know very many people in this constituency will agree with you. I will be there at the march with my teenaged children and their friends. It is their future we are fighting for.
We have nothing against the building of more houses but surely common sense tells you that along side that we need more amenities ie another Doctors Surgery and another school !!!!!!!
I wholly agree with the questions and sentiments expressed by Roy. Nothing I have heard or learnt over the last two years has convinced me that leaving witout a deal with the EU would not be wholly damaging to our economy our businesses our Farmers and fishermen and our people.The latest idea I have heard is that we might devalue the pound from comments by the minister of agriculture.
Dear ‘John Smith’, Thame.net IS about Thame news. I suspect you are confusing the editor’s own personal views expressed in social media posts, with news reports on the Thame.net website. Here’s a link to all the Thame news stories published just this week – none of them biased in any way: https://www.thame.net/archivenews/all-news If our MP is challenged, that is Thame-related news. If you or anyone else want to publish an open letter in support of our MP, Thame.net would be delighted to publish it. I’m assuming you don’t read the Mail, the Express, the Telegraph or any other national paper that blatantly publishes anter-Labour, anti climate change ‘news’ stories? If you don’t want to continue following Thame.net, then stop, and get your Thame news from the Thame Gazette – good luck with that!
I thought this website was supposed to be about Thame news. This is not Thame news it is your political views. I note you keep showing your Remainer colours, Don’t. Please stick to what you are supposed to be reporting and stop using it as your political platform !
Hi Joe
I will never forget the day I had a call from your Mum, you were in a coma at the JR…. it was beyond horrific, you survived and went on to become a very successful young man. You have overcome, and continue to live with massive injuries. Your zest for life is amazing, and your achievements outstanding.
Your life will never be the same following the accident in 2009, as appreciated by your family, but it is now different and taking you to pursuits maybe never previously in your dreams
I wish you well
Jen xx
Yes Joe, you have done so well, I will never forget the day I had a call from you parents on the day of your accident… it’s was beyond horrific.. you were in a coma .. you recovered.. very many weeks later ..your life was never going to be the same again … but you have survived and you have accomplished so much .. with immense support and a fantastic mind set … well done .. my thoughts are with you and your amazing family always
With love
Jen x
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A very good question! This route has been campaigned for, researched, had feasibility studies done for it, various nice words expressed by the two county councils involved (Bucks CC and Oxfordshire CC), it’s been said to be part of ‘Transport policey’ but nothing has been forthcoming – probably to do with local authority cuts, and the necessity to have to prioritise social care, education etc. I do believe Thame Town Council has some Section 106 mmoney from developers put aside from it and it is an aspiration in Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan and Green Living Plan (currently out for consultation). SUSTRANS have also been involved. We cyclists live in hope!
I am due to move to Thame later this year, and have been looking everywhere for news on this supposed commuter route between Thame and the station in Haddenham. Is there a reason it hasn’t been funded, or that all news seems to have stopped?
Surely there is a huge desire for this, to improve a lot of people’s commute significantly, and to reduce the amount of cars on the roads.
Reduce the price of houses already built. Give it 50 years and this whole country will be full of concrete. But having said that, the council will always do what they want; never mind the lack of decent roads and health centres!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BOOK HOUSE! WONDERFUL ASSET TO THAME. REMEMBER WHEN JOHN AND JUDITH SKINNER OPENED IT IN LOWER HIGH STREET WHERE WB YEATES LIVED AND THE PUFFIN USED TO BE OUTSIDE. MY CHILDREN MET THE LATE ROAL DOAHL THERE. LONG MAY IT REIGN!
I always thought that Politicians were meant to serve the people and their country and do what’s best for both. John Howell and Mrs May do need reminding of this. Despite the evidence to the contrary, despite the experts’ opinion, despite the latest polls and the opinion of people in the street, they seem intent on continuing down a road which is already damaging the(ir) country. Thank you to Robin for highlighting all that is wrong with this and reminding Mr Howell that the People’s Vote is the only obvious solution out of this economic and democratic mess.
As another constituent of Dr John Howell, I would like to add my name to what Robin Storey says above. Theresa May is at present knowingly pursuing a course of action which will damage the economy, deplete the NHS, British industry and the education sector of many of its most valuable stuff, and reduce this country’s sovereignty by taking away its voice in Europe. She is doing all this in the name of “taking back control“ and honouring the “will of the people“. There was no informed consent for such actions at the time and the world has changed dramatically in the interim. Doing the wrong thing simply because it is popular is a very poor excuse indeed. Future generations will not forgive her or those MPs who follow the same line despite knowing it is wrong.
One of the worst aspects of what has happened is that politicians of both main parties have allowed our democracy to be misused and subverted by a group of kamikaze Brexiteers who demonstrably do not have the common good at heart. They have already been repeatedly proven wrong, as witness the claims that the Irish border problem would be easily soluble and that trading arrangements would be ‘the easiest deal in history’. They are deeply discredited and those who follow their advice were misled. To deny the people of Henley or indeed those of the UK as a whole the right to revisit the decision is absolutely the opposite of democracy.
Planning Inspectorate! Not fit for purpose I’m afraid!
Keep up the fight Chinnor!
Robin talks a great deal of sense. It is a great shame that we have such poor quality representatives in Parliament nowadays.
Well argued piece Robin, although I suspect John Howell will rely on his so-called ‘conversations in the street’ to argue that black is white and that every single one of his constituents agree with him.
The basic questions for such an obviously damaging and senesless action as the United Kingdom abdicating from the empowering, prosperous and democratic European Union have never been answered. Why? What? How? Compounding this incompetence was the decision by Theresa May and her cabal not to trigger the fail safe in the referendum, that the result was advisory it did not empowering the populous to make the decision. The so called “will of the people” argument is a nonsense. But Parliament has never discussed the referendum result and all the alternative courses of action available other than the madness of brexit. In the absence of this fail safe device those concocting the referendum would surely have followed the model of all national referendums, including the referendum on Independence for Scotland and included a minimum majority needed to trigger a change to the status quo. This was not done and consequently a catastrophic process was started to severe a trading relationship that accounts for nearly 50% of the United Kingdoms trade and will tear up constitutional and legal rights granted by Parliament for individuals
to be stripped of their European citizenship. No MP who supports this can be said to or be being seen to act within the Code of Practice for the conduct of MP’s to act in the best interests of their constituents and the nation.
Excellent piece. Tory MPs need to start listening to their constituents rather than their echo chambers of Conservative associations.
Totally agree. Perhaps John Howell could set up a meeting so he could listen to the concerns of his constituents? There seems to be very little support for Theresa May’s deal in this constituency and an increasingly strong wish for a People’s Vote.
The powers that be seem determined to distroy the character of Thame.
This is just a war of attrition to see who gives in first. He will keep applying until someone gives in. In the meantime the state of the plot is a filthy ugly mess…
WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED AT LWS LONG MAY IT CONTINUE
EXCELLENT MAKE IT ANNUAL EVENT TO CHEER UP A WINTERS DAY
FANTASTIC SITE AND A HUGE AWARENESS FOR THE CAUSE WELL DONE
WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED
FANTAstic display WELL DONE TO ALL
We’re so proud and happy that this exchange is going to work concretely ! French and English kids are the future of our friendship !
Thank you so much, Laura, Sonja, Sue, Linda and Twinning members !
With many grateful thanks
Love
Anne and the french Jumelage
Is there a panto at Towersey this year?
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I would suggest that when the Greyhound Lane police station was build by the police authority, the economic situation of the country was very different and the old police station in Chinnor Road, was no longer fit for purpose for modern policing. Since then, the police have had their funding drastically cut over the last few years, and so the police found it necessary to sell off some of their prime sites and move to other, cheaper-to-run accommodation.
Why was the police station built at great expense only to be pulled down within a decade?
IT IS SO WRONG TO CUT THE EDUCATION BUDGET IN ANYWAY WHAT SO EVER THESE STUDENTS ARE THE FUTURE OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY CUTTING FUNDING FOR 6TH FORM STUDENTS
IS DREADFUL AND SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO A GOOD EDUCATION AND THEY HAVE A PLACE IN SOCIETY AS WELL AS THE ACADEMIC STUDENTS LWS HAS A GOOD SPECIAL NEEDS DEPT
WE HAVE 3 GRANDCHILDREN AT PRESENT AT THE SCHOOL I IN THE LOWER 6TH AND WE ARE VERY PROUD AND HAPPY GRANDPARENTS HAVE 2 MORE WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH LWS WITH EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
HOPEFULLY JOHN HOWELL WILL RECOMMEND NO CUTS AND PRIMEMINISTER MRS MAY AND CHANCELLOR PHILIP HAMMOND WILL RE THINK THIS
GOOD LUCK TO DAVID WYBRON AND LWS
AND THANK YOU FOR THE EDUCATION WHICH OUR 5 GRANDCHILDREN HAVE RECEIVED AND STILL RECEIVING
Well said Mr Wybron
We applaud your integrity and willingness to speak out for the importance of education funding
The town council has many functions but it is not the final arbiter of planning applications; SODC is the Planning Authority. The town council’s comments on applications are fed to SODC and considered by their Planning committee, but they can – and often do – approve applications the town council may not be happy about.https://www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/thame-town-council/planning/
If the town council cannot have the last say on what is built in its own town, what is the point of them being there,
LOST CAT : Please help! Our cat Tilly , a dark brown tortoiseshell, has gon e missing from Croft Close this morning! She is a house cat and so not used to the big outdoors; she only arrived here yesterday so us not familiar with the area: if anyone sees her or finds her please contact me Sandra on 07989 965 298
Thank you
IT IS SO WRONG TO CUT FUNDING TO ALL SCHOOLS WE PAY OUR TAXES AND EDUCATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL STUDENTS NOT FOR THE PRIVILAGED WHO ATTEND INDEPENDANT SCHOOLS LORD WILLIAMS IS A VERY GOOD SCHOOL HAVING OUR GRAND CHILDREN ATTEND AND 2 HAVE GONE TO UNI AND WE STILL HAVE 3 AT LW I IN6TH FORM 1 AT UPPER SCHOOL AND I AT LOWER SCHOOL WE ARE VERY CONCERNED IF MORE CUTS ARE MADE WHEN CHILDREN GO TO UNI PARENTS SACRIFICE A GREAT DEAL
ALL THESE CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY WE WILL BE CONTACTING JOHN HOWELL AND MR PHILLIP HAMMOND MUST NOT CUT ANY FUNDING FOR EDUCTION
WE ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH THE EUCATION OUR GRANDCHILD HAVE HAD ARE GETTING AT LWS
Hope to see you there – bring surplus produce. Make your own Autumn decoration, Free children’s activities, home made soup / rolls for lunch. Lots lots more!
If we don’t leave it up to the government MPs to leave the eu, we will be in limbo for years, nothing will get resolved, and the economy will suffer, we need to get out now, so we can get on with business and trade,
The only deal we want , is a no deal.
I don’t personally have any more knowledge about the poem but I have just tweeted the Betjeman Society @BetjSoc to ask. I can let you know, or, if you’re on twitter, you could hop over their yourself and see if they can throw any light on the subject. I would guess though that the words are so pertinent to such a small audience, that it probably wouldn’t have been worth officially publishing. But you never know.
Hello. About these lines written by Betjeman that you quote. I’m now looking at an autograph Betjeman poem titled ‘Country Silence’ and the first half of it is exactly as in your quotation. I can’t find any evidence that the poem was published. I would be grateful for anything further that you can tell me about it.
To be fair, I wouldn’t take too much notice of the colour from the image: by the time it’s been photographed by SODC from the paper application, and then screen grabbed by the media and reproduced on various websites etc, the colour will have changed. I understand that the colour is likely to be closer to that of the plaque outside The Argyle pub in Henley. See LINK HERE
I’m not convinced that we should be putting up gaudy pink plaques on listed buildings to commemorative a fictitious event. It’s only a TV program!
thank you Towersery and Thame for the oh so gentle, inspiring and friendly festival – our third year of visiting and the friendship and spirit is amazing. I went for the first time to see Roy Bailey, seeing Roy would have been worth all the weekend, Roy is 83 and is a little slower in pace but as strong in voice and passion as every. For new talent Cohen Braithwaite Kilcoyne left me in awe of his incredible voice and playing skills, so young and powerful. Thanks again Towersey and the all the team and musicians that bring this together,
That was what was so lovely about the line up, there was something for everyone. From our favourites we knew , Harry Pane, Blair Dunlop, CC Smugglers, William the Conquerer and The Proclaimers to the ones on our wish list Wildwood Kin, Wilford Social and Great Western Tears. On top of that were the discovery of Honeyfeet and Tankus the Henge to completely top off a great weekend. Add to that the fabulous atmosphere, lovely volunteers and security with the odd Ceilidh dance you will find that Towersey 2018 was one of my all time favourite festivals
If SODC take responsibility for the parking enforcement please can town centre residents be consulted for provision of parking.
Inspiring indeed. A great achievement.
The plan so far, is excellent, I would have liked Thame declared a “clean air zone! Let’s get rid of noxious emissions ENTIRELY all the way from diesel-powered HGVs to domestic water heaters that spew out unpleasant gases! All vehicles can be electric now (with hydrogen fuel cells or batteries, Let’s include the Chiltern Line. I have written to them and hope for a reply. German Railways are doing it, why not little Chiltern Railways of which they are a shareholder.
Still missing is community transport for the disabled, elderly and remotely located.
Best wishes
I get fed up with people always parking on double yellow lines between the mini roundabout a The Thatch! It’s every day, but I’ve not once seen a parking ticket on the vehicles.
Why no food or drink allowed? Families would attend if allowed to bring picnic. Much better event at waddesdon allows this
Maths was never my strong point but I make that 3 stops, not 4. Where’s number 4?
We need a safe, properly lit walking and cycle route from Thame to Haddenham. What’s stopping it happening? Money? Political will?
You make a valid point Sarah. My apologies; I have changed the wording in the lead paragraph. Please feel free to comment further and explain why you support the planning application.
You infer that the whole of Moreton is against this
planning application, and this is not the case.
Many support it, including myself
Empty the bins in Cuttlebrook and they might get used. Most of the time they are full and overflowing, a nasty smelly eyesore.
Still we wait for a reply from John Howell, our esteemed MP, to the issues raised in Roy Motteram’s open letter to him. Is he too frightened that he’s got his facts wrong? Is he too scared that he might be held to account by his constituents? Does he even have a reply? Or is he too arrogant to bother replying?
Excellent information and well put.
As a parent with a child at your school who will eventually sit these exams we will support you and your staff any way we can.
Perhaps those who live in Bucks can also contact our MP’s e.g The Speaker John Bercow.
Sorry Anon@yahoo, but we don’t publish comments from anyone without a legitimate email address and verifiable name. Your email address is not shown when your comment is posted but the moderators need to know who you are.
Well done Mr Wybron. As a parent of a GCSE student, I wish to thank the teachers at Lord Bill’s for how incredibly hard they have worked to prepare the students for the exams in highly trying circumstances
Can I go to sleep now? I’ve been waiting since 21st for John Howell MP to reply to Roy Motteram’s perfectly reasonable argument about lies and apologies – perhaps I can add who going to apologise to whom?
Well done Mr. Howell, supporting the democratic will of the people and keeping a ‘meaningful’ Brexit.
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Thank you Hugh! Your support is gratefully appreciated! Must say I found Paul’s comments baffling.
Following Paul’s comment I re-read the opening remarks and I can’t understand what Paul is commenting upon. The Brexit debate is still on-going and our Twinning partners were over for a visit. “Gutter Press”? I don’t think so – accurate informative reporting on local events more like!
Brexit is about sovereignty and national identity. It is not about xenophobia. I consider your opening remarks devisive, condescending and insulting.
Perhaps is would be better if you refrained from gutter press journalism.
Thank you Huguette! I will pass on your congratulations and hopefully, you will meet Ann when you visit us in Thame this weekend.
Hello Sonja
Nous avons hâte de connaître Ann Midwinter une femme Maire de Thame. Congratulations
Huguette (Translation: “We can not wait to meet Ann Midwinter, a woman Mayor of Thame.” )
Congratuations Ann on your election as Mayor of Thame for the coming year Lovely tribute to The Late Mrs Juliia Hussey a real Taminsian to have Girl Guide Ranger as your cadet
Well done to Tom Wyse who has carried out an excellent job as Mayor over the last 12 months
Being aware of the amount of “Fake News” that has come about from the rise of internet-based news sites, I find it rather ironic that Mr Wybron has created some of this own to discredit a national newspaper.
If we are to believe the TVP Press Release then the drug in question is Xanax. This is not available on NHS prescription (which took two minute to find out via Google). Mr Wybron’s explanation of a “prescription drug” is misleading at best.
With the inclusion of misleading information into his statement, can we trust the rest of the content…………I do hope so.
I applaud the staff’s professionalism when dealing with the issue, but Mr Wybron seems to be missing the point of the article.
It is reported that eleven 15-16 year olds where unwell due to drug misuse at Lord Williams’s School where Mr Wybron has a Duty of Care for the children.
In his response he states that he cannot control this…………as a Parent I am extremely worried by that admission.
For information I am not the source of The Sun information nor an employee of any newspaper
No, I think it’s on private land now. There was a publish footpath but I think I heard it has been re-routed but not sure. You could check with Chinnor Parish Council. https://www.chinnorparishcouncil.org.uk/
can you go and see it but not swim in it
There is a problem at Lord Williams School. A number of pupils have been expelled and one was hospitalised for over a week. Mr Wybron needs to get a grip.
Ooos! You’re right Tom. I hope nobody actually went to the town hall tonight! Oh well, a good excuse to go to the pub while they were in town 🙂
It’s NEXT Tuesday folks! March 27th.
Hi Sonja, The Annual Town Meeting is next Tuesday 27/3/18 at 19.30
Cheers Tom
Richly deserved !! and not just for the great food. The happy smiling faces of the boys and their obvious love for what they do cannot make you feel happy.
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Although I fully support the use of electric cars, I’m concerned that having charging points in the town centre will mean that we lose much needed parking spaces. I’ve thought for ages that the cobbled space around the Town hall is totally wasted – could we either move the taxi rank there, or put the chaging spaces in this area?
To those that say “there was a vote to leave, so we should leave”, please note that there was a small majority in an advisory referendum after a monumentally mendacious campaign. As people become aware that the promised “sunny uplands” don’t exist, they will want to call a halt on this car-crash Brexit.
It’s the job of all patriots to campaign to stop this self inflicted damage to the country.
There has been a vote by the people and the result was to leave. Not a lot more to be said really, similar to the election result we can’t do a lot about it if we didn’t vote that particular party in. If the government had been strong enough to make the decision themselves at the time then it wouldn’t have been given to the public to decide.
What a picky point to make! I think that if you count the people in the photograph, you will see at least 50. Also, this picture was taken after some supporters had left because of the rain, or to catch transport home. Secondly, I think you’ll find that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will have far-reaching implications for health and social care in England. Read this from the very respected Kings Fund: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/articles/brexit-implications-health-social-care
I think whoever did the counting must have multiplied by two ! If you are going to protest about something make it a useful protest and support the NHS and accept the democratic vote that took place about Brexit.
Good to see that people are not giving up and being bullied by some of the more extreme Brexiters! Well done to all involved.
The club is always looking for people to train as umpires Norman! Sonja
Oh to be young again …
THE PRESENT INDUSTRY ON THAT STREACH OF ROAD CAUSE CHAOS AS IT IS VEHICLES TURNING INTO THE TRANSPORT COMPANY ARE SO LARGE SOMETIMES THEY ARE UNABLE TO GET OF THE ROAD AS THE SECURITY BARRIERS ARE TOO CLOSE TO THE ROAD YOU CANNOT PASS BEACAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TRAFFIC IS COMING FROM THAME
MUD ON THE ROAD FROM THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WHO HAVE RECENTLY MOVED THERE IS DREADFUL
SURLEY THAME SHOW GROUND WOULD BE MORE ACCEPTABLE TO ALL CONCERNED AND IS ON THE THAME BYPASS WITH NO DANGEROUSE BENDS AND JUNCTIONS
WE TRAVEL THAT STREATCH OF ROAD MOST DAYS AND HAVE FAMILY WHO USE THE ROAD TWICE A DAY
THE CONDITION OF THE ROAD IS DREADFUL FOR AN A CLASS ROAD
THE CATTLE MARKET MUST STAY IN THAME IS THE ONLY MARKET FOR MANY MILES TO PREVENT ANIMALS BEING TRANSPORTED MILES AND MILES BUT NOT ON THIS SITE
PERHAPS MOVING THE MARKET TO THAME SHOW SITE AND PERHAPS A SHUTTLE BUS INTO THE TOWN WOULD ELEVIATE THE PARKING PROBLEMS
THE EXISTING MARKET SITE WOULD BE A GREAT SITE FOR THE HEALTH CENTRE TO BE RELOCATED NEAR THE TOWN AND PLENTY FO PARKING SPACES FOR PATIENTS
PLEASE RE ADDRESS THIS THAME COUNCIL
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Ha Ha!! That’s funny! Was just catching up on FB with my son who is in India !!
Since when was deli spelt “Delhi”?
Clearly the right decision by the court. She is a mental health patient and needs better care, NOT punishment.
Understanding (not stigmatising) is the only way forward.
Believe me, I know.
I receive treatment for depression and anxiety myself. Also, I have met her. We got on like a house we set on fire!
You’re right! I’ve just checked with the guy who has checked with his management! He sent the press release to me not knowing that there is an embargo! Doh! I’ve taken the post down for now until we get the all clear.
You may have just cost the lad his place on the telly by breaking the BBC embargo. If he ever actually was one of the final six, that is. Oh well.
Hi I suggested that Andy organised this course on Saturday and I will be attending from the start of the training at 10.00.
GOOD AFTERNOON
DISGRACEFUL ACT !!! HOPE THEY GET THEIR CUMPANCE
THANK YOU TO THE GENTLEMAN WHO HAS PROVIDED THE 24HOUR SUVALLANCE CAMERA
HAPPY CHRISMAS TO ALL
GOOD MORNING
WHAT A DISGUSTING PRANK BY PERSONS UNKNOWN
IF CAUGHT THEY SHOULD BE EMPLOYED TO CARRY OUT VOLANTARY WORK IN THE TOWN CLEARING LITTER ETC
AND WEAR VESTS STATING THE CRIME THEY COMMITED NO CHRISTMAS SPIRIT !!! THANKYOU TO THE KIND PERSON WHO HAS DONATED THE 24 HOUR CAMERA TRUE CHRISMAS SPIRIT HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND BEST WISHES FOR 2018
Erm..! The first line of the article includes the words ‘THE Oxfordshire EAG (Expressway Action Group) …. If you’d like to be involved, here’s the group’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/expresswayactiongroup/
A new peasants revolt is required to stop this manic proposal. When I went to Oxford as a student in the 1970’s I walked from the Midlands. Coming from the industrial West Riding I was amazed by the rural environment of thatched villages and tree lined lanes. It was possible to penetrate to the heart of the city along green lanes and river banks. It was this experience which made me decide to take up planning as a profession.
I suggest contacting landowners and other influential individuals to form a pressure group tp oppose this urbanisation madness. Todays industrial park is tomorrows derelict site. .
I’m proud of my father, Dermot McCarthy, for all he’s done to raise money for such a wonderful cause! Any funds he raises I’m sure will be used to their fullest potential! Bravo!
-American daughter Erin Maranda
These plans are led by the LEP groups which are dominated by ‘ business driven ‘ Boards. Our Central Bedfordshire Council ( to the East of the ‘ arc’ ) appears to be in the pocket of South East Midlands LEP – SEMLEP- with the leader of our council on the board. These people proclaim the importance of driving through massive development plans which far exceed provision for the existing populace. Their language is pompous and arrogant as their ambition is to beat other LEPs. They think they are unstoppable; when challenged they can innocently claim” we are just doing what the government wants”. Environmental concerns are of no concern to them. Totally nauseating and distressing.
Not sure if Mike Rochford will see this, so I’ll pass on your message to the Thame Players if I may?
If your great uncle is titch, then we are related! He was my great grandpa!
Towards the end of the meeting at the Cross Keys the bus company committed themselves to doing a risk assessment of the route! Surely it is very basic good practice to do a risk assessment before you embark upon a new bus route which involves public safety.
I was on one of the buses last Wednesday which Giles Asbury was filiming and saw him filiming the chaos from his doorstep. Basically the 2 buses got stuck becasue the road was not wide enough becasue people naturally park their own cars outside their own homes, our bus had to reverse back to The Cross Keys because another car has got stuck, I have never seen anything so comical if not sad. The traffic then built up behind the bus and there were alot of very angry drivers and passengers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people walking or cycling to the Town Hall to catch the bus to Aylesbury. Who on earth got the idea to reroute the bus down Park Street and why?
I live on Chinnor Rd, and welcome the new route. If access is an issue, it is due to mainly to lack of parking restrictions than anything else.
Click on the word ‘Tickets’ in the article which is a link that takes you to Thame Players’ website and the booking page
Where will tickets be on sale please
Name the businesses and shame them.
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I was born in Thame 71 years ago and I welcome a bit of modernisation. The council was perfectly happy to let houses be built on Wenman Road, so why shouldn’t we have a bus? Park Street is diabolical, just a collection of bumps and potholes. Make it one-way and resurface it. Tell the council to act for us, not only for themselves.
There is similar disappointment at John Howell’s performance here in Henley. http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/gillotts-school/116192/school-in-danger-of-cash-crisis.html
John Howell may be “disappointed” at the “tenor” of headteacher Catherine Darnton at Gillotts in Henley, but Henley parents, like those across the country, are much more that disappointed that the government plans to cut schools budgets.
Her arguments are backed up by the IFS which is very clear:
“From 2015–16 onwards, school spending per pupil has been
frozen in cash terms, which is likely to translate into a real-terms
reduction of around 6.5% between 2015–16 and 2019–20. ”
https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/comms/R126.pdf
This is all a completely separate matter from the National Funding Formula which John Howell wrongly blames in order to distract from the real problem. The simple fact is that this govt plans to cut funding to schools. This will result in a loss of quality to our education service
The Thame Food Trail was advertised on the town council’s website, as well as on social media – and of course on Thame.net !! Trail leaflets were being given out in the town centre most of the day on the Saturday, the day of the trail and all the venue involved had leaflets on their counters etc. Keep your eye on Thame.net’s EVENTS page and hopefully, you won’t miss anything that’s going on in the town !!
I live in Thame but I didn’t see this advertised was it just for visitors to the town. I have coffee regularly in the town but must have not seen the notices.
Perhaps it’s time to consider making some of these roads a one way system.
Inconsiderate parking makes them difficult to navigate at the best of times.
Maybe this proposed route could be used as an opportunity to improve things.
BIG mistake moving the Thame Food Festival to the show ground. The main sponsor or the power that be now charges entrance fee of £5 per adult, irregardless of whether you come by car or on foot, whereas previous festivals in the town high street were free to all and only those who chose to drive, park in the showground and use the shuttle bus into the town center need pay (£5 per car, not person). From the local retailers point, this year’s venue change also mean less foot traffic or off-the-street customers, so they suffer, too. No winners all round except the big money boys then. It’s nonsense to say the Festival grew too large for the town – there were enough streets to still accommodate a street festival…. BRING TFF BACK to THAME HIGH STREET, please !
A double decker bus is not ideal for Thame roads. As a council we will be trying in future to get the money to run a Hopper bus around all the estates in Thame.
Interesting choice considering they scrapped the 260 bus route so locals can’t get to work, buts its fine to build a housing estate that locals cannot afford and give the people who have no idea about rural living buses becasue they have had to move out of that nasty city!
Obviously a decision taken by someone who has looked at a map and has never been to Thame or driven these roads. The only sensible bus route to these new houses has to be out on Kingsey Rd, then round the bypass. The double bend over the railway, the parking on both sides of Chinnor road and the narrow stretch of Park Street make this a laughable proposal!
These roads are impassable at the best of times but adding double decker it will become an even bigger nightmare.
Will it be made a oneway system?
From what I understand the council charge the fair over £27,000 under the present agreement, which is twice as much as Abingdon fair and almost twice as much as Newbury, and they now want to increase this to around £30,000!
It seems to me that the Town Council are pricing the fair out of the town which is a shame as this will be yet another long traditional event which will disappear.
The fair is always attended by thousands of local people and the Town Council should be thinking of the history behind this event and the local community and residents before making such a decision.
Such a shame. Yet another traditional event gone from the calendar. Nice to see the “locals” who have probably lived here for five minutes celebrating the loss of a town tradition, enjoyed by many thousands of residents. A sad day, but I guess we are destined for many more with an increase in miserable old age moaners. Seriously, three days a year, and you’d think a nuclear bomb was dropped on the town. Glad I didn’t go to school with such miserable bar stewards.
Sad Days indeed; The loss of Thame Agricultral show and now the show fair; the slow erosion of all that a market town should be. What next? the Tuesday market?
I guess It’s a sign of the times, as Thame becomes another sterile dormitory town; a Pseudo County Town with it’s high price housing, restaurants, etc the list goes on.
What a disappointment ! No Thame fair, no Thame show. What next? These are traditions many people come back to Thame to visit families for Thame fair. Come on Thame council – reduce the fees and help this continue. The showmen do spend money in the shops and many have been coming for years .
we are very disappointed in the fact thame fair will not take place this has been a tradition for many years people return to thame for the fair who no longer live here ! the showmen also spend in the local shops
it may be inconviennt for people but it is only for 4 days once a year
we all know costs have increased on everything come on thame council keep the tradition of the fair alive we have lost thame show what next thame Tuesdaymarket and the cattlemarket it is not the same to go to witney Abingdon or Wallingford and please do not suggest moving it ot thame showground we have 2 very disappointed grandsons who were looking forward to the fair
I must appologies I have a problem with the caps lock on my computer
Perhaps it is time to bring back a more traditional fair – one that is organised by and fully benefits the community – similar to the recent live music day. Who wants or needs Alton Towers in the centre of Thame?
Tradition set years ago out of the window for the sake of £1000 pounds totally unbelievable.
Thame Council want almost £30,000 from the showmen who attend. They can’t afford to pay anymore! But the showmens guild have looked at What Thame council are spending and think savings can be made but the council officers won’t budge!
Great news we can reclaim our town. I bet the shops and pubs are over the moon. Good riddance
Sad Sad days £27 k is not enough ? what is the breakdown for the charges that another thousand is needed, it might only be another £1000 approx £4 but 27k already ??? Its one of the saddest days of my life – ive never known Thame without the fair each year :'(
A long overdue and welcome development – the disruption caused by the fair cannot be justified any longer. The refusal of the ‘showmen’ to pay a modest increase to cover the cost to the town is proof of their true motivation – profit at the expense of others. If the town has to be subjected to their attentions, let them use the show ground – and pay a realistic fee.
Nope Kristian; it’s definitely Wellington Street. I took the photo myself during my walk into work. Just before the path on the left by the railings where you cut through towards Fairfax Rd and Linthal Green.
That’s East Street, not Welling ton Street! 🙂
Yes; we have since corrected the post. There was some confusion about the car that stopped to help, from a tired and understandably emotional witness who came to the casualty’s assistance. We await the full details from the police before reporting any further details about the nature of the actual collision.
This is incorrect, there was NO CAR INVOLVED. Luke lost control of his dads motorbike and hit a tree
GREAT RESULTS AGAIN LWS
WELL DONE L W S
I noticed that the price for a shower went up from £1 when the travellers arrived to £4:70 while they were there I wonder if it has gone back down now they have left
“God – fearing” embraces a wide range of behaviour : Abraham was so god-fearing that he was prepared to slit the throat of his own son.
This discussion string ends here. Everything there is to say about this event has already been said else where on social media and I think that most us in the town now want to draw a line under this incident. Lessons have been learnt I’m sure and we have two great events to look forward to on the showground, Towersey Festival and the food festival. Let’s now move on.
Editor
If TAA was informed of the suspected numbers this convention was likely to attract as I am sure they where otherwise so large a venue would not have been needed then from the information the TAA themselves provided on the Spotted Thame fb page this event had been fully signed off on it is not the fault of the conventions organisers who in good faith organised the event the best anyone can do when planning a event is approach the venue operators state what the venue will be used for and accept the decision of the venue operators has to the agreeing or not to the use of the venue .I myself live in Oxfordshire and at this time of year we have very many festivals that cause quite a lot of problems because of litter alcohol drugs and anti social behavior people gaining access without paying by climbing over fences ect theses are for the most part not even held on or in designated event areas and of course there’s the usual sea of mud and litter especially bad if the weather happend as at the time of this convention to be extremely wet . The extreme verbal reaction of some locals on social media only for example you need look no further than the fb page mentioned above as only served as a reminder to the Gypsy/Traveler community how unprepared the more conservative and let’s say less cosmopolitan members society are and hopefully they should be left to the smaller less controversial events only ie the odd country show ect I will however say some of the remarks about driving up and down the venue and out onto the roads adjacent to showground and the excess of mud and some litter is a little mean minded due to the weather at the time of the event and a lot of youngsters gatherd together and apologies for the litter but there was and I am going to be truthful here not Chinese whispers out and out lies and unfounded rumours being spread by a few in the local community theses were the more colourful claims of trees being chopped down crime rate soaring and my personal favorite animal sacrifice the claims of wich are hysterical in both meanings of the word but one thing I am happy about is the realisation the rather extreme opinions of good proportion of Thames inhabitants I can only say that having lived in my rural area of Oxfordshire and being out and proud as to my own Romany heritage and living in a village where there has been a Gypsy community for over 50 years we at NOT demonized or regarded in the same way in fact we are welcomed and appreciated as part of a growing diverse community I for one will make sure never to even drive through Thame from now on as I believe there are certain areas in the southern states of the USA were opinions to people of certain ethnicity’s are just as narrow . Most of the accusations have been completely unfounded and I would love a complete and unbiased report by a completely independent body of all that took place at this event
My my my ,so up in arms about a grass verge, there was no thieving,no drugs no pedaphile ‘s no rapes ,but plenty of predgadist ,if this was Moslems or any other minority group,there wouldn’t be a word,,but this is still (as yet) a free country,and a Christian one ,and that is what this convention was about, but not a word about the faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ,of this gypsy camunity,sham on you’s all
Dear Editor,
I understand and sympathise with the good descent members of Thame who have truely been effected by the convention being held in their area.
However, Im sad to report that the FB group Spotted: Thame, is where the rumours have been spreading fast and actually it’s turned into some what of a witch hunt. It’s not a group for people to rise above, resolve and engage in an adult conversation. Please consider taking the time to read through their many offensive comments. The racism is truely horrendous! I have personally tried to engage with some of Thames members only to be blocked for writing the folowing:-
To the people of Thame,
Regarding the racist, derogatory and prejudice comments that have been made by some of the residents.
As in those that have made judgement of the entire GRT community and to those that use derogatory words to course offence.
Most understand that a person who has committed a crime is a criminal, due to their own actions! Not because of their race, religion, culture or ethnicity.
The same for any person/s who acts irresponsibly or is anti-social. Behaviours like this belong to the perpitrator and they should be held accountable not the entire race, ethnicity, culture or religion that the person/s belong to!
To clarify a “few” of the residents that have posted on this group have used derogatory and offensive words like gypo’s and pikeys. That terminology is unexseptable and it is a criminal offence.
No race ‘flag’ can be accused of being raised. When such comments are blatantly racist.
There’s also been Stereo-typing, generalising and narrow mindedness displayed on here. As well as a lot of false information being passed as fact!
No posts, that I have read, have I seen any from the GRT community defending criminality or anti-social behaviour.
If a person is an Irish Traveller or English Romani-Gypsy, Eastern European Roma, Christians or non-Christian, we are all still individuals and accountable “ONLY” for our own personal actions!
I presume there will be a multi agency meeting to review what happened – Town Council who seemed to be as surprised as the residents, police, fire and rescue (were they aware of the numbers shoehorned onto the site presumably with gas canisters in all caravans and numerous vehicles?) Were the police involved in approving the site security and traffic management? My understanding is that any large festival requires detailed planning and sign off but it feels like it was sadly lacking on this occasion. This CANNOT be allowed to happen again! And how will the results of any review (including any additional costs to the town for cleaning the streets (not the site!) policing, losses of local businesses) be shared with us?
Harry, I also witnessed the jams and destruction of the grass verge opposite the entrance to the field.
Not a single payment to rectify the damage around Thame come out of the public purse. The TAA & “Light & Life Church” holds responsibility.
Also, this whole incident has completely besmirched the name of a charming town in Teesside. The traveller group who have caused so much disturbance in the town have nothing to do with Darlington.
While TAA collect the rent, who pays for all the extra policing and other public costs this event incurred?
It’s an absolute disgrace. I myself have witnessed;
White pickup trucks tearing up the grass verge opposite the entrance to the field
Intimidating behaviour at Thame Leisure Centre
Filthy state the showers in the leisure centre are left in.
Intimidation in the town.
Dangerous driving – often deliberately at peak driving times.
I am also aware of a number of people and shops in Thame who have been stolen from.
Lying on a booking, theft, intimidation, vandalism, endangerment of life, none of these are Christian actions.
I, like most of the residents, wait with baited breath to see if they really do leave the area and return to where they came from. Sadly experience in the past tells me they will not.
Thank you for letting use your area for our Christian meetings hope the none Christians don’t get the Christian’s a bad name but Christ died for the people who need change in life so it is for all bad &good and the sick Jesus is not prejudice like some people think of themselves only God blessed all poeple
There ther to worship God it happens every year what harm are they doing the police should be more worried about all the booming go on around the country and leave these people in peace
They have been horrible, they have vandalised the skatepark broken down the fences. They have started on people getting into fights making thame look bad! They have stolen items of value, they look for trouble. Please i speak for all the people of Thame and we want them gone forever after this Thursday. They might worship god and I dont mind if they do it quietly, but once they start going through Thame causing trouble they should be arrested and detained and sent back where they came.
You need to get your facts right why don’t you go down and talk to the people organising this convention it’s a light and light born again Christian meeting yes they are gypsys but would it be better if they was blacks Asians Chinese ext why are you making a big deal out of it they are not worshipping the devil they are worshipping god and are nice clean people they’re are good and bad in all walks of life go see for your selfs
Sorry Anon. We don’t publish anything that does not come from a genuine email address. Your email address is not show – only your username
Is he going to be payed by the BBC or claim it on expenses, for his visit,
//????????????????????
We defiantly need the A-Boards. A lot of the business rely on passing trade. Also you get to know what’s on, new things coming or offers. Thame streets are wide enough. They do not get in the way. They have been part of Thame pavements for years!
Love the tables outside. So lovely to sit outside & gives Thame a lovely atmosphere, people spilling out on to the streets. In summer or winter. Also extends businesses for owners.
Unlikely because a large supermarket is neither in the Neighbourhood Plan nor the district council’s (the planning authority) Locals Plan to 2032. Both state the need for for less retail square footage going forward, than would work for a large supermarket.
We may eventually see sense and get a Tesco then ? No more coffee shops, charity shops or wine bar / restaurants required
Great news to move the Cattle Market and free up that site Moving the Market to Thame Show Ground was a good idea with the Thame By Pass good road infurstructure all ready in place The Proposed Site in Rycote Lane on an extremely busy A329 ADJACEBT TO A BAD BEND AND ROAD JUNCTION TO MORETON we travel that road most days as do members of our family daily to get to work at present we are often delayed with HGV lorries turning into Gregorys Depot
ASM and now David Eing Depot What would the road structure be for enterance and exit be for The proposed Cattle Market would improvements be made if so what We come from a Farming Background and it is so important to Keep THAME CATTLE MARKET so many MARKETS have closed as Farmers now sell direct to the Supermarket PLEASE DO NOT LET OUR CATTLE MARKET CLOSE AS IT IS PART OF THAME HISTORY WHEN IT WAS IN THE UPPER HIGH ST The Annual SHEEP FAIR is held at Thame Show Ground we wish Thame Farmers Cooperative every success
MD only sent me a quote. I wrote the report. But I would love your take on the day Tom! I did email the town council earlier but had to go to press this evening. I look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards, Sonja
Hi Sonja,
I was just going to send you a report of the trip but I see Mike Dyer has pre-empted me.
Regards Tom
Contact the town council. I believe they may have photographed the other windows
No pictures?
Bravo
CONGRATULATIONS MR HOWELL. LETS NOW GET ON WITH THE JOB
We had no back-up Alasdair – we carried everything on our bikes in panniers.
I have take a group of up to 10 Thame Cycling Club members to a variety of destinations for 4/5 day weekends in France over the last 3 years. A delight to ride on pothole free roads in the Somme region and introduce cyclists to the pleasure of being self-sufficient by eschewing the accompanying motorcade which is now a feature of so many “cycling” events.
WELL DONE THAME COUNCIL THAME A LOVELY MARKET TOWN
TOO MANY EATERIES LARGE WASTE BINS LOOK AWFUL WHEN FULL
GOOD GENERAL STORE REQUIRED IN THAME
HOPE SODC FOLLOW SUIT
The new plan smacks to me of Rectory just wanting to maximise their revenue from the site and takes no notice of the needs of Thame.
Great to hear you have set up Thame for Europe. Please do get in touch with our similar group in Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratford4Europe.
It would be good to share ideas and to network.
Was a lovely demo. Thank you for organising it.
Our MP was pro-Europe but voted for Article 50 to enable him “still be the vicar of Bray”. Sad that he should represent Westminster in Henley constituency rather than the converse
WELL DONE TOM – GOOD TO SEE A THAMINSIAN AS MAYOR OF THAME
CONGRATULATIONS TO DAVID DODDS ANOTHER THAMINSIAN ON HIS ACHIEVMENT HE HAS DONE A LOT FOR THE PEOPLE OF THAME
Merci Huguette!! It is always a pleasure to do whatever I can to promote our special – unique town !!
Bravo Sonja et toutes mes félicitations. Tu as fait beaucoup cour la promotion de Thame.
Gros bisous et à bientôt
Huguette
The planning application to build retirement apartments on the police station site did not include a 40% affordable element. This was a key plank to the Neighbourhood Plan SODC seemed willing to just let the developer make a small contribution instead of the required 40% accommodation.
why not settle it with a duel or toss a coin?
I hate the sight of the bins, not only outside Prezzo/J&A but Buddies too, but if there is an issue with fire exits etc. The council/fire officer/restaurant should discuss a solution together, rather than the restaurant being stuck in the middle of two authorities telling them they are legally bound to do exactly what the other tells them they shouldn’t. Joined up thinking please!
The Prezzo bins have been a constant eyesore since opening. The design of their fit out should have taken into account the need to store waste onsite . The planning authority should not compromise on allowing them to continue to use the public pavement . Likewise Jack and Alice need to design into their shop fit for waste disposal. Any compromise just means Thame residents having to put up with what other retailers within the town manage effectively . I fully support a strong line against both .
Should be a Doctors Surgery
I have become bored with the pro Thame have a heart campaign its done nothing for the average earners who live in this town
Is another eating not required in Thame The Town requires a General Store like Woolworths was Wilko or BM or perhaps a M & CO or Dorethy Perkins who are not as expensive as the clothes shops we have
If Angel Properties get the Planning of the DAF SITE what Supermarket and other Retail unit will go there and will there be transport from the Town come on Thame Town Council oppose this application
Looks like too many houses for the site and for the supermarket + care home not enough parking
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Given that people voted for cuts, I can’t see why they should be aggrieved with the consequences.
I’m totally in favour of building on The Elms. It’s private land that the general public has no access to, so converting it into housing makes perfect sense to me. It’s what goes onto the site that concerns me. If these were 87 apartments for general sale at affordable prices I would support this plan, however as an extra care facility I don’t think it meets Thame’s reqirement.
87 units are proposed. The access is terrible. ElmsRoad/WindmillRoad/NelsonSt already a nightmare – dangerous for John Hamden children walking to school. Overlooks the park where children play…….
NO NO NO
Totaly abhorrent, brought in under the radar on the main town plan, rejected by everyone who lives locally. Voted to be rejected by the town council, yet the greed of the developers is still shining through.
A fantastic green and open space that should never be built on.
Do not hold your breath given that we can’t even achieve a cycle path linking Thame to Haddenham station
Please please please make sure in the new design that there are SEPARATE entry and exit areas to avoid the completely chaotic nightmare that currently exists when trying to deliver or retrieve your kids from swim lessons.
Good. UK faces an unpredictable and meaner future since the “great unwashed” were beguiled by Boris and co. into “getting our country back” ignorant that it had been flogged off by Margaret Thatcher with much of it renationalised by our French and German partners: think railways, energy and water
One thing I would suggest is moving to Taxi Rank to the area behnd the Town Hall. This would free up a couple more spaces in town!
The very same Councillors who were adamant and derided the Tesco proposal on the outskirts of town -which would undoubtedly have eased congestion and frustration! Lack of law enforcement cannot be blamed – the problem has been self-created by blinkered Councillors – passing the buck and blame to the Police is typical – wake up Councillors – get real and see what your decisions are doing – Thames jewel is rapidly losing its shine!
Who on earth thinks a Cpm employee would not park in their own car park ( it is only half full most of the time and never full) but would prefer to park 10 minutes walk away??? Whoever made this comment needs to get their facts straight. Apparently people using the Haddenham and Thame Parkway train station use this end of town ( especially the service road by Edgehill) to park then get on the 280!
Inspector Harling states that tickets are issued to cars parking on zig-zag lines ” if they are causing an obstruction “. Surely the very fact that they park there is an offence! Causing an obstruction is irrelevant! The lines are provided to ensure traffic can clearly see pedestrians waiting to use the crossing and vice-versa.
Like the Wild West? Bit dramatic! I’d rather the Police spent their time tackling real crime not poor parking.
Whilst I understand the need to prioritise resources, surely the Police know that ignoring low-level ‘crime’ such as parking offences/mis-use emboldens perpetrators and leads to an increase in more serious offences. Inconsiderate parking isn’t just a Town Centre issue. On Lea Park, cars are regularly parked on pavements, corners and junctions creating serious safety issues especially for children and older residents.
Which is your street?
Very sad to hear that the Beds are to go at The Cottage Hospital My Family have had elderly relitvies looked after there over the year
Sad to think that elderly people will be miles away from family who may have no way of getting to visit
That is why the photo caption clearly says it is a library picture. I understand from the Town Clerk that the work has been delayed once again until March 11th.
They are lucky to get the resurfacing, ours was scheduled about 6 years ago, STILL hasn’t been done.
This is just a photo of Essex Road. It does not show the actual day that a parked car prevented the road resurfacing. It is worth noting that the car that prevented the road works did not belong to an Essex Road resident!
I really cannot see why this development would be a problem; the existing business might well relocate to a area with more parking. I would think that new houses would result in less vehicle traffic rather than more.
The new development adjacent will enhance this end of town and and think that this proposal will also. Now that the garage has gone this area of town is essentially residential, not industrial as in the past and the proposed new houses will fit in well.
As for increasing retail in the area, i agree this is desirable, but the existing shop has a very specific customer base, i.e. for car parts, so is not indicative of general retail that occupiers of new houses would use often.
Whilst homes are needed there used to be a Cottage there in my childhood there were also 11 retail shops Butchers Grocery Post Office Bakers Fishmonger Green Grocers Music Shop Hairdressers 2 Builders Merchants
From the Cross Keys to the Station Yard and 4 Public Houses Garage
and John Hampden School Instead of infill of 3 Houses 1 House
Park Street is a very busy road with parking on both sides Address the parking situation and repair the Road surface which is dreadful first
I have seen Andy Robbins quite often and he is always on top of his game. Top live performer and fantastic original material
can anyone tell me when all the safety fencing ,cones that are laying in the road ,the orange safety gear by the roundabout
are going to be removed ,its an eye sore and hazard ,and also the 30 mph that’s been tarmacked on the road that is all breaking up and flicking on to the car , very substandard work , if this isn’t the right place to complain can you give me the contact details of the right people to do so
Many Thanks
Mr K J Sayers
we really need to keep our hospital ,as a pensioner if I had to go in hospital and recover in the the cottage hospital, near my family would be so much easier ..Over the years I’ve had my mum and friends that have broken hips etc ,and they have recovered in Thame. AS we get old we need to be close to home …And not have to travel miles to visit …Its so worrying to think the 8 beds will be closed .Buckinghamshire healthcare NHS are making a big mistake …The day centres are a life line for so many lonely people ..They will get more people going into AE and blocking beds and being depressed… as they can’t go home ….SUPID
It would be dreadful to close the beds at Thame Cottage Hospital please keep it open for Thame and surrounding villages
There are many people who are unable to get to the larger Hospitals in Oxford Aylesbury and High Wycombe
This unit should be there form them as many Thame people and people from the surrounding villages have raised money over the years Let Thame residents come there to be close to friends and family
Just this minute found this article Howie: http://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/news/county-unveils-plans-for-unitary-authority-1-7779306
Not sure where the question of a unitary authority in our area is at the moment Howie, but this link may help and then you can address your query to your district or county councillors. http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/about-us/devolution
Reading through my current council tax bill (valuation band F) I discover that SODC is costing me £160.68 (no change on 2015/6) and TTC £197.87 (up 9.9% on 2015/6). If the proposed unitary authority for the county goes ahead, what happens to TTC?
what police we don,t have any police in thame anymore when ever you phone them all you get is some giving excuses for not doing anything. the parking is rubbish and nothing is done.
Hommage à Mike Le Mesurier qui semblait être une personne de qualité et que je n’ai pas connu. Joli nom français !
Huguette Fouché
Top quality. We even got a Christmas card from them
The press are obliged to report such incidents if the police request the public’s help in finding a person who has gone missing. If concerns are raised after even a short time, it often means that the missing person is vulnerable in some way.
He was hardly missing….7.30 am to this afternoin?!
This is Thame.net NOT the Thame Gaz! You will need to contact them separately
Just a quick note to thank all of those who work so tirelessly to promote our Town. We may not have won, but we know what a jewell we have in Thame!
Well Done THAME long may you remain a Market TOWN WITH INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS you have done extremely well
Well done as well to Chris Herdman
Dear Sonja, A note in the Thame |Gaz. please.
‘The singing group ‘Cecilias People’ of the U3A had a sucessful Christmas Concert on the 4th. Dec., which was well attended. The goup is now in it’s 9th year and still very strong organising two concerts a year. Long may it keep going.
There should be priority for existing facilities under threat rather than “nice to have” new ones. The Red Kite Centre in particular needs saving first before we embark on new projects.
It is hardly true to say the food festival has outgrown the high street – the upper high street maybe but it could easily expand further down towards the Rising Sun, North Street, the Buttermarket, even Nelson St or down into the cattle market. I fear that the showground means that the success of the event will always be dependent on the weather. Big big shame
Whilst I agree that things are jammed in at the moment and can’t be fun for people with buggies and wheelchairs I am deeply saddened by this move to the showground. I would much prefer to look at alternatives like spreading it out in other areas within the town centre. It feels like this is a backward step and the opportunity to show off our amazing town will be lost.
I fully support saving the children’s centre. Nothing is more important than the future of the next generation and support for the children and their parents at this stage is of greater value than at any other time. In an affluent area it is even more important to allow everyone to feel included,
I presume the details were correct at the time they were given to us. We can only publish the details we are supplied for a community group or club. Thank you for updating us with the later details. They will be amended in the next couple of days.
Vote for Thame!!
Please note that under your Community clubs the information about Thame Art Group is incorrect.
We meet in The Thame Barns Centre.
Term time only.
Monday nights from 7-9 pm
There is no tutor, just come along and enjoy two hours getting away from the hustle and bustle!
Contact details remain the same with Richard Warner but can also contact Trish Garratt on 01844 212225
Please confirm that these details can be adjusted.
Thank you
Thame is a great place, so come and see us when you can and see what we have to offer. We are the best in England. I have lived here for 26 years after moving from London and love it.
Vote for Thame!!
Vote for THAME and Chris Hurdman !!
Great place to shop and. Love the coffee shops
Love to shop here and visit the coffee shops
Great town to live in and to shop
Hello,
Could somebody put the word out regarding dog fouling in the cricket nets and pitch recently that I have noticed.
Also additional due car for the same reasons on the Phoenix Trail.
Increased awareness and additional signage with listed fines should be imposed to rid the problem.
Remember, all members and ages of the community use these areas as well as young children.
Was a fantastic weekend, and I for one can’t wait to do it again xx
What a great day this was again!
Blessed with lovely weather the fair was lovely. Great to see all the happy faces. But next time please spread the street food out more and have more tables and chairs!
The next French Club will be on Monday 3rd October at 2pm at Treacles cafe in Thame. Katarina, ‘the prof’, brings along all sorts of interesting articles to discuss on art, films, travel, current affairs
It has been run in past years by the Florence Nightingale Hospice charity. Contact them for more information http://www.fnhospice.org.uk/top_menu/contact-us/
Hello, is Thame having a charity santa run this year? I would really love to book an event for the whole family to take part in whilst raising funds for an awesome charity?
I’m trying to find out if this group is still running as would like to come along. Thanks
Get tweeting and nominate them! Here’s how: https://www.thame.net/archives/25512
Baban is a great shop in Thame, the clothes, the bags, the accessories are all fab. The ladies that run the shop are lovely and helpful.
Apologies accepted.
Well done Alan.
We at Brothers are continually cleaning, sweeping and de weeding our part of pump lane so it reflects well on the salon. Unfortantly other retailers have left there areas unsightly so well done Sally and What’s cooking on highlighting this.
Adam Buckland
Brothers
Thank you for the correction and please accept my apologies for assuming all newspaper editors are male, especially as, in this modern day and age, many of your fellow editors are ladies.
You are quite right ! I have edited the reply. Thank you for pointing out the error by our (madam) editor.I trust you’ve had YOUR say on the draft local plan?
Sounds amazing Jonathan ! The Phoenix Trail has been crying out for a bike hire business ! If you would like to email me: editor@thame.net, I can give you some information about the various options for promoting your business on Thame.net.
Now then Mr Editor, sir. When is a slander not a slander? When it’s libel. I always thought: slander= spoken, libel=written
Hi
I have started a bike hire service with direct access to the Phoenix Trail with the website http://www.chilternscyclehire.co.uk and I am getting quite a lot of visitors from all lover hiring bikes. I want to increase my profile in and around Thame. What would you recommend?
Thanks
Thame and surrounding areas DO NOT REQUIRE ANY MORE HOUSE BUILDING THE CHALGROVE PLAN AND HARRINGTON PLAN JUST OF JUNCTION 7 OF THE M40 A NEW TOWN THE SIZE DIDCOT 10000 HOUSES EITHER SIDE OF THE MOTORWAY AS FOR THE HOUSES AT HADDENHAM THIS VILLAGE WILL SOON BE JOINED UP WITH THAME A LONG WITH AYLESBURY THIS AREA IS AN AREA OF OUTSTANDING BEAUTY long may they remain Thame services Doctors Schools are bursting at the seams Why is Henley omitted from the plan We hope none of these come off
Please bring along any old medical equipment such as:
wheelchairs,
crutches,
spectacles,
hearing aides,
walking frames
walking sticks.
commodes,
They will be passed on to various charities/organisations and put to good use.
I think Thame has had its fair share of new housing.
It’s all about infrastructure. Finding a school place or GP will be a struggle as I’d assume no one will bother to properly carry this out but that’s just our beautiful towns turning into urban settings, slowly.
Its just another way for the contractor to get more money from a parcel of land which should never been given permission in the 1st place. Its a bloody disgrace.
I think that the petitioners are once again only focussing upon their own little agenda. We need improved services in Thame to cater for the additional 750 residences. A marginal increase on The Elms isn’t going to have much of an impact, it’s the bigger problem that needs to be addressed.
The people who have the last word in ‘do we or don’t we build here?’, are the ones that don’t live here, (ED.sentence removed because possibly libellous!), so shout all you want, we who live here are the ones that have to live with it.
A season ticket for the Cattle Market costs £201.50 a year if you’re driving into Thame for work. A quid a day is not expensive.
This is why we need tesco , they are building more and more house in Thame, it’s only going to get worse.
I think Mr Newitt has a bit of a cheek when at least one of his employees parks in the 2 hour parking all day every day, either outside the butchers or the thatch!
Thank you Nicholas! https://www.thame.net/archives/25255
Parking is bad all over Thame NOT just the town centre. We need someone to ensure the whole town is monitored. It’s ridiculous. People park on double yellows and at junctions. Nobody pays any attention to the regulations.
the problem extends beyond the town centre. An area of grass at the junction of Cromwell Avenue and Berkeley Rd is now being used to park a Volvo 4 wheel drive.
As well as negating the safety value of the vision splay, the grass will become mud in wet weather.
Indeed I did! Thank you Eric 🙂
It may be that Cllr Bretherton deserves to be muted, but I suspect what you meant was that he mooted the idea of stocks!
You could try Chris Parker – details here. I’ve tried and have left a message. http://www.asao.co.uk/events/oxfordshire-county-thame-show/
Am trying to contact organisers of the thame show this year. Do you have an email for them please?
So very sorry to hear of Les,s death. He was always willing to talk me through a hedgehog or squirrel medical problem. Wildlife has lost a true champion.
Waitrose is very poorly stocked we needed another supermarket just so they improved. Thame has lost its heart to hairdressers and Charity shops, I gave up shopping there after woolworths closed.
Mr A the same argument could be made about the clothing offer in Thame but does that mean we have to have a Primark ? Most of us are happy to accept the limitations of the retail offer here and hop on the bus to find what we want if it isn’t available locally. As far as I know Redline offer a free bus to Tesco Aylesbury and it’s also a simple matter to shop online for groceries. Banging on endlessly about Tesco after the decision has been made seems a bit of a waste of time. As in a democracy, that’s it, debate and discussion over, decision made, now let’s move on to the next item on the agenda please mister chairman.
I live backing onto the proposed site. Yes it might have been a little on the large side, but as has been with 1500 homes being built in Thame and more in Chinnor, people need to understand that Thame isn’t going to be a small quiet rural town for much longer. The roads will become even more congested, the schools will be over subscribed and you have to wait even longer for a doctor’s appointment. It’s not just a Thame issue, but the lack of infrastructure and facilities development to support housing is very poor. Thame’s got a great variety of shops but for a lot of people in Thame shopping it the local butchers and Deli’s is just way to expensive. Thame has a large proportion of very well paid residents, who can afford to use these lovely shops. But some can’t and it’s about giving them somewhere to shop. The sainsburys and CoOp in town are tiny and how a person can be expected to survive using just these is beyond me. I would love the supermarket to be built in the town centre, but there is no room. As the Article reads Thame will need more supermarket retail in the future and there will have to be a compromise on what and where it should be built.
Howie B after any decisions both sides are allowed to have their say in a democracy. If Thame is to be a progressive and forward thinking town then all side and views need to be considered and looked at in an impartial way.
Well said, Lee. When my next council tax bill arrives, I won’t feel quite so aggrieved about it. Someone at TTC and SODC does actually appear to care about Thame. Stand by for all the sour grapes from the losing side, that is to be expected. Why can’t they just accept the decision and leave us alone?
Bad decision. Thame is dying, you only have to drive around housing estates like 7 Acres, Lashlake, and the roads around Upper School. All pot holed, paths deteriated with overgrown weeds. Aylesbury Road, with it’s vicious potholes. Which greets most people coming to Thame, has to be one of the worst in the county
High street foot fall is very poor compared to places like Wendover, Tring, Berkhamsted.
Go ahead, Keep Thame small and insular. Even the fire service can’t be manned 24/7.
Why not bring back early closing on Wednesday too, and no shops open on Sunday.
Thame would be a lovely peaceful place then..!!
So if Lee Jones thinks it was bad the Dominos moved in, although the Planners had no say in that, what about Fat Face ,a modern clothes outlet with a rude name, what next in this sleepy market town, Lidl ?
You need to understand that the people that want Tesco, also like the. Town centre but are intelligent enough to understand that as Thame continues to grow with new houses being built all around and even near the town ( the old Thame Service Station site & Goodson Yard) then the services and infra structure need to grow with it, Surgeries, but more so car parking. Come on Thame TC , let’s have parking down on the old Haddenham road & bridge & generate yourself some income as a long stay pay & display car park to free up town centre parking for shoppers .
Think about it !
If this happens we are going to end up like Aylesbury. It’s the start of the end. It’s bad enough that the planners aloud a dominos in our lovely town.
Aylesburybused to be a nice market town and now look at it. It you lot want the facilities of a larger town then why don’t you go and live in one rather than trying to change something that is beautiful. We live here because of its small town feel we don’t want a large town.
Yes there are more houses being built but don’t come and live here if you don’t want small countryside living. Go to Milton Keynes, Aylesbury etc.
Change is not always forward thinking but detrimental to a lot more people and living standards that are already very good. The council have failed in allowing extra housing to be built as it has and are just being gready with the section agreement payments and the extra income from taxes.
I have only lived here for 15 years and have seen changes during this time. I love this little market town and its people and do you know what you can call me small minded and I don’t even care. Sometimes less is more.
Hee hee! Thanks for pointing that out! That’s what happens when organisations don’t sent out proper Press Releases with accompanying images. Have a word will you Alan Shearer? Oh, and do Thomley know you’re using their mail server for non-work related emails?
Hilarious…He is looking very different here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice to see you Jeannette! SODC obviously not expecting the press but they kindly found me a table and a glass of water.
Great to see Thame.net at the meeting in Didcot. And great result…
Absolutely. Just email me details about both events and an image of the poster. editor@thame.net
We’re seriously looking forward to it. Lots of lovely events and the biggest festival ever.
Don’t forget – you can book for Roger McGough and Little Machine now!
See you in October
Thame Arts and Literature Festival
I will forward your interest on to the Mayor, Linda Emery, and Helen Johns who is working on the Midsomer project.
Good morning we would like to get involved with the Midsomer Tours
Hello Sonja, We have 2 events coming up here in Kingsey which I would like to put on Thame.net, Our village fete on 23rd July and a project in our church where out white altar frontal will be restored and we are inviting people to come and see Elizabeth Bond (Royal School of Needlework) at work, this will be a 6 week project. I have posters for each of these events. Would it be possible to have these on this website? Katharine Baker
So where can we sign the petition? Thame is beautiful but already feeling the growth, the network infrastructure wouldn’t support more, let alone the facilities. More development would see it become as congested, aggressive and polluted as neighbouring towns such as High Wycombe! 🙁
I reiterate previous comments, doctors surgery bursting, nothing for youngsters, schools also bursting, nothing is being added to the town to support more houses. Thame will not cope with this. What is the point in producing a town plan if it is going to be completely ignored.
Ridiculous, WE do not have the infastructure to cope with the increase of houses we do have
NOT REQUIRED SCHOOLS BURSTING AT THE SEAMS NOTHING FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE DOCTORS SURGERY NOT LARGE ENOUGH PARKING AT THE DOCTORS TERRIBLE ESPECIALLY AS PEOPLE PARK THERE AND GO TO WORK AND GO SHOPPING
KEEP THAME THE LOVELY MARKET TOWN IT IS WITH INDIVIDUAL SHOPS
Email me all the details Lee – Happy to add to our EVENTS page.
Hi Sonja
I hope you are well?
Would you be willing to add our Summer Fun Day to the Thame Net events as you did for our Tea Party in May?
Please let me know.
Thanks very much
Regards
Lee
Sonja
Would you like some free content to update your site?
If so here is my latest review of the Ashmolean’s Storms, War & Shipwrecks exhibition that opened today http://www.oxfordprospect.com/oxford-university/storms-war-shipwrecks/
I give you permission to use all the content from the review about the Ashmoleum exhibition http://www.oxfordprospect.com/oxford-university/storms-war-shipwrecks/
I hope you parents and sister get better. Talk to you soon.
Will you include the classic cars, tractors etc?
Very happy to Dan.
Hi Sonja, i have an album of photos from Thame Carnival feel free to share the link
thanks, Dan.
https://www.facebook.com/djdanblaze/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1036210066433299
Thanks so much for your response Geoff, and for sharing your personal experience of working within the EU.
I am a retired Probation Officer who has spent a lot of time over the last 30 years developing services for victims of crime. The most exciting venture I have taken part in is an EU funded project. It involved other countries in Europe (Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and others) sharing their experience of pilot projects, involving victims of the most serious crimes, who requested to meet the offender who harmed them, or a member of their family. As a result of what we learned from a Belgian project we have been able to give significant help to crime victims, who say that the experience has dramatically changed their lives for the better. Without the EU directive (setting out minimum standards), EU funding and the fruitful collaboration with our partners this would have been impossible.
Geoff Emerson – retired Probation Officer
Absolutely Alex. Email me all the info. editor@thame.net
Hi Sonja,
I know that Clare Nickless has been kind enough to pass on information about CATKIDS productions in the past. We have a show next weekend at the Thame Players Theatre and I have a couple of great photos of the kids in their ’50’s gear. Is there any chance you could put something out about it and possibly include a photo or two?
You’d need to contact the bus operator about that. There may already be a Saturday service on some routes – the threatened ones are those particular journeys that don’t pay because they have just a few passengers, which OCC have been subsidising.
So what about a saturdays service
All done and tweeted too! https://www.thame.net/events/24846 Break a leg Saturday !
Please could you advertise out gig this Saturday 4th June, 8PM at Tetsworth Sports & Social Club. Local Thame based covers band “Transit”. Otherwise we might be playing to an empty room.
Thank you.
It’s listed now Michele! Apologies – when we published the original full story a couple of months ago, I meant to add it to EVENTS nearer the time. Sounds like an amazing line-up! I’m so sorry I’m going to be away and will miss it 🙁
lt is done. Best of luck with the flower festival.
Hi Sonja how do we get the beacon festival listed on your events listings please 17/18 June http://www.beaconfestival.net
Where on the website is the actual list of the various gardens that will be open in Chinnor?
Most young people do their grocery shop online – this is the very reason tesco don’t build so many big stores nowadays – the town centre would cope very well with more houses! Whether the dr’s surgery would is another matter.
No schedule has been released yet. We understand that a programme of events will be published in 2 – 3 weeks.
Looking forward to it how do I get a schedule
If the additional housing is built then surely this is a strong argument for a better infrastructure in & around Thame and the need for the Tesco proposal to be approved. The town centre would not cope !
It would be appreciated if you could please add the following event to your website :
Chinnor Open Gardens
approx 12 gardens open Chinnor, South Oxfordshire
Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2016
2.00pm to 6.00pm
Many interesting and varied private gardens will be open, all within the village, including two new gardens along with Chinnor allotments and shop. St Andrews Primary School will also open their garden.
Refreshments available on both days at various places and gardens. St Andrew’s Church will be decorated with the theme of ‘A Joyful Celebration’. There will cream teas available.
Proceeds to Chinnor Village Centre, Fight bladder cancer, the church and local school.
Plant sales:
There will be plants for sale on both days.
Cost:
£5.00 adults for weekend ticket, accompanied under 16s free.
How to get event passports:
Leaflets and tickets available in advance from the Village Centre and Parish Council Office, or on the day from any participating garden and at the Plant Sales.
Number of gardens:
Approximately 12 gardens will be open, but the total may vary from day to day – please contact the organisers if you need exact numbers.
Further information:
Phone: 07761 582 937
Email: chinnoropengardens@gmail.com
Web: http:Chinnor Open Gardens
approx 12 gardens open Chinnor, South Oxfordshire
Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2016
2.00pm to 6.00pm
Many interesting and varied private gardens will be open, all within the village, including two new gardens along with Chinnor allotments and shop. St Andrews Primary School will also open their garden.
Refreshments available on both days at various places and gardens. St Andrew’s Church will be decorated with the theme of ‘A Joyful Celebration’. There will cream teas available.
Proceeds to Chinnor Village Centre, Fight bladder cancer, the church and local school.
Plant sales:
There will be plants for sale on both days.
Cost:
£5.00 adults for weekend ticket, accompanied under 16s free.
How to get event passports:
Leaflets and tickets available in advance from the Village Centre and Parish Council Office, or on the day from any participating garden and at the Plant Sales.
Number of gardens:
Approximately 12 gardens will be open, but the total may vary from day to day – please contact the organisers if you need exact numbers.
Further information:
Phone: 07761 582 937
Email: chinnoropengardens@gmail.com
Web: http://www.chinnorvillagecentre.org
Directions:
Chinnor is 3 miles from junction 6 on the M40 towards Princes Risborough on the A4009.
Directions:
Chinnor is 3 miles from junction 6 on the M40 towards Princes Risborough on the A4009.
Dear Thame.net
it would be appreciated if the following event could be listed on your website :
ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, CHINNOR : FLOWER FESTIVAL
THEME : JOYFUL CELEBRATION
THURSDAY 2 JUNE – SUNDAY 5 JUNE
10.30 am – 5.30 pm : THURSDAY/FRIDAY/SATURDAY
11.30 am – 6.00 pm : SUNDAY
REFRESHMENTS, PRODUCE & CRAFTS IN MARQUEE
DONATIONS FOR CHURCH RESTORATION
Thame show used to be the highlight on the Thame calendar. Over the years it has become too commercialised , & people have been expected to pay extortionate prices , not only to get in, but also having to pay £5 for a burger & a pint… Let’s hope the organisers stick to their word of the £5 entry fee. I would strongly suggest it’s is heavily advertised on social media as well as the Thame gazette( before the advent)
Sorry a horse and hound show wont get my support, The first official show of the Thame Agricultural Association was held in October 1888, but the unofficial origins go back another 30 years. All those years yet today they cant make it pay ? I understand times change but this was once the largest agricultural show in England and today we have more technology and attractions to offer than previously… maybe one reason being because it cost to much on the gate ? Almost everyone i know never went because it was to expensive for a family – if families cant afford to get in they wont come even after 3pm the gates didnt drop their prices as they used to. Schools used to close for the day to allow local families to attend people want to take their kids. Affter the date being moved many stalls and exhibitors were lost, it will take time to get those people back one show isnt enough. The headlines for the Oxford Mail were this, 12,000 visitors put Thame Show back on county map … so what happened??? Another sad day for Thame
It sounds amazing Chris and Karoline – Let’s hope you get loads of support and engagement from local families.
The problem over the last few years is that the day changed and when changed back the schools no longer closed so less families from Thame and surrounding areas go to the show…. The price, especially when having to spend so much once in there also put people off… Especially the ‘on the day’ price. It’s a real shame it won’t be held this year.
Chris Parker & I Karoline Thorpe have put together an exciting Horse Show, Countryside Arena with “Champion Bull Whip Cracking Ben Hughes” plus Hounds and other Country attractions, we have other animals like Alpacas, and also a big dog show Scruffs that qualify for Crufts 2017,There will be plenty to see and do, so please put the date of Thursday 15th September in your diary
Also the price doesnt help when you have a family
Not so great if your dog eats it!! I do t think they were being community minded just lazy!!
Oops!
‘National Pub & Bar Awards 2106’ – how do you know?
Coffee gronds are great for gardens – I get the used ones from Starbucks for my garden – keeps the slugs and snals away as well.
A brilliant clean up after the event apart from the coffee concession who just dumped piles of coffee grouts all along the edge of the park!!
Anyone who parks on double yellows or worse still on the zigzags by pedestrian crossings should be fined a minimum of £500 and 6 points on their licence. That’ll show them not display such arrogance and total disregard for the safety of others
Thanks for letting me know about Chestnuts being opposite the War Memorial and now being an art gallery. I will check it out when I next visit Thame
I would also ask that the parking of taxis in the parking area designated for normal road users should be stopped as this causes normal road users to have the need to park in other areas. The taxis plying there trade in Thame have adequate parking in the centre of town. It is quite frustrating to come into the centre of town to park only to find on occasion more than 8 taxis using up space other cars could use.
Regards
Mr Hope
That’s a good suggestion, but you need to make it to the town council.
All done. thank you.
The two notice boards that are in the Upper Car Park should be placed outside the door of the Town Hall with ‘What is happening this month’ and ‘What is coming shortly’.
It would help to plan what to visit and take part in.
Hi Sali. The rate would be the same as we charge Barley Hill School, £75 per vacancy. Do email me if you need any more information. editor@thame.net
Will do.
I have passed on your message to Nostalgic Thame facebook page – which, by the way, is nothing to do with Thame.Net.
Hi Sonja
I am the Bursar of John Hampden Primary School and wonder if we could advertise a job vacancy on Thame.net?
Hope so.
Thanks and regards
Sali
There is an erroneous posting on Nostalgic Thame that Beatrice Dobie has died. This is not true as of Monday morning. She is in hospital, being well cared for after a fall. But the prognosis is not good. Please ask whoever posted this message to get the facts straight.
A sense of humour needed I think!!!
The comments by Ian English reference the Queen’s birthday were at best inappropriate and to many people deeply offensive. To demonstrate such crass stupidity at a celebration was totally unacceptable. Pity they don’t sent such people to the Tower these days.
Of course. Email me the details. editor@thame.net
Hi,
Is it possible for me to add a local event to this page?
Its a charity event in May at Blue Cross Lewknor
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and Regards
Lee
Please can you share the following notification on your website or FB page, thank you
THAME NETBALL CLUB
Do you love netball and want to play in a team?
It’s selections time ! Friday 6th, 13th and 20th May.
As a community club we will be holding selections for the new season starting in September 2016 .
Selections are held during normal training times, Friday 6-7.30pm. At Lord Williams Lower School sports hall.
Everyone is welcome.
If you wish to be considered for a place in one of our three teams, please try to attend at least two of the sessions in May (see dates above). If you have any difficulties attending please let us know that you still wish to be considered.
Anyone is welcome to visit on any normal training night too.
http://Www.Thamenetballclub.co.uk
Thamenetballclub@hotmail.co.uk
Dear Sonja
Please add St Mary’s Flower Festival 20th-22nd May 2016.
l will email you a poster across with further details on it.
Thame’s cricket pitch with the church in the background and the glorious housing around it is one of the most beautiful sights in Thame. I’m sorry, Nicola, this is an utterly ridiculous idea!! We do not have space in this country for burials and people need to get over it!!
Not everybody goes to St Mary’s Church. There are at least five places of worship in Thame dotted around. Plus those who would like a burial but do not want a church service. It would be a great shame to spoil the wonderful view of the cricket ground when arriving in Thame – imagine arriving to a view of a burial ground…..
How ever much l love the idea of people being buried next to their place of worship. l think if it was me l would like to think of people living and enjoying life. Be it cricket, walking the dog or sitting having a picnic rather than my dead body under the earth and not being able to sit or see or smell Gods great land. So sorry leave the land for what God intended and that is Enjoying it.
That’s enough info. I will add your event to our listing.
Hi, how can advertise for a local event?
I have a flyer, but these are the main details:
Ladies Night Out at the Thame Barns Centre
Thursday April 21st 6-8 PM
free admission, glass of bubbly and nibbles
various beauty treatments and vendor tables available:
Stella and Dot Jewelry and Accessories
Forever Living
Actilabs
Younique cosmetics
Bodyshop
Beautiful Nails
Neals Yard
Exactly why all the negativity received over the Tesco issue should be listened to constructively rather than dismissed at the mere mention of its name..community is about ALL as a whole and not just the ‘selective’!!
All done! https://www.thame.net/events/aylesbury-choral-society-performs-verdi-requiem Hope the concert goes well.
Hi Sonja
Could you add details of Aylesbury Choral Society Verdi Requiem concert at Thame Leisure Centre at 7.30 pm on Saturday May 21st.Conductor Jeff Stewart with Aylesbury Concert Orchestra, Uxbridge Choral Society and four internationally acclaimed soloists-Mardi Byers, Cheri Rose Katz, Max An and George Stephens.
Tickets £12,£5 (under 18s)
From http://www.aylesburychoral.org.uk,01296640221 or any choir member
The contact email is in the report.
Nick Rogers thinks Chestnuts was a detached property opposite the war memorial, now an art gallery. Hope that helps.
I will put your request on the ‘Nostalgic Thame’ facebook page and Thame News facebook page and see if anyone can help.
My grandparents stayed in Thame in June 1944 to escape the London bombings. They stayed with Mrs Birch at Chestnuts, High Street, Thame.
Do you know how I can find out where this property is? Thank you.
We need a minor injuries unit or drop in centre or both in Thame,
Sorry, aged parent been very ill and in hospital and so I’ve had to prioritise news this past 6 weeks. I have started the feature but if you could remind me where the book is available (did you say the Belfry?) Also, I was a bit concerned that the ‘AUTHOR’ link on Amazon and another website the book is available from, goes to a famous history professor/author that I don’t think is you. A bit misleading? Regards, Sonja
sorry to bug you again,but have not heard anything from yourself
in respect to my advert for FROM BOY CHAP TO OL,CHAP.it would
be useful to correspond to say the opening of the cricket season
at tiddington presidents day 2nd of may 2016
PLEASE HELP
we are trying to trace 2 nurses who gave first aid at a RTC on THURS 24TH MARCH at Lewknor turn
if you know of these nurses please contact kmarsh1@btinternet.com
thank you
Can you send me some more info please?
Will do.
Hi Sonja
Please could you mention on this that the Aylesbury Road is closed from the town down to the roundabout, except for access only, (it is for 5 days including yesterday in total)
Access is only available coming off the Aylesbury roundabout to head into Thame
Numerous cars were ignoring the signage yesterday and having to turn round, with some actually trying to go through the 1 way area by the roundabout.
PS There is comments etc on the Thame Bay face book page if you want to take a look
many thanks
Anne Croxford
It would be far better if they use the land to create more suitable office units for the many businesses in the area unable to find suitable premises to rent.
A good plan could mean better local employment opportunities for many and would help stop the growing number of businesses who are looking outside the town for new premises from leaving.
if we lose the employment areas we’ll end up simply becoming a commuter town with no local community.
What’s the point of a bus pass if there are no buses left to use it on. Why don’t they go the whole hog and withdraw the bus pass as well and we can all stay at home, watch daytime tv and turn into couch potatoes
Not as far as we know. These markets are organised through Thame Town Council, so you could contact them for more information. Call: 01844 212 833, or email: info@thametowncouncil.gov.uk
Is the market coming to Thame in the near future
You need to call the phone number in the report Vicky !
Popped in to see the new set up yesterday – it’s fantastic….AND What’s Cooking will be catering for my very big birthday at the beginning of April….thank you Sally and Anwen….I’ve started to relax now!!
Do you still have availability?
You don’t say where Bill?
Hello Sonja,
Long time – no see !! I trust you and John are OK. I am still travelling quite a bit and enjoying life in general !
I wondered if you would add this request for volunteers in the magazine you produce?
FREE !!
Many things in life are free, like FREEDOM, FREE GIFT, FREE TIME.
But there are a number of elderly people who just don’t have the freedom to do what they want or go where they like because they are housebound due to the difficulties they experience in walking, lack of confidence, or have a partner or spouse to look after and so miss out socially.
At the LUNCHEON CLUB a number of volunteers provide a cooked meal for 36 of these friends each week but we desperately need YOU to become a volunteer in order to enable this valuable and vital service to continue.
Your free gift of a little of your free time, just from 2 hours to 4 hours on Wednesdays, is all you would be contributing – and that doesn’t have to be every week, it could be once a fortnight or even once a month.
Why not telephone either Bill Parkinson or Jane Kimber and make an offer of your time?
Bill can be reached on 01844 352216 and Jane on 01844 690358.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you
Thank you, Sonja.
Bill.
Thame.Net is only REPORTING the news that nominations are now wanted for awards! You need to click on the link we gave you at the end of the report and nominate your grandson officially there. Good luck to Samuel though.
We would like to recommend our Grandson Samuel Wilkins aged 9 and plays for Thame Boys under 10 he is a great Footballer sleeps breaths and eats for FOOTBALL Sam scored 9 goals a couple of weeks ago for Thame Boys in 2 matches Sam did play for the Reading Acadamy with Eammon Holmes and Eammon Flanagan at Oxford Citys ground till they stopped coming to Oxford then he played for High Wycome Acadamy but training was changed to Friday Night Sam and his brother Oliver took part in Grass Roots Day with Martin Keowen at Thame last year please put Sam forward for an award our contact t/ph 01844 279633
Hope we are not wasting your time he deserves to be spotted we are very proud Grandparents Thame Boys under 10 are a great team thankyou
from Public Houses,Inns and Taverns of Thame
The Bull Inn was mentioned in the 1901 census
In the Butter Market.
Old Crendon Bridge is definitely in need of some work, even if just the road was cleared it would be so much more attractive.
So many people harp on about how Tesco will solve the parking problem in the Town Centre. I must admit I agree here – there will be plenty of parking in the Town Centre once Tesco is on the bypass, as no-one will visit the Town Centre anymore. While on the subject of parking, I have yet to battle to find a parking at the cattle market, so I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.
Sainbury’s and the Co-Op are very affordable, so that argument doesn’t stand up either.
You’re wrong. A ‘pro Tesco’ tweet was retweeted just four hours ago – take a look. LINK TO TWITTER and see Tony Rushforth’s tweet. I can’t be on twitter 24 hrs a day – I do have a life, but retweet as many Thame-related tweets as I can.
Don’t underestimate the damage a huge store like this will have on the town. It’s too late once the decision has been made! The scale of this will have a huge impact on the high street – it’s been proven so many times where a huge convenience store kills the high street as people will change their shopping habits and over time the essence of Thame will be lost. Having lived somewhere this happened to, would hate to see it happen again to such a thriving place. #
All emails are checked for authenticity. I have been in contact with ‘Hugh’ and I am satisfied he is a local person.
Funny how the anti tesco comments get tweeted and the pro tesco ones don’t. ……
But they don’t have to do it in their own name! Sounds sensible to me.
We do not moderate against people just because they have an unconventional email address. Everyone with a point of view is allowed to express it here, as long as it is neither abusive nor unlawful.
Well Mr “Hugh Jarse” (well done on the moderation there editor!) Try addressing: the parking problems we have now; the problem of where all the people from all the new houses are going to park. What about all the less well off people who lose out because of the lack of affordable shopping. The NIMTS (Not in my towners) need to wake up and smell the coffee. Change happens and guess what it’s for the best! Let’s move Thame in to the 21st century!
Firstly to James – bringing a Tesco to Thame will certainly accelerate the arrival of the poundshops when the Town centre businesses start to close down and to S. Foster, If there was a Tesco in Thame you wouldn’t browse the rest of Thame, you would be in and out of Tesco on the bypass.
Anyone who thinks that having a Tesco on the bypass would be of any benefit to Thame, or bring in money to anyone other than Tesco is severely deluded.
Hi Sonja
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to our bin men – Macca and the OWR crew for changing my flat tyre this morning. Truly above and beyond, and I’m really grateful!
I recall, as a former member of the management committee and volunteer driver, that the funding the Day Centre receives from the council is vital to it. But it could not have kept going for 20 years and more without the devoted input of volunteer helpers on meeting days, the volunteer drivers who collect members from their homes and take them home, and the generosity and support of individuals and many organisations in this very united and warm-hearted town. The devotion, support and efforts of all these people should receive true recognition from the council through a simple, firmly committed continuance of what I recall is a useful and not excessive grant, maybe not much different in a year from what a Premier League football star received for a day’s work. It is these supporters’ due and is owed to the people the Centre is there to serve.
Move in to the 21st century Thame please. Where on earth are all the people from all the new houses supposed to shop. How many have tried and failed to find a parking space in town so gone elsewhere for big shop? How many times worse will it be when there are hundreds more people trying to use the facilities in Thame. Thame needs a big superstore be it Tesco’s or Asda or a bigger Sainsburys. Just wait until the pound shops start opening!
Tesco needed. If there was a Tesco in thame I would be able to browse the rest of thame. Currently travelling out of thame for shopping despite living there so thame isn’t getting any of my money currently.. And I suspect many others too.
There is no need for a large out of town supermarket for thame, as the movement to dot com shopping continues to grow. However there is a need for a low cost shopping option to help the less well off in our thriving market town. The thought of an Aldi in the elms, a Lidl on the cricket pitch and converting the town hall to a tesco express (need to find a use for the place) seems to me to be the ideal solution!
Whilst I am not anti supermarket, I am anti-Tesco.
The thought of having this awful supermarket in our beautiful town is very depressing. Surely we are deserving of a more upmarket establishment, such as a larger Waitrose or Sainsbury.
I also shudder to think how many £’s will be wiped from the value of my detached home when we get know as TescoThame
The only positive to a Tesco is the hope that it may remove some of the free-loading coffee drinking riff-raff that currently frequent Waitrose.
I would suggest that the council is against having a Tresco in Thame as the majority of the people in Thame are against it as well. The council are doing what they have been elected to do and what the electorate expects them to do, which is represent the people of Thame. In evidence of this check the number of people who signed the various petitions. I know the come back on this will be that the anti-tesco lobby backed by local businesses had their petition in a lot of the stores with vested interests in stopping Tesco, however the pro-tesco lobby were very vocal in going around the houses and knocking on doors. One could say they were more pro-active, however they still received far less votes.
This is a worthwhile local campaige and the issues it raises for Oxfordshire are even reaching the national press, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35491551
I’ll be heading to the Town Hall today to sign
I don’t understand why the council is against having a Tesco in Thame, it’s been crying out for something like this for years. Embrace change its for the better, people wouldn’t have to go to other larger towns for a proper shop if it’s right on their doorstep and as for local businesses suffering as a result, that’s rubbish! They are already suffering through people going out of town for their shopping so what difference does it make? I’ll tell you! Less pollution in the air and less congestion on the roads more money to be spent in the community! Don’t be silly the town is on a winner with Tesco!
I think that the opposition to Tesco is pure snobbery. Comments like “last chance saloon” and “I could not show my face in the council” are pure hyperbole. I also think that the cherished TNP is a fudge dictated by the needs of Henley. What do we have in the Town centre? Hairdressers, cafes, charity shops, estate agents. Hundreds of new homes are being built with no change in the Town’s infrastructure. There is already a problem with parking and that is not going to improve. If the Planning Office recommends approval spending more time and money is a complete waste.
Thame is a thriving, growing town – yet the shopping options are poor and expensive. A massive amount of people go to Wheatley/Aylesbury to shop or do online shopping. Tesco is very much needed here, do the right thing SODC. APPROVE tesco
We love to come to thame and support the local shops and market butcher’s. I live in Watlington and we mannage thame is bigger with more shops I wouldn’t have to go to asda if I lived in thame . I don’t welcome a big Tesco I think thame would loose its atmosphere. And local businesses would suffer. Rember they have families to support to.
I shop at ASDA Wheatley every week, as I couldn’t do a comlpleat weekly shop in thame I would really welcome a Tesco in thame
Hi, All I can find out is that there was a Bull Inn in Thame, later to become a china shop called Taurus, and then Hadley’s. But I have left a post on the facebook page ‘Nostalgic Thame’ which is followed by lots of people very knowledgeable about Thame, so some light may yet be shed on your quest. Good luck.
Hello I wonder if you could help, I am trying to find out about a public house called The Bull Inn which was situated in Thame High street in the 1850’s I am studying genealogy for a friend whose great grandfather was the publican there. Does the inn still exist.
Thanks for your help
Alan
We need more bins all over Thame. Totally agree the dog bins are misplaced in Elms Park but what happened to the litter bin at the start of the alleyway there? The alley is full of discarded packed lunches and litter. Yuk!
Maybe the street cleaner should start earlier as every time I have been in Thame around 7am there is rubbish around the town from the kebab shop . And see on a couple of times the street cleaner going to the toilet in the corner of the cattle market is a joke …
epidemiological and visual evidence indicates that people in Thame ( and generally) are getting more than enough to eat with the present level of shelf space so there is no need for more.
The argument will be advanced by Tesco that a new store would provide more ( poorly paid) jobs. If true, this would only mean that food distribution had become less productive.
Better strategy for Thame if a new super-market is deemed necessary would be to encourage Aldi or Lidl to move in as they are much more efficient and pay significantly higher wages.
You need to contact the charity direct to ask them. http://www.tfsr.org/contact/
Only last May people voted for “cuts” in public finances. Since then many services especially for the poor and vulnerable have been withdrawn or reduced.
We should bear in mind that Cameron et al got voted in by 26% of the electorate ; president Assad of Syria was confirmed in office by a bigger percentage without the help of the Murdoch press.
No there isn’t, otherwise I would get all sorts of spam and abuse and inappropriate events listed there! but I will list the production in the EVENTS section of Thame.Net. If you email me directly in the future editor@thame.net, I’m happy to list your events.
I’m afraid I have no further info myself other than what I wrote in the article. I presume you have done a Google search, ‘capability brown, rycote park’ and found these articles http://tiny.cc/f8iz7x Otherwise I suggest you contact the owners of Rycote, Mr and Mrs Bernard Taylor. There is a public phone number for Rycote Chapel, which is in the grounds 01844 210210, and is open to public sometimes. Hope that helps.
interested in the 4th earl,s assiosation with lancelot brown {
capability} extent of garden works.Myself and two others are
writing a history of Rycote Magna and therefore interested
in rycote pond and its dividing walls
Hi Sonja,
Is there a way to add an event to the Thame.net website, without you having to do the work?
I would like the following event to be listed:
SISTER ACT IS COMING TO THAME
INTER CHURCH PRODUCTIONS
present the Divine Musical Comedy
Sister Act
By Josef Weinberger Ltd.
Tuesday 16th- Saturday 20th February 2016
Lord Williams’s Upper School, Oxford Road, Thame
Tuesday-Friday 16th-19th 7.45pm
Saturday 20th 3pm & 7.45pm
Booking lines are open now at http://www.thelittleboxoffice/icp
For more information http://www.interchurchproductions.com
Yes Please! Play Yes
23rd January 7:45pm
With around 35 million recordings sold, Yes, the greatest progressive rock band, had huge success in the 70s with albums such as Fragile, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going for the One. With their large scale pieces, virtuosity and imagination these albums completely exploded the scope of what Rock and Popular music could achieve.
Yes also had chart success with numerous singles including Roundabout, America (Simon and Garfunkel), Wondrous Stories and Owner of a Lonely Heart.
YES PLEASE, the UK’s leading Yes Tribute Band, faithfully reproduce this intricate, impassioned and inspirational music with full vocal harmonies, authentic 70s sounds, and gritty guitars. Add Welsh lead singer Mr Tom Edmunds soaring Andersonically high above and you have the excitement and rarity of a classic Yes performance!
I have to say . I was born and bought up in Thame, leaving in 1988. I visit my parents on a regular basis and there is nothing in the town to make me move back. When reading what goes on in the Gazette or talking to real locals the town/council is run by a load of toffee nosed twats [their phrase not mine] who are not real townsfolk. Why not allow Sainsbury / Tesco in to the town. Why try to stop the fair coming to town. Where I now live [a small market town] we have a Waitrose like Thame, but also a Sainsbury, Tesco and Aldi, the town centre is full of independent and some chain shops most of which are thriving. We also have a twice weekly market. The supermarkets bring people into the town from the surrounding area. Dave you have a fair point, when I left there were 17 pubs in Thame, you can now count them on one hand. We have had three pubs close in that time plus a Weatherspoons has opened that although other publicans were worried hasn’t affected them. I’m affraid I just find Thame boring thes days.
we reckon it’s coz it is stuffed with really friendly people. Our kids go to school here, we run a business here. No matter which shop you go in (charity or private) the people you talk to always have time for a smile. That’s what makes a town beautiful. It isn’t about buildings or cute streets. It’s people.
provides all our needs
go chris
Dave – I would say that we have more than enough restaurants ranging from the posh (Thatch and Spread) right down to the decent pub food (Figg) with great curry, chinese and itlian thrown in. Added to that, probably the best kebab van ever. We have plenty of drinking establishments with great wine, if you bother to ask. There aren’t many small towns with a better spread of shops, so these awards are fully deserved. Also, many congratulations to those who take the time to promote our town and try to maintain it’s character – all threatened by campanies who can see the gold and want some for themselves!
Lord knows why Thame keeps getting recognition with s high st full of charity shops and hairdressers. One can only hope the large hole Cargo will leave will be filled by something worthwhile like a decent restaurant or wine bar and not left to fester empty.
Done! https://www.thame.net/events/yes-please-play-yes
Dear Sonja,
Could you possibly list our event on Thame.net please?
Best wishes,
Richard
Yes Please play YES
Players Theatre
Nelson Street
Thame, Sat 23rd Jan 2016
With around 35 million recordings sold, Yes, the greatest progressive rock band, had huge success in the 70s with albums such as Fragile, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going for the One. With their large scale pieces, virtuosity and imagination these albums completely exploded the scope of what Rock and Popular music could achieve.
Yes also had chart success with numerous singles including Roundabout, America (Simon and Garfunkel), Wondrous Stories and Owner of a Lonely Heart.
YES PLEASE, the UK’s top Yes Tribute Band, faithfully reproduce this intricate, impassioned and inspirational music with full vocal harmonies, authentic 70s sounds, and gritty guitars. Add Welsh lead singer Mr Tom Edmunds soaring Andersonically high above and you have the excitement and rarity of a classic Yes performance!
Tickets;
http://thameplayers.co.uk/yes-please-play-yes/
With pleasure. I have added TCC2 https://www.thame.net/thame-community/clubs-and-groups
Legiondery? I think you mean Legendary…
Hello. On this page, https://www.thame.net/thame-community/clubs-and-groups, under “Theatre and Music Groups”, I see you mention the Thame Chamber Choir. Would you like to add the chidlren’s section of the choir, known as TCC2? My son is a member, and I maintain the web site. The heading could be Thame Chamber Choir Juniors, and the web site to link to is: http://tcc2.org/ Thanks!
I’m 70 years old ( soon too old to drive) and thinking of moving to Chinnor. I won’t consider this if there are no buses as well as no rail services. I wouldn’t want to to isolated in such a small community.
This will affect house prices so why pay for council taxes for services you don’t get. This is a vicious downward spiral. What’s left!.
R.I.P Nick, I’m proud to call you my brother.
What a tragic untimely event – such a talented photographer and a great friend to many of us, a momentous loss to his family and the town of Thame. Thank you Nick, you are greatly missed.
This is a really lovely and magical thing to see, and the children look forward to it every year.
rubbish us of Churchill Crescent and near by residents would look forward to no Taxi fares of £4.50 or £5. each way for every time we go shopping.
Regarding Thame Choral Society’s concert, we published the info a couple of weeks ago in the ‘Entertainment News’ section https://www.thame.net/archives/22893 but to help publicise it, we will add it to the ‘Events’ section too ASAP. Of course, the only way to not miss ANYTHING going on in Thame, is to become a subscriber 🙂 https://www.thame.net/subscribe
The info re: Beerfest was as given to us. I have checked on the website and changed the venue to Haddenham village hall, as stated on the website – We have to use a postcode to get the map to work http://haddenham-beer-festival.co.uk/venues/ Hopefully anyone with half a brain will click on the weblink we provide and get all the info they need. Thanks for pointing out though.
Haddenham Beer Festival on Dec 12th is actually called the Winterfest. It. Is held in a giant sized marquee in Bank Park not at the Youth and Community Centre.
Can you help please with info re a concert that Thame Choral Society is giving in Thame on Sat 12th – venue, time, ticket info.
Many thanks.
Christina J
All the details are here Kath. https://www.thame.net/archives/23065
Hi
Where can I find times etc for the Christmas lights turn-on on Friday?
Many thanks!
WELL DONE THAME
I went to john hampden school im now 23 . But is still remember the assemblys he always used to do . Mr haigh was a great headmaster and he always made sure the school was a safe place to be and always put the pupils first .
Happy retirement mr haigh and well deserved too. Xx from
Charlotte williams.
My 3 children loved being at this school, I miss this school and the reason being is that there was a fantastic understanding Headmaster! Assembly’s were always brilliant and so were your speeches Mr Haigh there won’t be another like you. Hope you enjoy your retirement and hope to see you about the town. One thing we all remember is one year going on holiday to the Isle of Wight you & Mrs Walters was on the same Ferry, the kids faces was a picture they didn’t expect to see thier Headmaster on the same Ferry Happy Retirement & enjoy from Mr & Mrs Short, Emma, Thomas & Jake xx
The mystery is solved! Apparently the wrong ‘Dung Beatles’ facebook page had been referenced & the wrong picture was taken from there. The correct facebook page has been found and the picture changed. I hope to see you there? Sounds fun!
The information was sent to me as a press release which has been mostly cut and pasted into the post. I’ve contacted the source of the PR and await their response. Thanks for drawing this to my attention.
Hello Thame dot net – the info above is not correct in as much as the article refers to the wrong Dung Beatles band! …although the web address (www.thedungbeatles.co.uk) is correct! the band that will be playing are not a comedy band but a musical tribute… Hope you can put this right!
TO THAME FIRST
We hope that the Planning Application to S O D C for a proposed outof town Tesco does not get passed this Store is not required keep Thame a Market Town if Tesco is allowed this could be the start of other out of town development for Thame
We do not need another supermarket. We have s nice town centre of shops and 3 supermarkets jpw much shopping do we need to do
Don’t know what the cause was but the day drivers learn that the road in question has a hidden dip in it the safer it will be for everyone. Overtaking before clearing the brow is suicide, especially since most people overtaking there are topping 75mph!
Even David Cameron is dismayed by the consequences of his own policies and has asked leaders of Oxfordshire CC to number 10 to help spell it out to him. Older readers will remember when Thatcher’s slash and burn policies ended in riots and urban incendiarism. However the electorate must face the consequences of having voted them into office albeit with only about 36% of the vote.
It would appear that all of a sudden we seem to have a run of crashes near that kingsey road roundabout. I have to ask the question is this a result of the recent heavy lorry traffic that we now appear to have due to the site opposite the northern entrance to Cromwell Avenue causing during damp periods to cover the bypass road with mud
. Having recently replaced my window screen due to a lorry not covering his load I now avoid this section of road if I can. Have any others suffered with damage to vehicles as a result in this increase of heavy goods vehicle movement
Well, what we’d like is some very tall trees to hide those awful flat roofed Milton Keynes style houses.
This will also provide some privacy to us who use the park.
No Michelle, they won’t, they’ll just drive to Tesco on the bypass, and not shop anywhere in the Town Centre, which has no benefit to Thame. There is no benefit to Thame from these people at the moment, and no benefit if there is a Tesco on the bypass.
But then others won’t go out of Thame to do full weeks/months shop
Restore a separate tourist office which is open on Saturdays. As I recall, the one we originally had was closed by the District Council. If this was for economic reasons maybe the decision was a false economy. When one visits a new town or resort its tourist office somehow underlines its difference or separateness from one’s familiar world – as a place worth exploring and values itself, and a place to which its worth returning.
How about repairing the pavements on Lashlake estate – especially Willow Road!! There’s quite a few of your older residents living there, who have been paying their rates/taxes for decades. My mum, who’s lived there since 1968 and is 80, chooses to walk on the road because she is worried that the uneven suraces might cause her to trip or fall – it has happened before!! Thank you and fingers crossed!
Not sure about a record – I’ll have to ask Sue Boyle! Thame Twinning Quiz today (Friday) should be fun! Thame football club 7.30pm
What a magnificent amount to raise. Must be Quiz record in Thame. Well done to all concerned.
Oo ‘er! You’re obviously not a Guardian reader then or your poor bench would be riddled with chisel marks! Thanks for pointing out the typo Stuart X
It might be an idea to try looking up “tournament” in a dictionary before using a similar selection of letters (with a notable substitution) as a headline!
I am but a humble hewer of wood, rather than a wordsmith, but poor spelling makes me stab my bench with my chisel in anger!
I see. You need to contact the town council then. The number is: 01844 212833
Actually the town does employ people who pick up litter in Elms Park every morning. However the lane nearby is full of litter and more to the point the bin that used to be there is gone. Hardly teaching our schoolchildren very well.
The two awards are for the work done and being done to keep the town centre and the high street viable and vibrant. The odd dumper of furniture – rare in Thame that’s why it’s worthy of note – does not detract from that. And who are these ‘litter pickers’ you refer to? The band of willing volunteers who step forward on Thame tidy Day? Hopefully you will join them next year, as you seem so concerned. We would welcome your help.
It is all very well praising our lovely town and entering competitions etc but the sofa left in the middle of Elms Park this week didn’t quite give the right impression. Happily it has been cleared away. HOWEVER the rest of the three piece suite is just left nearby and the Elms Road to John Hampden School Alley is chock full of litter and the unwanted contents of children’s lunch boxes. I think the litter puckers need to extend their area!
extremely disappointing and not very progressive thinking for the town!
There is an A. Denson at that address in the phone directory: Phone number (01844) 212592 You will need to dial +44 1844212592 from Canada I would think. Happy reunion !
We are in Canada and wish to contact Dr Ken W E Denson and his wife Margaret.. the last address we had for them was 5 Hazel Avenue Thame Oxon… could you tell us if they are still there or now..
Thanks
Tim B
Oh ok that’s good to know..was trying to figure out if it was my lad!
No idea I’m afraid but not around the Thame area. That’s why the picture caption makes is clear that the image is ‘for illustrative purposes only’. It is a still taken from a genuine video capturing a lad ‘playing chicken’ just before he was hit by a vehicle. Luckily for him he was not seriously hurt but nevertheless, a really stupid thing to do!
What road was the pic taken on?
A piece of cake also took part in the upper high street and raised £180
Should it not read ‘Thame is one of the best places to live if you are old or rich?’
Will add it to the Events page.
Spear Travels in Thame is holding a travel event on Wednesday 4 November at james figg stable block featuring specialist holidays to the Caribbean with guest speakers from selected hotels from the caribbean. Tickets £1 donated to local charity from 7 pm – 9 pm
all welcome.
Sorry, I don’t know his home address.
He doesn’t live on college close, does he?
I think it was a great day – as previous years- but prices seemed just a bit high this year
Ah found all about itBest of luck and I will follow your adventure with interest.The other Great Aunt Dorothyx
A gas leak and it took an hour to call the Police and the Fire Service??!! I dread to think what could have happened in that time, and don’t the Gas people have a number to call in such emergencies so that the Police and Fire Services who are not, I imagine, expert gas leak repairers, are not the first to be called. I appreciate fully the need for these Services to be called for safety’s sake but let’s get gas turned off as a priority.
What a brilliant night of comedy this was. Well done to all the organisers.
children’s – not childrens’
Our local U3A groups are having a community stall at Thame Market on October 13th (9.00 to 14.00) to explain all that we have to offer retired and semi-retired people…talks, trips, interest groups to learn new skills and share experience and much more.
On Monday this week I was given a shopping list by my wife and headed off to town. My experience was completely different to Mrs Blaine’s. Of the 30 or so items on the list, the only thing I couldn’t get in Sainsbury’s was a butternut.
As for Steve’s comment, Peter is an elected official, therefore he represents us, that’s how democracy works. His comment is backed up by the number of people who have voted in the various e-petitions and petitions. I know you will go down the route that the Thame Centre First group all have vested interests, as stated in the above article, but you can’t ignore the numbers on the on-line e-petititons.
It’s worth remembering that Thame Town Council are Irrelevant when it come to planning. The Elms has shown us that.
What was it you needed that you couldn’t find in either Co-op of Waitrose?
The result as expected. Just shows you how out of touch most of these councillors are. As for Peter Lambert’s comment “70% of town residents opposed the store” he must live in a different town. Perhaps he should resign from the council as it’s difficult to know who he represents.
I am sure if you asked all the people that live in Thame at least 85% would say, if they were being truthful, that they do their weekly shopping out of Thame so I really do not get it when certain people say it will have an effect on the Thame businesses. Surely this is already happening if people are going to one of super markets in Aylesbury or Asda in Wheatley. I feel that the super markets we have in Thame do not always have what you are looking for. A few weeks ago I went to Coop and could only find a couple of items I needed so I come out of there and went to Waitrose and still couldn’t get all what I needed.
Interestingly, I was sent out yesterday to do some shopping, and decided to test out the range at Sainsbury’s using the shopping list my wife had given to me. Out of 30 items, the only one I wasn’t able to obtain was a butternut.
Geoff, I’m not sure where your stat of “50% of the residents do not have their needs met by the current stores in Thame” comes from, but that’s certainly not my experience.
All this fuss for a Tesco. Not so sure why. Yes we need more parking if that’s the case might as well do park and ride but that’s not what Thame is all about. We have a lot of individual shops and a lot of coffee shops and hair dressers. But Thame is a strong community and a lot of shops will not benefit from a tesco as we have Waitrose co op sainsbury and a little marks Spencer’s. And 10-15 min drive to a tesco in princes risbourogh. Or Aylesbury where there is more than enough supermarkets. I can’t see why people want to make Thame like Aylesbury. I can easily jump on a bus or in my car which keeps the bus company in service. I can get all my essential from Thame and like any other I can shop online or have a trip to Aylesbury to get everything else. NO TO TESCO. Next we will have a Aldi lidl. We already have dominios just need McDonald’s and kfc and we are there
I won’t be in the Keys this Wednesday but do email me all the details to editor@thame.net. Very happy to help with such a worthwhile cause.
Hi Sonia
I wonder if Bev and I can use your site to promote our support for the Alzheimers Society. We are both walking the Stonehenge Trek on 4th September, a total of 25 miles, and are trying to raise as much money as possible. Between us we have raised £680 so far but we’d like to raise more!!
I understand you are in the Keys on Wed eve, perhaps we could have a quick chat with you then.
Many thanks.
Much was made by Centre First on Radio Oxford yesterday about the Neighbourhood Plan specifying a smaller square footage than the Tesco plan. What they don’t understand is that the Tesco opportunity is about quality not quantlty. You may find it strange I mention Tesco and quality together! What I mean is that 50% of residents do not have their need met by the 3 stores in Thame. You can go on adding the wrong type of retail space for ever but it only works if it provides the quality Thame people need. The current stores do not provide the complimentary products nor do they meet the price needs.
3000 signing an anti Tesco petition is not clear resident support at all. Most of those signatures are from the cartel of self interest.
As I have stated before anyone can collect 3000 signatures but It does not represent the majority of the population of Thame and the surrounding area which well exceeds that number by many many thousands.
Thame Town Council will support this anti Tesco campaign because they have no choice. They have always been supportive of the business cartel by the long term councillors that make up the council.
SODC will be the decision makers and they will hopefully look at the bigger picture as the development of Thame has only just started. Thame Centre First is sadly stuck in the past.
We need tescos. That is all.
Hugh.
That is because a no vote will always achieve a stronger response. There is far more vitriol with nimbys
Click on where it says ‘SEE HERE’ in last paragraph. or, go here direct: http://democratic.southoxon.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=9&RPID=0&HPID=0
So we have 3563 anti-Tesco vs 753 pro-Tesco. These being made up of 3000 signing the anti-Tesco petition and 653 the anti-Tesco ePetition and 600 pro-Tesco pledges and 153 the pro-Tesco ePetition.
I’d say that’s a pretty big majority for the anti-Tesco lobby, despite the “comprehensive door-knocking exercise”!
I’d be interested in the council’s view on how they can respect the clear wishes of the residents and avoid being overruled by SODC again!
We’re is the page to say yes, ?
I don’t know who’s been knocking on doors. No one has knocked at my door in Lea Park anyway. I’ll be seeing ‘the fors’ tomorrow and so will ask them.
Heard nothing new since this, about Consultation etc. https://www.thame.net/archives/21220 I guess that once the consultation is over, they will have to analyse the data before talking to bus companies. This link might help: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/public-transport-strategy-and-reviews
Any news on potential bus route changes to incorporate that end of town?
Otherwise every new resident will be using cars for every single journey.
There is currently no public transport serving this area.
Sorry Sonja, I didn’t make that clear – either the “Thame needs Tesco” group or another pro-Tesco lobby have been knocking on doors asking people to sign their petition – it’s this petition that I’d be interested in knowing the numbers from.
So far we have the 3000 signing the “Thame Centre First” petition, and 563 on the ePetition. Then only 153 signatures on the pro-Tesco ePetition.
I think the clue is in the headline !!
Sonja, my understanding is that there are 2 ePettions with 563 vs 153 in favour as per the article, but that there is a separate for petition and they have been around knocking on doors to drum up support. It’s this separate one that I’d be interested in knowing the numbers!
I am one of hundreds who cannot do a main shop in Thame and travel to Wycombe, Aylesbury or Wheatley. Don’t understand why people think a Tesco will damage Thame town centre and I don’t want to. Look at all the hairdressers, charity shops, cofffee shops, arty/knick knack shops that populate the High Street. Tesco won’t take trade from Newitts, Wrens or Waitrose. Sainsburys may suffer but only of they don’t improve their pricing
The answer to your question is in the article! Follow the link to the ‘fors’ petition.
Tony, how is that any more ironic than an Englishman who comes from the country that gave us Waitrose, Sainbury’s, the Co-op and M&S saying the same things? BTW, it may have escaped you, but we already have all four of these! What I find more amazing is that outsiders can see the damage that a Tesco will do and people who live here can’t!
As for Simon’s comment, it will; be interesting to contrast the 3000 who signed the Anti-Tesco petition with the number who signed the pro-Tesco one! Does anyone have this number yet?
So Ariane who lives in Germany , a country that gave us Lidl & Aldi doesn’t believe in big stores , a bit ironic I think !
I’m from Germany and I’ve visited Thame several times. My last stay in your lovely town was two weeks ago……You have such wonderful little stores in your town and you don’t need such a supermarket at the outskirts. So I totally support your petition.
What a farce. Anyone can get 3000 signatures from local business owners, their employees, employees friends, business owners friends and so it goes on. They do not represent the general public. With the new houses being built in Haddenham & Thame the idea that we should only have the town centre to shop is ridiculous. 3000 people who need to get real.
Well spotted Freda and George – should have checked more closely before copying and pasting bulletins from Thames Valley Police!
Is it off SITE or do you mean OUT OF SIGHT?
Did you manage to find the report John after I replaced the link address? I only ask because I noticed today that the same message ‘Bad Security Code’ is coming up AGAIN, and that the document (and the heritage statement) have a new address. Very weird. The best thing is to go directly to the ‘supporting documentation’ link on the planning application details here http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/ccm/support/Main.jsp?MODULE=FolderView&ID=465964951&CODE=4F195919839F8E6985C85EC1A42643AE&NAME=Supporting_Documentation&REF=P14/S3841/FUL and scroll down to the heritage and archaeology reports.
These specific areas of rubber matting were already badly damaged due to lack of maintenance. It seems unlikely there have been any inspections for some while because the matting is damaged in several area, concrete edges are exposed, the swings are twisted and out of line and covered in pigeon crap. The whole play area has been run down in recent years, probably because certain decision makers knew that the Elms development was in the bag. The logic would be that there’s point in investing in maintenance if the developers are going to pick up the bill and glory for refurbishment. Then look at the basket ball court which hasn’t seen so much as a squirt of weed killer for several years.
Thanks for the details Lisa. Towersey Fringe now added to the events listing.
Have Rectory started works already?
Hi Sonja
I hope you are well.
I notice that the Towersey Fringe event at Towersey Playing Fields on 30th August isn’t listed under the events section on thame.net
The details can be found at http://www.towerseyfringe.co.uk
How do I go about getting our event listed please?
Thanks for your help.
Kind regards
Lisa
I’m sorry about the links problem Eric. They certainly worked when tested before the post went live yesterday, so a bit of a mystery. It could have been a temporary problem with SODC’s website. I’ve remade the links and they seem to be working OK now. Do let me know if you continue to have problems. SF
Hello Sonja,
the link on this page, https://www.thame.net/archives/21627#comments to the Archaeological evaluation, http://tiny.cc/kz9g1x, doesn’t seem to work. It gives a ‘Bad Security Code’ message. Any chance you could fix this?
“There is no point in conserving something that serves no purpose.”
With incredibly ignorant statements like this, its no wonder ‘Hugh’ prefers to hide behind an alias (Hugh Jarse) on this site. I doubt anyone with even an ounce of intelligence could ever describe 10 acres of meadowland as ‘serving no purpose’.
Elms Field has contributed more to this town and planet than you or I could ever comprehend. Just because you can’t walk through the land or live on it currently doesn’t mean it serves no purpose. In fact, its only the choice of the current custodian that the field doesn’t do anything ‘visible’ at the moment. Up until a few years ago I understand sheep grazed and furthermore, in living memory, the land hosted community events too. That’s not to mention the millions of tonnes of CO2 it has ingested over the years and the millions of species that have no doubt called it home too!
The funny thing is, the environmental impact of developing this land isn’t even the most compelling reason not to. Have you considered traffic generation during construction and after development? How about pressure on infrastructure such as schools and nurseries in this vicinity? What about the security implications of opening up the park on the side (bearing in mind the park was enclosed at the Broadwaters end only a few years ago to curb anti-social behaviour)? How about the privacy implications of the double storey balconies overlooking the park? I won’t go on…
I actually have no real desire to see the land opened to the public, development or no development. This is the private grounds of a lovely house, no reason why it shouldn’t stay that way to be enjoyed by someone who can afford it (which, ironically, is what the current owner told people he intended to do of course!). That said augmenting Elms Park with this land as a nature reserve would be pretty awesome and provide real benefit to the Town too. Not sure you can say that about a bunch of 3 storey, flat roofed houses?!
The fact that this land need not be developed because the comparatively few houses in this development could be distributed to other sites in Thame (as 8 already need to be) proves that this is an unnecessary development and really should be conserved as a greenfield site as it always was destined to be. Until it got railroaded into the TNP that is.
Thanks for pointing that one out, it was noted but if you were displaying that level of ignorance wouldn’t you also use a pseudonym
Huge Arse (Hugh Jarse) lol
Hugh,
Please do not misrepresent me in your replies. I am not claiming to speak for anyone just pointing out facts.
It is interesting that you feel that 2100 is a small number and 2175 is a large number and I assume you apply this same philosophy to using the term ‘many people’.
It is also interesting that you feel the Elms serves no purpose, in stating that you are not disagreeing with me but with English Heritage and SODC who classified the Elms as a Conservation area and gave extensive reasons for doing so that you may wish to read.
Lets agree to differ as I am only interested in discussing facts and you seem to have gone down the root of personal attack so I will not debate further but allow the facts to speak for themselves.
Regards
Adrian
Adrian, you asked me to explain my stance that there are many people in Thame who are quite happy with houses being built on the Elms, I believe I have explained that through the numbers who approved the TNP and the small number who signed the Elm Petition.
Unlike you I’m not making any unjustified claims to speak for the majority of Thame residents, just pointing out that there many who disagree with your views.
As an aside, the areas that were used for the Shakespeare production around the house last year aren’t being developed, so I’m sure that future generatations will still be able to enjoy similar events.
There is no point in conserving something that serves no purpose.
Thanks Hugh,
It is not safe or that easy to state that the people of Thame who voted for the TNP voted for the development of the Elms. The YES campaign leaflets explicitly stated (misleadingly) that it would make no difference to the Elms if they voted YES or NO.
Whenever the Elms was discussed at public consultation it was overwhelmingly voted against yet it still got included in the TNP. No one has been able to explain that and I have asked extensively.
English Heritage and the SODC both consider the Elms to be an important site, generally areas of a town that achieve conservation status are not run of the mill. I agree with you that the Elms can be of more benefit to the town but I disagree that destroying it is the best way to achieve that.
As an aside double the legally allowed amount was spent on the TNP YES campaign which was much better publicised and funded than the Elms Petition yet achieved only a few more subscribers despite its misleading campaign literature (I have examples of this if you would like reminding).
I hope you enjoyed the Shakespeare production in that wonderful setting it is a shame future generations will not be able to.
FYI I am not a nimby who overlooks the Elms I am a concerned resident of 24 years that cares about the town and its character and feel that now is not the time destroy the conservation area especially with all the other changes the town is undergoing (Industrial area, cattle market, extensive housing).
Ah, yes. I see what you mean. Good point
Yes the total population is close to 12,000, but I was referring to the number that are old enough to vote, which I believe is between 8000 and 9000 people.
I think the point in this case is that, whether you support or oppose development of The Elms, this particular application/design is not right for the town in several key ways. It does not even conform to the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.
This is all agreed upon among many of the key players in the planning process including Thame Town Council, SODC’s Conservation Officer and English Heritage.
In fact, just about the only person, other than the developers, that actually thought this application was acceptable is the SODC planning officer, Emily Hammerton who chose to accept the developers subjective opinions on issues such as the heritage impact of the development whilst ignoring the opinion of her very own Conservation Officer who clearly stated these opinions were incorrect. Why bother employing someone to advise you if you’re going to ignore their advice?
Another obscurity of SODC planning is that the committee members from the parish (i.e. Thame’s District Councillors) were not eligible to vote on this decision. Thame’s council was asked for their opinion on behalf of the people of Thame and they UNANIMOUSLY asked SODC to refuse permission as it wasn’t right in this instance and presented relevant planning reasons. Yet, of course, this plea was clearly ignored.
So if you think democracy has been upheld by the passing of this application then you are sadly mistaken. The Neighbourhood Plan has been overridden in several key ways and the democratically elected representatives of the people of Thame have been ignored, in fact, it would appear that Thame has had very little say in this application in any way.
To gain an insight into the competence of the planning committee on the night of the decision, they discussed the proposed Nelson Street 1-way system as helping traffic flow. Of course, anyone with any insight into the area will know that this proposal has been scrapped by Oxfordshire County Council and the committee had to be told by a member of the public attending the meeting that this was the case (they told her ‘sit down, shut up’ of course).
Finally, 2 things amaze me about all of this. Firstly, I can’t believe that on the night of the meeting there were only 3 or 4 Town Councillors there representing the town and secondly why has the Town Council not made a stand against this decision since it was made – not a hoot out of them saying how disappointed they are let alone launching some sort of legal case due to the breaking of the neighbourhood plan. Makes you think they just don’t care?
Claire, thanks for the numbers. All I said was that there were a great many people in favour of putting houses on the Elms, however your research seems to indicate that we have 2,175 in favour of the Neighbourhood plan that included development on the Elms, vs the 2,100 who signed the anti-petition. This could be interpreted as the majority were in favour!
Pointing out that barely a quarter of the Town voted Yes for the Neighbourhood Plan and therefore it’s not a majority view is a spurrious argument. Of those who voted, the majority were in favour, thats how democracy works!
EDITOR: Thame’s population is nearer 12,000 Claire.
If 2900 people voted in the Neighbourhood Plan referendum and 75% of those voted yes, as reported in the article above, that makes 2175 people who voted yes. The electorate in Thame is somewhere between 8000 and 9000 people so barely a quarter of the town voted yes. Not what you would call a majority.
The real shame is that the Elms site ever ended up in the Neighbourhood Plan. And that the planning application ended up being voted through by 4 councillors out of a committee of 11 – that doesn’t seem like democracy to me?
I find it difficult to believe but I actually agree with you this time Hugh !
I have lived in Thame for a similar time as you & my wife, more than double that & neither have experienced the Elms ! I certainly voted for the NHP to develop the site
Adrian, that’s easy.
1. The majority of the Town approved the neighbourhood plan that included developing on The Elms.
2. Only 2,100 people signed the Elms Petition depspite the widespread publicity.
I’ve lived in Thame for almost 20 years and the first time I saw the Elms Field was when the Shakespeare production was held there last year. What use is an empty field to anyone other than the nimbys who can see it?
Hugh, Could you qualify “a great many people” please because it is my experience and the experience of every public consultation there has been on the Elms that the residents of Thame do no want this development. This is also reflected in 2100 people who have signed the petition against the Elms most of whom live in Thame. I understand that you feel that it is ridiculous to call the Elms a ‘Key’ feature but this is the conclusion of the “Thame Conservation Area Character Appraisal” of 2006 which has several paragraphs on why they think that so I wondered if you could again qualify that statement a little so I can understand the alternative view. Thank you.
There are a great many people living in Thame who are in favour of putting houses on The Elms. Calling The Elms a “key feature of the Town” is rediculous – it’s land close to the Town centre that we have no access to anyway.
Do any of those who voted for the development live anywhere near Thame? Farewell democracy.
I think this is excellent news!! A great opportunity to promote Thame and keep it special by preserving and maintaining its unique High Street that we would not want destroying by an out of town superstore!
Thank you for your kind words Norman. It was felt important that the people of Thame who were unable to attend the meeting in person, because of the distance and the timing, were able to read about what happened, and who said what! Perhaps important planning meetings like this should be held in the towns that will be affected by the decision.
You need to sort this out with Toogle and Turn2Us, because if people google ‘Thame Welfare Trust’ these are the sites people are directed to. The web is where people seek information these days. Perhaps it would be better if you had your own webite to explain what you do and who you are etc. The point some of the councillors keep making whenever Thame Welfare Trust comes up, is that very few people know of its existence nor what the organisation does. http://tiny.cc/axb70x
Thame Welfare Trust is STRICTLY limited to the people of Thame
The remit is ‘for the relief of the poor and needy in the Parish of Thame. ‘ Help and advise is NOT available on line and this website has not been set up by Thame Welfare Trust
Thanks for this report. Very helpful and informative. Local journalism at its best.
I wonder what this tells us about the Tories much vaunted policy of localism? When a unanimous vote by Thame Town Council and well argued presentations by our local representatives (Councillors Styles and Dodds) can be overridden by a remote council which has never had the interests of Thame people at heart, it makes you doubt the democratic process. The so-called debate in the council chamber had the passion of a wet lettuce (apologies to lettuce lovers), the intelligence of an amoeba and the vision of a sticky toffee pudding. Yes, we’ll get used to having a monstrosity over our garden fence, but it could have been so much better if profit was not the overriding motive. A modest number of cottage style homes could have enhanced the landscape, but these monstrosities, which breach the constraints of the Neighbourhood Plan the developer claimed to support, will be “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved friend”.
There should be a full independent enquiry as to how this land got onto the Thame plan in the first place.
Good Afternoon
Another part of Thame Being buiilt on
The Schools in Thame are full
Parking difficult at times
Parking at The Health Centre impossible at times
Thame is a Lovely Market Town keep it that way and stop building all these houses
Thame is a lovely Market To
Another blow to the young and vulnerable by the ” we’re all in this together” government as it cuts local authority funding. What does our MP have to say about this?
The bus services are vital for the communities of Thame, Chinnor & surrounding villages particularly for the young people, elderly & those who don’t drive. The bus service from Thame to Chinnor & to High Wycombe gives some independence to young people who like to go further afield to shop or go to the cinema or meet with friends.
This will make the vaunted “big society” a bit more constricted for non car owners who are disproportionately the young and the elderly. However not all gloom as David Cameron’s father-in-law still has 20,000 acres of Scottish island plus Oxfordshire farmland ( all subsidised) to play in.
Not all of us own a car. These services are a necessity to many ☹
The 40 bus for people who live in Chinnor is our only way to get to places like Thame and High Wycombe. We don’t have any other bus service, please don’t take it away. Many people rely on it, and for the elderly, teenagers and people who don’t have cars it is our only mode of transport. Don’t maroon us in Chinnor!
Will do Claire.
Hi Sonja.
Would it be possible to put our charity event on your pages please. We are raising funds for the Shabbington Village Hut.
2nd Annual Scarecrow Fun Day . 5th September. 5pm until late.
The Old Fisherman , Shabbington.Scarecrow Competition, Tug Of War across the river, Open mike evening. Food, bouncy castle, face painting, The stocks, Splat the rat,welly wanging and much more. Free entry.
If you need any more info please call me.
Thanks you
Claire
Trustee and Commitee member.
Why would arriva blame the injured party? Just curious?
Honestly “scaffold accident” house
Hanging baskets a “health and safety” hazard
Some people really need to get a grip…
Where are the common sense people?
I wonder if Arriva will blame the injured passenger for the crash !?
THAT HOUSE ALOS HAS 2 HANGING BASKETS THAT OVERHANG THE FOOT PATH WHICH IS HIGHWAY PROPERTY AND FLOWER POTS ON THE PAVEMENT HOPE THE HANGING BASKETS DO NOT FALL ON SOMEBODY WHERE IS THE HEALTH AND SAFTY
I understand things are now More or less back to normal Gloran. For future reference, please email me separately before you go planning the involvrment of Thame.Net in collecting emails etc for a campaign. I’m very happy to discuss though. Thanks, Sonja
Does O2 consider Thame a third-world country? The evidence is in and the answer is ”Not even that Highly”.
For Thame residents and visitors on which the O2 network is inflicted (and I use the term advisedly, the O2 network hasgiven poor or no coverage for weeks. O2’s reason? The O2 live coverage checker states:
”Sorry a phone mast close to you isn’t working. Sorry, there’s a mast near you that isn’t working and we’re waiting for our third party supplier to visit the site to fix the problem. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
Frankly I donlt care that they use a sub-contractor – that is the servoice provider’s issue and not mine.
Are you affected? Well – you should certainly know by now!
This affects all networks that use O2, and that includes Giff Gaff and Tesco Mobile. While this is outside the ‘phone service providers control (unless you are contracted directly with O2 of course), it is still up to the service provider to press the network provider to deliver.
What should you do if you are affected?:
1) Complain to your ‘phone service provider.
2) Set a firm deadline to get this fixed or you will leave and request compensation. I said a week, but out of grace will give them up to 2 weeks,
3) Confirm by email and let https://www.thame.net know; let’s get some idea of how many are affected.
4) If (when I suspect) you are ready to “walk” then see Which on cancellation (LINK BELOW) – and dont forget to get a PAC code’if you want to keep your number, you may also want to get your mobile unlocked – so check first’on YOUR cancellation options.
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-keep-losing-mobile-phone-signal-in-my-home-what-can-i-do
To the Editor: can we try to get an official statemnt from the servide provider here?
Signed: Gloran
Thame O2 mast has been down for 7 days now, a lot of unhappy people on Facebook, we all keep getting told something different!!!! The last thing I was told it should be working last night at 6pm, earlier in the week I got told it was working fine & it was low because of the useage, get it sorted O2 stop fobbing us off
Thank you for letting me know Beth. I’ve removed The Croft from our accommodation page
Please remove The Croft, Chinnor Hill, oxon 01844 353654 from your website as no longer trading as B and B
Thank you
Beth Smith
Tony you seem to be on a bit of a one man crusade!
Tesco’s has been demonstrating a total lack of ethics in its business, much to the dismay of their shareholders who have got a taste of the medicine that this business is built on. To ignore the strength of feeling within the Thame shows that the CEO is not intent, as he has claimed, on changing the way that Tesco does business….. its the same old destructive steamroller, ignore the public, rip the heart out of every town that they can!!
We have told them NO before, we do not want them in our town,
L I S T E N for a change!
You’ll need to contact the organisers for that information. I suggest you email: Email: karenshardlow@fnhospice.org.uk BEST OF LUCK FOR THE EVENT.
Could we have some indication of the route and possible times?
Simply Tina for all the specialist shops, cafes and to just enjoy the town without the hassle of finding somewhere to park. We would have our own “Park & Ride ” courtesy of Tesco
the bus will take people from the town to Tesco as well.
Tony,
I don’t think I’m completely missing the point. What would you need to go into Thame Town Centre for if you have just done your shopping in an out of Town Supermarket?
Stress the tourism potential. Bring back the tourist office.
Tina, You are completely missing the point of a courtesy bus from Tesco into the town centre.
As part of a Planning application they can be “forced” by the imposition of a condition on the approval to provide long stay car parking for those who either want to travel by car ( from wherever ) & either shop first & leave their goods in the trolley lockers or in their cars & then use the facility of the courtesy bus without the hassle of trying to find a space in the town centre to park. What a great way to get more people from outside Thame to visit out market town !
I would understand everyone’s anger at a super store being built, if the town centre wasn’t filled with charity shops?! There are more charity shops than anything else and a new one opening soon?! Those who shop in Waitrose will always shop in Waitrose!!
GOOD MORNING
PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW PLANNING PERMISSION FOR AN OUT OF TOWN TESCO STORE IN THAME WE HAVE 3 SUPERMARKETS TO FULFILL OUR REQUIREMENTS AND INDEPENDANT SHOPS WHICH WE SHOULD SUPPORT KEEP THAME A MARKET TOWN
CARPARKING CAN BE APROBLEM SOMETIMES AND SOME MORE DISABLES CARPARKING THAME REQUIRES A CINEMA FOR US ALL OR A BOWLING COMPLEX FOR THE YOUNGSTERS AND KEEP THEM IN THE TOWNINSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO TO OXFORD OR AYLESBURY THAME ALSO REQUIRES A GOOD GENERAL STORE
THAME IS A LOVELY MARKET TOWN PLEASE KEEP THIS
AND DO NOT ALLOW A SUPER STORE TO BE BUILT PEOPLE WILL GO TO THE OUT OF TOWN STORE AND NOT COME INTO THE TOWN CENTRE
I cannot imagine for one minute that people will come from the surrounding villages & do their shopping at an out of town supermarket THEN hop on a bus with all their shopping, lug it around Thame high street, why would they need to do that? They will have bought everything they need at the supermarket. They’ll just go home on the bus supplied by the supermarket. An out of Town supermarket which is what the application for Howland Road is will not encourage people to shop in Thame Town Centre it will do exactly the opposite.
Tony – there’s in zero benefit to Thame of the people from the surrounding villages coming to use a Tesco store on the bypass. If they can get what they need from Tesco, they will be in and out without going neat the high street, The only effect for Thame will be more traffic on the bypass.
I would say that more “Self Centered” opinions are coming from the pro-Tesco lobby who have no interest in having a thriving Thame centre.
There are a lot of “Self centred” opinions as why we should have a Tesco, has nobody considered the surrounding village people who may chose to come to Thame use, the Tesco & the courtesy bus into Thame town centre rather than be kept away because of the uncertainty of being able to park in Thame. Thame centre shops must continue to offer great service but by saying go away nasty Tesco will not help
The reality is that Tesco are attempting to plug a gap in their geographic coverage of the area. This has nothing to do with them wanting to provide a valued service, new jobs or investment, they just want the revenue that a new store will bring them. That revenue has to come from somewhere, which means that other stores have to lose out as shoppping habits will change.
Tesco have no interest in INVESTING in Thame, they just want a store to generate revenue.
HooHaa – you have obviously never been in to Wrens if you think that the butchers in Thame are expensive. Their 3 for a fiver and three for £10 specials are great value. Added to that, with a proper butcher you get personal service. At the end of the day, the people who will benefit most from having a Tesco in Thame will be Tesco, not us!
Dave Lewis you couldn’t care about our town centre or our local community!
You are a business and you want your business in our town.
Community does not come in to it.
By the way if I was looking for a great shopping experience Tesco would not be what I would be thinking of.
So no thank you…take your Tesco elsewhere
Thame has to move into the 21st Century, with 800 new homes and all the new people coming we need more options and facilities.
Tesco will enhance the shopping possibilities for people and give everyone more choice..
The shops in the high street will still be ok with all the new people moving in.
Thame cannot opt out from the world and pretend time has stood still, lets get real, have a choice, reduce our carbon foot print by not having to drive to Aylesbury or Wheatley.
We need this…
I didn’t realise until last night just how many people Newitts employs …… 40 and that’s just one business in the town that will be under threat if Tesco is allowed to build OUTSIDE of the town centre.
What a “buzz” the High street had about it this morning and teaming with shoppers! Certainly will lose this feeling if Tesco came to town!
I think we have enough supermarkets in Thame, why do we need one on the outskirts? This will kill the town centre……
I understand not all people drive but there are other supermarkets out of town that can be easily reached, Tesco in Princes Risborough and Aylesbury and High Wycombe and Asda in High Wycombe and Wheatley.
Having any supermarket on the outskirts of thame will kill the town centre, it has happened in other towns…Amersham for one, it will happen here.
I will be fighting to save Thame
I take exception to the comment “don’t get caught” as related to parking on double yellows and zigzags. That’s a terrible message to put out. The message surely is: “don’t do it!”
I personally applaude Tesco coming to Thame, sainsburys and co-op offer limited ranges and waitrose is expensive. I do my weekly shop in Asda Wheatley or Tesco PR, and use the Thame supermarkets for “top up” shops. The butchers in Thame are too expensive, so I use the one in Chinnor who not only offers local produce, is very reasonable. I used to live in a town in Kent that had a similar outcry about 10 years ago, the local businesses were not affected and still going strong. It’s a competitive market and we, as consumers want choice and value for money.
Great comments from two businesses that have both been a part of Thame for many years!! Just underlines the importance of the town centre!
Childcare isn’t really the issue.
Zero hours doesn’t pay, or support, any families long term.
As a town, we voted for a Town Plan.
This application would invalidate the legitimacy of every town plan in the country.
I, personally, wouldn’t mind a corner shop.
But the people voted against it, so we cannot stand in the way of democracy.
So DWTSOT you don’t consider part time employment of use to younger families where one of the parents is willing to work evenings or weekends instead of using high priced childcare. Try looking at the wider picture
I’m not convinced that zero hours contracts will help the local employment figures.
Lesley, try shopping online.
Newitts deliver
So do waitrose
I’m sure many other local shops would if you asked.
To say that the arrival of Tesco will not affect town centre businesses is simply not true. The Thame Neighbourhood Plan clearly states that;
“any major shopping outside the town centre would be likely to undermine the town’s vitality of the town centre shops. This would be detrimental to the overall sustainability of the town and would be likely to reduce the accessibility and choice of services and facilities available to the community”.
FACT: a study in Fakenham, Norfolk found that town centre food retailers experienced a 64% decline in market share following the opening of an out of town supermarket.
Furthermore, government policy on both a national and local level is
focussing on the use of town centres for convenience shopping. Therefore, if there is a need shown for an additional store, then this is exactly where it should be placed, to act as an “anchor” for the independent shops, just as the current supermarkets do.
Is should also be noted that many independent retailers also buy their supplies locally which obviously contributes to the wider local economy and also employment.
On the subject of employment, these supposed 200 jobs are likely to be part-time or on zero hours contracts and permanent, full-time positions would be lost in the town as a result of businesses closing or relocating, so no gain here!
What would happen to Thame Market if Tesco came to town? This has been in existence since the 14th Century and is one of the most successful markets in the South East of England, providing great variety and choice at a reasonable price.
If people really do ‘care’ about the town then help to preserve what is truly great about it ……. Its High Street! Estate agents describe Thame as “a bustling market town” … let’s keep it that way and say no thank you to out of town shopping.
Tesco coming to Thame would stop a lot of people having to do their shopping out of Thame I for one would change my shopping from high Wycombe to Thame
Thame is a market town. Do we really want our local butchers, sandwich and tea shops closing due to Tescos coming to our town. They take over. . Opening all hours. We have Tescos in Aylesbury, Oxford, Princes Risborough, a brand new one in Stokenchurch.
Excellent article; very heartfelt and true. Thame desperately needs Tesco – bring it on! We aren’t all retired people who have time to shop in lots of shops/use the market. Some of work full time outside thame and have to shop outside Thame. I would welcome the chance to shop in Thame but the current supermarkets are too expensive, too small and offer little choice.
We need more choice and more food shops with all the houses being built
It sounds very NIMBY to say that Tesco ” will cheapen the place! ” . I suppose if you are trying to price younger families and couples starting out on married/ shared lives together then high house prices & limited choice stores would be a route to getting your own way ! The reason you don’t see the current stores ” heaving” is probably down to higher prices ( Waitrose ) & a limited range ( Sainsbury & Co Op ). We shop at all of those but do the ” big shop” at Tesco . Finally your comment that brands everyone who supports Tesco implies we are not welcome as Thame residents ( after 50 Yrs ) and should go & live in Aylesbury just beggars belief !
I live near thame and I certainly don’t want tescos. Tescos will cheapen the place. If I wanted to live in aylesbury I would have moved there in the first place. These large supermarkets have no place in areas like thame. I have no objection to express type supermarkets but we already have waitrose, sainsburys, coop and a mini m&s, I don’t see any of them heaving with shoppers so I’m sure another 700 houses will bring good business to them without the need to go to the dreaded tescos super giant.
The worse thing that could that happen to Thame would be to have a Tesco on the outskirts of the town, many of the small shops would disappear for ever.
I disagree strongly with the Tesco plan. Why disrupt the balance of Thame’s high street and independent shops? Retail development should not be allowed away from the centre of Thame.
I live in Chearsley and if I want to shop in Tesco I can drive to the two stores in Aylesbury.
I support the sentiments expressed by Thame Centre First. I agree that traffic congestion and parking are a problem in Thame predominantly exacerbated by the availability of free parking in the town centre. However most retailers and other businesses rely on the free parking to maintain the footfall,any any measures which end up in decreased footfall would sound the death nell for some businesses who are surviving on very small margins.A supermarket on the east of the town would increase congestion as people in the centre and the west of town will drive through the centre to get there. Think of the effect that will have on Park Sreet alone, added to the increasing intake to John Hampden School.
Sounds amazing! Just email all the details about how/why/when you started the group: a nice picture too! Also how people can join (if you want new members) and info about some of your past events, and an email contact. editor@thame.net
Just email me the details/press release and a nice picture to: Editor@thame.net
How can I announce info about this years National Garden Scheme (NGS) Thame Open Gardens charity event on your site?
Well said to both contributors below! Please ensure you sign the against petition on the SODC website and send in your objection letters prior to 25th June to help ensure we retain our unique High Street.
Hi Sonja, are we newsworthy raising money for Alzheimers disease by running in our pants. That is the Can You Navigate Thame running club (because we have a seriously convoluted route around Thame in winter to stay under street lights. We run every Tuesday and meet at the Falcon for rehydration! Photos available if it helps…
THAME SHOULD REMAIN A MARKET TOWN WITH INDEPENDANT TRADERS PLEASE DO NOT START TO HAVE RETAIL OUTLETS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE TOWN IT WILL KILL THE LOVELY PLACE THAME IS PERHAPS A FEW MORE RETAIL SHOPS THAT BICESTER TOWN CENTRE HAS AND LESS CHARITY SHOPS AND HAIR DRESSERS KEEP THE TOWN CENTRE ALIVE
Will do Sue.
Hi Sonja
I wondered if you would put our Sugarcraft meeting on your events page please.
We are the Thames Valley branch of the British Sugarcraft guild.
We meet at the Girl Guide Hall,Southern Rd,Thame,on the second
Saturday of each month.
This month (13th) we have a demonstration on Vanda Orchids.
Doors open at 1pm. An entrance fee of £7:50 for visitors.
All welcome.
Save the money and hire a mini bus for all the councillors to go to Tring and Prices Risborough and see what a small TESCOS has done to their high street shops.
Well done creative John Hampden School! A great idea from the Lions to promote community spirit – let us know where we can get the Christmas cards!
edit.
Could I just for the record point out that I don’t actually think the lovely people at DAF want to see into my house or watch me in the shower.
Just they could.
I don’t actually think they want to.
We both need bigger fence. And maybe some more blinds.
I checked the “better broadband for Oxfordshire” website (from Clarks 😉 )
I can get up to 4Mb or even 5Mb in my postcode
Long Crendon can get up to 76Mb with talktalk
And they have a corner shop and a bus.
Thank you Sonja, that is indeed good news about the internet making it into this tiny dark corner of South Oxfordshire.
In the meantime, whilst I wait, I’ll continue with my pigeon post.
And sit near Clark’s as they have free wifi.
Library is closed on Wednesdays…
A BROADBAND upgrade is on the way for two business buildings opposite the DAF site in Thame, once two new cabinets currently being installed in Thame, bring faster broadband on stream for the area. Also, you might find this website ‘Better Broadband for Oxfordshire’ useful http://www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk/home
I’m sitting on the fence.
I don’t particularly want to live next to Tesco, nor do I like living where the DAF staff can see into my living room, and watch me shower. A Tesco car park seems marginally preferable.
However.
A proposed petrol station either within or just on the edge of a blast zone next to existing housing, is lunacy.
A 24 hour petrol station would bring traffic to the site 24/7.
Next to existing housing.
And a smell of petrol.
And diesel.
And exhaust fumes.
I’m not a NIMBY
I’m not a BANANA either
I shop online.
I shop at Amazon
I shop at Sainsburys, Waitrose, Aldi, Co-op and sometimes even Tesco.
I bought food from What’s Cooking yesterday (thank you, it was delicious)
I’m trying to work at home today and I have no mobile signal due to the lack of mobile masts in Thame on this side of town.
I have limited internet as we have no fibre broadband on our street – internet shopping is so much fun when it cuts out and you don’t know if you’ve bought something or not.
And my landline crackles.
I’m living in a communication dead zone.
BT sort it out!
I’d quite like a free (Tesco paid) shuttle bus to town. We don’t have a bus route over here in the ring road industrial estate wilderness. I could go to town without the car.
If Tesco dropped the petrol station, brought super fast fibre broadband to us, brought a mobile mast (not too close to my house, thanks) and planted a huge number of trees all around the site, I’d be happy. If they clad it in wood and added a grass roof, rather than the standard ugly box hypermarket design, I’d be even happier.
And I’d still shop at Ocado. But more easily…
i was there at the time she was chasing me and brendon at the fair and we were only 13 years old
Apologies Helena – the Link is there now.
HI, i tried to follow the link to the timetable but couldn’t. Can you post it again please?
Tony, it woudl probably have served you better to do a little research on where the Sheringam Tesco is before citing this as a comparative example. It appears to be directly directly opposite the Raiway station and therefore right on the high street, not situated more than a mile away. Customers are using the Tesco car park and the 2 hours free parking and then just walking down the street into town. In the articles I can find there are also examples quoted of shops closing and “Tesco being the final nail!”.
Sure Tesco have made comments about providing a bus into town from their store in Thame, but I can’t realistically see that taking off – how happy are they going to be ferrying people into town and effectively sharing the profits around – that doesn’t seem like a good business model to me.
Mike
Thank you Alison.
Gina has been found safe and well, as reported by TVP this morning.
Out of town retail developments, such as that planned by Tesco, are discouraged by the government, it does not comply with the local development plans and would draw trade away from the Town Centre having a detrimental effect on the nature of Thame.
By all means support Tesco’s if you want Thame to become simply a mixed housing development with no sense of community, no centre or soul (much like Tesco’s me thinks!)
Do you really think that it is sensible to place the interests of ourselves, our children and our town in the hands of a company whose behaviour has done so much to damage our local and national rural community and its farmers and even, it appears, defrauded its own shareholders? Only a fool would do so.
It has been recognised that we need an affordable children’s clothes store but this does not have not to be a large Tesco on the outskirts of town!!! Sounds like an independent business opportunity to me located in the town centre!
I couldn’t agree more with Hugh Jarse’s comments here. I believe this echos the experiences of many people in our town that our local shops provide good quality, inexpensive items …. a High Street to be proud of and to be protected from Tesco’s mass produced offerings.
Hugh,
As you clearly stated in your previous response to me , you fit neatly into the ” Grey Pound ” bracket , as in fact do I,but come on, Austins for clothing ! What about families , on a budget with young children, where can they shop for reasonably priced childrens clothes in Thame ? The bookstore is great if you want something a bit different or are willing to pay the cover price and as for newsagents being threatened, I don’t think many people would drive to pick up their morning paper , when they can park on the double yellows outside the ” Chocolate Box ” in the morning or pop into Martins . As I put on twitter last night, the One Show covered the recent opening of a Tescos in Sheringham , Norfolk, a town not dissimilar to Thame and there was some evidence that footfall to the town centre shops had increased since they opened.
Well said Rachel
Unfortunately, even though I work in Thame, after a hard day I don’t want to spend my evening driving to a supermarket 9 miles away.
I shop at Tesco every week and we make the trip at the weekend which takes us out of Thame altogether.
This means that Thame town centre misses my custom totally. I am at work Monday to Friday and then drawn away on a Saturday, visiting other town centres instead.
(I have to say I have tried delivered shopping many times and just don’t like it. I like to be able to make my decisions in front of the food.)
Things change, times change, and Thame needs to move with the times not be left behind. There is a good book most of the anti’s need to read, it is called “Who moved my cheese” Maybe you will start to realise that change isn’t bad…..
Steve, I’m not anti Tesco and have been in their stores many times, I just don’t believe we need one out on the bypass where it would take business away from the Town centre. I’m far from anti-growth and fully support building on Elms Field as we need more housing. However this growth needs to be managed and directed, which is why we have a neighbourhood plan that Thame voted upon.
We need to protect what we have and balance this against the need for growth, not threaten what we have just so that Tesco can make profits by plugging a hole in their geographic coverage of the UK. We indeed do have a quaint town centre, but I take issue with the comment that the shops offer little. Clays/Wrens are not expensive and provide great quality meat. For something a little more up market, try Newitt’s. Both are great butchers with friendly and helpful staff. The bakeries offer great bread and flour, Austins provides good clothes at reasonable prices. Bookshops, toyshops, a deli, newsagent, coffee shops I’m not sure what more you want, but all of these will be threatened by Tesco. I agree with the comments on the business rates being too high, but having a Tesco on the bypass will kill these irespective of the rates.
I suggest Hugh that you take a trip to a Tesco’s then you will see what can be bought. Cloths at sensible prices, electrical goods, computer tablets, in fact just about everything you can’t get in Thame.
There are far too many blinkered views on one extra store. Whether people like it or not Thame will be forced to grow and this idea that we can keep a quaint town centre full of shops that offer little is just pie in the sky.
I have lived here all my life and am sick and tired of a small vocal group along with local councillors blocking any new development which would bring extra services and save people having to travel to either Oxford or Aylesbury for simple requirements.
If the local vocal group and councillors want to make a fuss about something then try campaigning about the outrageous business rates charged on the small shops that will cause their eventual downfall, not a Tesco store.
Living in Chinnor there is no difference in distance between going to Thame or Risborough. I choose to go to Risborough because Tesco is my preferred supermarket. While I was there today I also used a bank, hairdresser and several other shops. And I checked: there are only 2 empty shops and one of those has been let. I believe there are more than that in Thame. So a Tesco store on the edge of the town need not be the death knell to existing shops. I for one might start shopping in Thame if there were a Tesco there.
Tony – I’m quite happy for Thame to evolve, that’s what the neighbourhood plan is all about, and I support building houses at The Elms, but a fourth supermarket just won’t help our eveolution, quite the opposite. What will Tesco offer that Waitrose, Sainbury’s and the Co-Op don’t, or Asda in Wheatly once I am in the car. The infrastructure that’s creaking isn’t the supermarkets, but the dentists/doctors and schools.
Lastly, I’m nearly bald and bite my nails, so the hairdressers and nail bars are no use to this middle-aged “grey pound” man.
The so called “urbanisation” of the East of Thame is already underway with the housing estate, conversion of Angus Fire offices to flats & the second & larger industrial estate almost opposite Leyland DAF .
People have got to realise that Thame is evolving. As for the “small independents ” struggling that is largely due to lack of choice & price and as for driving 7 miles instead of 1 mile, I just don’t see the logic. Thame’s current infrastructure is already creaking under the load of it’s current population and even though the majority of people moving into the area will be limited to those who can afford the now extortionate house prices we still need to look to the town’s future albeit if we restrict it’s growth it will be those middle aged ” grey pound” , nail bar , hairdresser & estate agent visiting , who can afford to shop at Waitrose or want to restrict their menu choice to Sainsbury’s limited range !
All the visual and epidemiological evidence indicates that the last thing Thame needs is another food outlet offering spurious choice. If food supply is now adequate, how and why will a notional extra 200 jobs be created?
Will food distribution really be that less efficient if Tesco get permission to blight the town.
Regardless of whether you would actually like a large Tesco in Thame (and I count myself as a regular Tesco customer) the fact is that large Tesco supermarkets on the edge of small town centres tend to decimate that town centre. This has been seen time and time again, with small independent retailers, particularly in the realms of food, clothing and household goods, proving unable to compete. The out of town centre (ring road) location also adds to the general ‘urbanisation’ and growth of small towns, leading to more housing and urban sprawl. One leads to the other… before we know it, the eastern part of Thame will be totally urbanised with traffic lights, multi-lane roads and housing estates (Bicester provides a stark example of this effect).
No need for a Tesco! I’ll just keep going to Waitrose where I can get free coffee, free newspapers and enjoy their ‘spilling into the car park’ gardening & plants section, without worrying what the “No’s” think of me taking trade from the High St coffee & newspaper retailers or Petals, just 50 yards from the store door. Oh no, Waitrose is completely different to Tesco… it brings shoppers, especially from the surrounding villages, into Thame…. whereas a Tesco store, on the edge of our massive sprawling suburbia of a town, would strip the town of trade and decimate all of the independent shops that make our town so special. Total double-standard, no basis in fact, hogwash!
I just can’t see the benefit that having a Tesco store would deliver to the people of Thame. For a big shop I’d have to drive to get there anyway, so I may as well go to Asda in Wheatley, it’s only 7 miles. I walk to get the top-up items and the Co-Op, Sainbury’s and Waitrose offer plenty of choice.
I can see the downside of Tesco sucking business from the town centre and the specialist shops in the town centre closing due to lack of business.
I just don’t think we need it.
Well done! What a great event. The preservation of Thame’s High Street shops is vital for its continual survival.
Should we not enter the competition for 2015 considering we have so much to offer?
Not intentional Jennifer I can assure you. You may have noticed that I did not link to the ‘AGAINST’ page when I reported ‘Tesco supporters want their voices heard’ https://www.thame.net/archives/19874 But took on board the fact that I did not link to the ‘other side’ in the item you refer to either, and think it’s a good idea to link to both sides from now on. Let’s hope there will be something new to link to!
I find it strange that links to the For ‘s were only posted once someone complained?
Thame.Net reports facts and records of meetings; You will find two links at the end of the article about the ‘For Tesco’ group. Unless the ‘Fors’ mobilise themselves as well as the ‘againsts’ there is nothing to report! Don’t call yourselves ‘the silent majority’ and expect people to feel sorry for you. Write letters to the editor; have a public meeting for those who want a Tesco; DO SOMETHING and it will be reported! The facebook page has nothing about the arguments ‘For’ a Tesco.
Funny how this unbiased article has a link to a website purely dedicated to opposing Tesco’s plans?
Where do I go to in order to show my support?
Let’s have a bit of fairness in the reporting from our “wonderful” Thame News website.
I don’t use the high street very much, much of the items are nice but overpriced and those that offer lower prices don’t survive so I buy those items online. I only ever go to the High Street for the bigger chains such as Boots, Robert Dyas or Superdrug so I would welcome a Tesco! More choice, better value and much much more continence. I do all my grocery shopping online with Tesco and having a Tesco wouldn’t affect my shopping habits at all! Hope they get the go ahead!
A nail in the coffin for the town centre! Totally flies in the face of the neighbourhood plan that the people of Thame voted for. We also have to put our trust in the councillors that the town recently elected
who gave their commitment to support the town and its neighbourhood plan.
No thanks … love the heart of this town too much to contemplate any erosion. Deviation from the town plan is very scary …. as it could be just the start!
Very encouraging news, rather than “hair brained ideas ” like paying the business rates , perhaps a more sensible one would be a shuttle bus service to & from Thame town centre,funded by Tesco then visitors could park out of town rather than a futile attempt to park in Thame
If Tesco is serious about becoming a part of the community perhaps they would be willing to cover the costs of the business rates for Thame town centre. Small businesses are struggling and a major competitor being added to the mix is not in Thames benefit.
Those that support this (small) TESCO in Thame should go and have a look at Tring and Princes Risborough. Their high streets have been decimated, full of empty shops.
Great news. Now the “self interest” group will try and convince the silent majority that it’s not needed. Just like they did with the in town application by Sainsbury. I fully support the Tesco application as do many others in the local surrounding villages.
Best news I’ve heard all year
Hi, do email me with all the details – editor@thame.net – and I’ll take a look. Are you from Thame Lesley?
You’re very welcome. It was a pleasure to be involved and to record their epic trip. I’m sure there will be lots of enthusiastic walkers who will want to joint the Twinning’s 15th anniversary walk from London to Thame next year! A bientot, Sonja
Merci beaucoup Sonja pour ce bel article sur l’exploit de nos quatre cyclistes inspirés par les Haddeham Hillbillie l’année dernière?. tout cela est rendu possible grâce à l’amitié forte entre nous.
Effectivement pour les 15 ans du jumelage nous nous préparons à faire à pied Londres/Thame ! nous sommes déjà 6 fous à être prêts.
A bientôt
Huguette
Hi – would you like to do an article about my Welsh cob mare who won and was Reserve Champion at the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Friday? I am a secretary at the JR and an amateur owner so to do so well at one of the largest shows in the country against the professionals is quite a feat, but I did have to ask a friend to take her in the ring for me due to my recent slipped disc! Have lots of pics if you are interested?
Talk about putting your trust in a brand!
I would like to wish all those elected by the people of Thame all the very best for the future. Thame is wonderful place and I would like to respectfully remind the elected councillors that they are there to represent the wishes of people, which I’m sure they will do.
Peter Butler
UKIP Thame
I wish everyone the very best for the new session. Just disappointed not to be part of it. Thanks to everyone who voted for me.
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=SilverWarBadgeMedals&gss=angs-d&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn_x=NP_NN&gsln_x=1&_F8007A65=16826&_F00061C3=oxfordshire&MSAV=1&uidh=uo5&pcat=39&fh=0&h=485171&recoff=43+44&ml_rpos=1
Name: Charles Boiling
Discharge Unit: Oxford And Bucks Light Infantry
Regiment: Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Regimental Number: 16826
Rank: Private
Badge Number: 311373
Piece: 3118
List Number: LA 0001-0400
Record Group: WO
Record Class: 329
I would like to thank all the people who voted for me in the Thame Town Elections and I will endeavour to do all I can to serve you in the future
Seems to have been linked to your old website address. I have now updated the link to the club’s current web address.
I am reminded that Boris Johnson, when he became MP for the Henley constituency, did not live in the constituency for quite a long time. It is not unusual for a candidate to stand in a constituency far from his home.
You’re quite right! My apologies to Don! Somehow Helena’s last paragraph got pasted at the end of Don’s profile. Don Butler is standing as a Conservative
Hi Sonja,
The link to Thame Cinema doesn’t work on your community page.
Cheers
Tony
Hi, To avoid confusion Don Butler is standing as a conservative candidate according to the conservative leaflet published by Nick Carter!
Dear Helena,
It is heartening to hear that you consider party politics have no place in market town councils. I understood you to have been a key campaigner for the YES for Thame group, a group that was blatantly driven and guided by John Howell’s intent to steamroll in his party’s neighbourhood planning policy; this seems to contradict your stated position on party politics.
Please could you clarify your position on the Elms development? Are you against all development on the site and would you fight to save the Elms if elected? Presumably, being an architect, you would have heeded the concerns of English Heritage had you been shown their letter during the consultation period when housing was allocated within the Thame town plan, is this so?
Kind regards,
R. Jeffries
Dear Mr Jeffries,
I have been a member of Chinnor RFC for about 18 years. The Club is incorporated by limited guarantee, as recommended by the RFU. As a paid up member this effectively restricts my liability to £1 equal with all the other adult members who have paid their subscriptions for the season. For 14/15 season I believe this to be around 500 people including players, parents, sponsors and vice presidents.
Property development will affect all of us. Those living close to a construction site will undoubtabley endure the noise, mess and traffic of the construction works for several months. Once complete the additional neigbours and what they bring will certainly be absorbed into Thame as the town evolves as a positive.
I am unable to comment with authority on any specific development as I have not availed myself of the detail. If elected, I will make sure I am well informed of any topic within my domain.
OMBUTSMAN FOR THAME
I agree with Cllr Dyer. I wanted to complain about the Town Clerk a few years ago and was not able to as ALL complaints are handled by – errrr the Town Clerk
He has gone to a lot of trouble to keep away from the public. The same in Henley, the “public meeting” was by invitation only!!!
He has also pulled out of more hustings than he has attended.
Well done. This will be a brilliant thing for the people and especially the children of Thame. I for one would offer my full support and help, if required.
Hi Sonja, It would be good if you could put a article on your website about how many votes electors can have as many people I have talked to have been confused by one election leaflet stating that they have twelve votes.
The position as I understand it is you can vote for the following-
One vote for a M.P.
Upto three votes for S.O.D.C. Councillors.
Upto eight votes for the Thame Town Councillors
Electors do not have to vote for three S.O.D.C. if they just want to vote for one.
Electors do not have to vote for eight Thame Town Councillors if they just want to vote for just one.
Regards Tom Wyse
That 16 included a panel of 6 and Mr Howell’s chaperone Rev. Angie Paterson!…and possibly Sonja from Thame news?
Pretty sure that when I filled out my postal vote ballot, it told me that Mr Juthani does not live in our constituency – instead, he lives in one of the Reading constituencies. Call me old fashioned, but one of the first things I would look for from my MP would be someone to represent the views of local people – and to do so it would help if he or she was actually someone who lived locally. Why is Mr Juthani not standing in his own constituency? How spectacularly arrogant of him to talk about “their vote of confidence in me” – voters are not choosing an individual, they are choosing the representative of the party whose policies they believe will best serve the local population. This is not the X Factor Mr Juthani, this is a little more important than that.
Spot on Peter Butler. It’s also well known that some teachers are left wing and preach their own misguided propaganda to pupils – some who will believe this rubbish. Howell is right, when they grow up they realise that socialism is complete tosh peddled by hypocrites. The poor have been voting for Labour for decades and they are still poor.
ha ha, 16 people!
Sam’s claim that “Socialists outlawed gender and racial discrimination in jobs (something incidentally that Nigel Farage wants to repeal” is misleading. UKIP believes that the person with the best ability should get the job and not because they simply tick a box for their sexual or racial orientation. That is social engineering!
Also his boasting of what socialist have achieved in the past is one sided. The one about the NHS is true but that was in the day when the Labour party looked after the working class. He makes no mention of the fact they have bankrupted the country every single time Labour have been in power and it was the Labour party that closed more mines that Thatcher and they ruined the coal, steel and motor industries in this country. Not to mention that every time Labour have been in power there are more people unemployment when they leave office than when they went in. I could go on for ever. Up the workers!
I had the pleasure of visiting the village of Thame high in the mountain ranges of Nepal in 1996. The people were lovely and the children were so happy. They are very proud people and would never ask for any hand outs unless they were in desperate need of help.
I would plead with everyone to please do or give whatever you can to help.
Thame is a growing town with new houses being built all over and it needs more strong business brands to help continue the growth and modernisation of Thame!
Dear Carol,
Thank you for responding. While you seem to recognise that The Elms is controversial, it seems as if you are pro-development of The Elms. I note that you state that you have no business interests in Thame (which I would not view as a problem for a Councillor); does that not contradict your stated long-term involvement with Chinnor Rugby Club, which is a private limited company? I would be interested in your views of how The Elms development will affect traffic and parking issues in the short term construction phase and long term completed build.
Done! See ‘EVENTS’
Have you seen the latest news from Dwina ? http://www.robingibb.com/news/robins-memorial-headstone
Aw! Cheers Norman. It was a wonderful event; I learned a lot about an important part of WW2, and got to meet a very charming Russian sailor 🙂
Bravo, Sonja. Lovely piece
Dear Mr Jeffries.
Now I am no longer working after some 40 years of employment, and children have left home, I have a lot more time to devote to another calling. I have been looking for another cause or organisation to get involved in. I have been talking to friends and others about different opportunities, and they have come up with several suggestions including Lions, mediator, or parish councillor. I met Jeanette Matelot-Green at a local event and mentioned to her about no longer working, and stepping down from rugby. She asked if I had considered applying to be a town Councillor for Thame in the forthcoming election. No, I haven’t been “head hunted” to stand as a candidate in this election! I have applied using the applications open to all people who meet the qualifications. This year Thame will have a formal election in both North and South wards as there are more candidates than seats. Should I not be successful I will continue to look at other opportunities in the local area.
There is much more to consider when either standing as a candidate or voting for a candidate than just one issue. I did read the TNP prior to the referendum. I like to think that I made an informed decision when I voted based on the information made available to me. Not everyone will be satisfied with the outcome of any vote. Such is democracy. I do hope that the majority of Thame electorate turn out on May 9th and so feels they have made their mark as to what happens for the next term.
The Elms is one development, and represents a low number of houses when looking at the overall numbers both within the TNP and applications outside TNP. The current proposal of 37 dwellings within 6 acres opening up this private space to all residents and visitors seems like a gain for Thame. I accept it is controversial and much time and effort has been put into the pros and cons. Perhaps fresh eyes and ears of tenures of both SODC and TTC will bring this to a swift solution and we can all move on.
I am more concerned with the number of small applications e.g. demolishing 1 property and building 2,3,4,5, or more properties is more of a concern as these are considered outside the TNP i.e ‘windfall’. Too many developments go for quantity rather than quality and cram in too many ¾ size properties. I would like to see any property development to be of a decent standard and proper size. By this I mean rooms of a suitable size to take full size furniture, wardrobes, cupboards etc to stash the trappings of one’s lifestyle. E.g. pram, bike, golf clubs, mobility aids, adequate parking for residents and visitors, a garden large enough to sit in, play in and dry the washing all at the same time.
I hope my response goes a long way to identifying my reasons to stand in this election, my view of the Elms, and other property development. I have views on leisure, parking, sport, and transport amongst others. Please feel free to ask me about those!
I understand it’s an extension and the flat structure is only temporary scaffolding.
Dear Tony,
I have to admit that I don’t know who is responisble for paying our traffic warden but I am doubtful that the local community would appreciate a hike in their council tax to fund another one. Perhaps a better way would be to encourage more people to bike or walk into town rather than use thier cars
Hi Sonja
Please add our Summer Fayre to your events page.
St Mary’s Guild Summer Fayre
Saturday 16th May
9.30am -1.00pm
In St Mary’s Church, Thame
Variety of stalls, including plants & refreshments.
Free Admission
Sonja – there is a huge great extension to a house in greenway being built. Today there is what can only be described as a “helipad” been built on the roof – if I have your direct email I can send pics. All the neighbours are up in arms about it. Just 5 neighbours were written to by SODC in September – all of whom objected. Planning ref: P14/S2971/HH-4 (SODC) where you can see the plans and responders comments. our neighbour, Thame Town Council and moreover SODC have let U.S. down very badly. We have been in our house for 33 years and most of the other residents have been long term too. The houses were built in around 1963 as 3 bed semis, but the house in question will be 5 beds with an annexe in a very tiny garden with the garage knocked down – going to look like a terraced house- greedy owner 🙁
Dear R Jeffries,
Not only would I not support any new build on the Elms site, I would push for a full independent inquiry as to how it made it onto the Town Plan in the first place.
The people of Thame have a right to know.
Dear Carol,
It sounds like you have been head-hunted for the role of Town Councillor; who asked you to consider it? You say that you voted for the Thame Town Plan, what is your opinion of the proposed Elms development and does it concern you that many people who also voted for the Plan feel that they were duped by a well orchestrated campaign?
Dear Peter,
You state that you will only support development of brown field sites, the inference being that you therefore disagree with development of Elms FIeld, is this the case and, if elected, would you fight to have the site removed from the Town Plan?
Dear Catherine,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to some of my question. Have you any views on part 2 of the question, regarding the current abuse of parking restrictions
Will do 🙂 …cheers Sonja!
Dear Tony,
Given the constraints on space in the town centre I think very little can be done to increase the area for parking. If the parking limit in the market square was reduced from three to two hours hours it might ease the problem a little, but it isn’t going to have a huge effect. I feel there ought to be some sort of residents’ parking scheme for those who live in Park Street, East Strret, Southern Road and North Street but short of putting up a multi-storey car park – which I would oppose – there is little that can be done. If the catlle market were to be moved out of town it would ease the problem but not if a large supermarket moved onto that site as Sainsbury had plans to. I think if this was an easy problem to solve it would have been done so by now.
If it is believed that a Tesco for Thame will be detrimental to the town centre shopping what plans would you put forward to improve parking in the town,( to encourage more shoppers ) and how would you address the fact that illegal parking is considered by TVP to be a low priority and is often left un controlled ?
Dear R Jeffries,
I am against The Ems project but I have to accept that we need more affordable housing in Thame. As a result I support the Neighbourhood Plan but I do not wish to see further development beyond that. I have no wish to see what has happened to Bicester happen to Thame i.e. that Thame becomes a sprawling mass of housing estates and not a market town with a defined center. More house will be good for businesses in Thame – more footfall in the shops, more money in the local economy – but it mustn’t be allowed to get out of hand. I aim to make sure, to the best of my ability, that the Neighbourhood Plan is adhered to.
Dear Bob,
From your profile it is clear that you are concerned by the threat of overdevelopment of Thame. What is your opinion of the manner by which the Thame Town Plan was adopted and, specifically, do you agree with development on The Elms Field?
Dear Catherine,
You say that you are keen to see Thame develop; do you think that the Thame Town plan is delivering the protection of Thame which we were promised it would? Do you agree with development on The Elms Field?
If Mr Jarse (really, how much longer can you get away with that pseudonym ?) would like to contact me through the Town Hall or Town Council web site I would be very pleased to provide you with a copy of the original Conveyance for your own consideration.
I will now be away in France for 4/5 days so regret that Mr Webb will have to be patient for any response.
Hi Pete, can I ask you to please send me a Press release with all the relevant information about the author and the book, and we’ll be very happy to spread the word about your book. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to research the website etc as I’m a one-woman-band here 🙂 Many thanks SF
As the vast majority of us do not have copies of these document we cannot judge one way or another. I, like many other people in Thame, saw Elms Field on the Neighbourhood Plan and, once I was satisfied that it wasn’t Elms Park, happilly said YES to the plan. It’s fallow land that we have no access to, so to see it developed and provide housing that we are going to have to put somewhere still seems the most sensible solution to me.
Nicely put Mike – it’s time the pesonal attacks and bulying tactics by the Elms Petition group stopped and we can let the correct processes be followed.
Will do Kate. Will pop in this PM if that’s convenient?
Hi Sonia,
We are looking for 2 new members of staff to join our team. A florist and shop assistant . Can you pop in for a chat about advertising this for us?
Many thanks
Katie.
Bizzie Lizzie
We do indeed Grant. Email me the detail via editor@thame.net. Cost: £40
HI Sonja, grant from the three horseshoes here do you do ads for staff required etc
speak soon Grant
Good to see the return of Hugh Jarse and his Rugby Club type humour. Some valuable comments below from Peter Butler and Tristram Maclean; these are the type of guys we need on the Town Council. Cllr Lambert, sorry, I don’t understand your excuse; do you compere your quiz night from Spain via your in-pub surveillance equipment? Is the Spanish villa holiday to be popular with Thame Town Councillors again this year?
AtTuesday’s meeting there seemed to be much confusion and “Simon” (as the Mayor referred to the planning applicant) was able to make his representations via his agents as a long presentation, rather than the 5 minute limited slot for Public participation. The report from Tibbalds appears to have been another waste of public money. Thankfully there were some sensible assessments made by some councillors and refusal was recommended; hopefully the councillors will maintain effective in the next rounds.
Finally, for now, why was Helen Stewart in attendance at the meeting? She appeared to make no contribution. Surely the new Clerk is more than capable; why are we paying for 2 clerks?
All updated Judy. Nice to meet you on Thursday. SF
I fully support having a Tesco in Thame. I hope it goes ahead!
I would just like to point out that I think it’s grossly unfair to state that councillors only voted against the proposals as there is an election coming up and also imply that they have changed their votes with this in mind. They unanimously voted to refuse the original proposal and now this subsequent one.
I, for one, think they are doing a very difficult job under very trying circumstances and the unfair criticism that they have taken over the proposals for Elms Field have been way over the top.
Good morning Sonja,
I agreed to give you updated information about the CAB opening hours, as follows:
Monday, Thursday, Friday – 9.30am – 4.00pm
Tuesday, Wednesday – 9.30am – 1.00pm
We also have an Adviceline telephone number: 03444 111 444
Thank you,
Judy
Every councillor voted against this. Must be an election coming up?
In response to Tristram. I did not volunteer to attend the meeting as It coincides with my Wednesday night quiz at the pub, which I host myself each week. In fact, the week the application is heard at SODC I am in Spain. I am also confident that many other councillors have legitimate reasons for not being able to attend which they didn’t wish to share at length at the meeting.
Thanks for your excellent and accurate report.
Cllr Dyer rightly pointed out that the planned 38% affordable housing fell short of the SODC target of 40%, but even this missed a point that Jane Dann made, almost under her breath, that the houses in the plan which were described as “affordable” had as many as four bedrooms and two bathrooms. I’d like to see an affordable example of that spec anywhere near Thame!
Like so much of the amended proposal, the developers are just paying lip service to the objections, and despite a second unanimous vote, they obviously won’t be going away. Some of the councillors were unexpectedly quiet, and one felt that the voting was forced by the imminent election – supporters are obviously hoping that the SODC meeting will do their dirty work. Mary Stiles was the only Councillor prepared to represent Thame’s opinion at the SODC Planning Meeting later this month, and the awkward silence of the others when a volunteer was called for told its own story.
Hi Sonja,
Hope all OK..! …just a quick note that Toni Shelbourne (Animal Tellington TTouch Practitioner and Wolf advocate) has a new book ‘”Among the Wolves” out next month… it’ll be an amazing read if you want to cover it 🙂 we’re in Thame a lot currently but permanently moving to Thame next year…cannot wait!
The Book is here: http://hubbleandhattie.com/shop/HH4760/
Toni’s site is here: http://www.tellingtontouch.co.uk/
Cheers!
Pete.
peter.r.sherman@alcatel-lucent.com
Toni’s Contacts:
Email: ttouch1@btconnect.com
Tel: 0118 9413270
Facebook: Facebook/The Truth about Wolves & Dogs
I have a letter addressed as shown below, dated 1855. I am trying to track down any possible relatives who might be interested in this letter:
“Thos. (short for Thomas) Martyn Esq (short for Esquire)
Ludgershall Rectory
Thame”
If possible could you put me in touch with anyone in the area of the same last name? Thank you.
Discusting for the environment & home owners .
So are Tesco going to give us the details of this research they did, what was the sample size, how did they gather the data, what were the questions that were asked, what was the radius of the area sampled, how did they ensure that the sample was representative of the population as a whole, was the survey done by a recognised independent market research company.
Unless they are able to give us the details of their “own research” then we are entitled to assume that it was as accurate as their financial accounts, I.e. Not at all!
I can only assume ‘the enhancements’ mentioned in this report about the recent ground-sharing agreement between Thame and Aylesbury football teams https://www.thame.net/archives/19869
BUT – what is going on with all that earth moving next to the Football Club? – I’ve wondered about that for ages.
I hear that the diggers have unearthed the skeleton of Richard III’s horse.
It would be no more damaging than endorsing building on The Elms; can we assume that was a poor April fools joke gone wrong too? Don’t worry Mr Hunt, its not the Costain scenario in Thame just yet.
And today’s date is :-)……….
Well spotted Dick! (hee hee! – love a pun) Thanks for pointing that out.
It’s a scene, not seen.
Good grief
I think the most telling comment here is that Tesco’s research has found that 50% of shopping is done outside Thame and Waitrose is doing more that they envisaged – reading between the lines I see this as “we want some of that”! It’s purely a case of corporate greed. I accept that we probably need a children’s clothing shop, but we don’t need to destroy the whole high street just to get one!
Says it all 20 people Turned out to support Tesco thats because the remaining 11,052 don’t want the town town blighted by this company
I support Tesco in thame, it will save me driving to Aylesbury at least Tesco has food on the shelves unlike waitrose. The nimbies blocked Sainsbury for what, what is happening to the eyesore cattle market!!!
All done Ruth. https://www.thame.net/events/the-changing-seasons-concert Let me have an image if you have one. Email it to: editor@thame.net
Dear Sonja
Could you please include the following in your events listing, and maybe do a short news item?
Many thanks
Ruth
Saturday 28 March
‘The Changing Seasons’
Concert with two of Britain’s foremost singers, Carolyn Robson and Moira Craig, with guest harpist Steph West.
Towersey Memorial Hall, OX9 3QY
7.30 pm
£10
Presented by local community choir Village Voices Towersey.
Carolyn and Moira hail from Northumberland and Scotland respectively, and their repertoire reflects their roots.
Contact villagevoices.towersey@gmail.com for further information.
If he has been released then he has done his time! Let him live a life and I wish him good luck
Will do.
Will do. Thanks for the update.
Will do. Apologies for delay in replying, but I have been away for a few days.
Dear Sonja
I have emailed but not heard anything back. Could you please add an event to the calendar being held at the Thame Barns Centre please? Details below:
Friday 17th April starting at 8.00pm at the Thame Barns Centre,
Church Road, Thame, OX93AJ
£3 per person to enter, teams of 6-8 maximum
Come and pit your wits in aid of a great local charity
Bring Your Own Snacks and drinks
There will be a raffle on the night
There are limited tickets available so to reserve your table/spaces please email:
info@homestartaylesbury.org.uk
Or call us on: 01296 485615
Or send a cheque direct to Home-Start Aylesbury
8 Temple Street, Aylesbury HP20 2QH
All proceeds will be donated to:
Home-Start Aylesbury – local family charity see website for details.
Thanks very much please email me if there is any problem,
regards
Jane
Hi Sonja
Please could you change the write up about Barley Hill Church as we appointed a new vicar last year.
If you have any questions please do come back to me
Thanks
Linda
Barley Hill Church Thame is a friendly, informal and lively church.
Meeting on Sunday mornings at 10.30am in Barley Hill School Hall
Rev Rachel Cross
07413 641208 (Church Office)
office@barleyhillchurch.org.uk
http://www.barleyhillchurch.org.uk
Hi
Please could this be featured on thame.net?
Now Hiring
Thame Youth Cafe is looking for a manager. Could it be you?
A part time creative job with great potential.
Click the link to find out more.
http://bit.ly/1EeBVsI
Thanks
Nick Francis
Hello,
You have re tweeted my tweet addressed to Barry Gibb about my approach to the grave of Robin Gibb, be finally honored with a headstone and I thank you. We hope to drag the case to the British press.
Almost three years that Robin passed away and was buried in the small cemetery of St. Mary’s Church and his grave looks like an anonymous resting place.
Almost three years Dwina and Robin-John GIBB, her son, tell fans around the world, Robin’s headstone is in process…
Already in 2013, Dwina stated that the headstone would be placed in summer 2014.
However, to date, it is not.
We all know the derived benefits of the famous Robin Gibb by the sect “Brahma Kumaris” to which Dwina Murphy / Gibb claims to belong.
http://www.brahmakumaris.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2118&f=25
The Prebendal, owned by Robin Gibb seems sadly, (to have) become the sanctuary of this, what we think is a (word redacted for legal reasons) dangerous cult.
We, fans of the Bee Gees and Robin Gibb are asking that an investigation be conducted seriously into this sad affair by the British press.
The Bee Gees became famous and rich thanks to their fans, so it is our legitimate right to claim a headstone in honor of Robin Gibb !!!
Thanks for your help,
Kind regards,
https://www.change.org/p/robin-gibb-we-want-a-headstone-for-robin-gibb
April 2 deadline: makes me think it might as well be April 1, considering the amount of time, effort and money everyone went to in good faith to agree the Neighbourhood Plan, which seems to have been so swiftly superseded.
Vote UKIP. We listen!
Thame people spent months attending meetings looking at plans and considering the Neighbourhood Plan in fine detail. The town council must have spent a lot seeking advice from its planning consultants,whom people will remember attending the Town Hall meetings. I would like to know whether any higher planning authorities right up to Whitehall knew at the time that this further requirement was on the cards. If so they were making a mockery of all the effort and expense which we in Thame undertook in good faith. And good faith is something which the public life of this nation sadly lacks at the moment.
What’s the point in having your say? Nobody listens.
We just don’t need a Tesco on the DAF site. The Town Centre is thriving with a good variety of shops and Tesco will just suck shoppers away. Where Tesco proposes to place their store will mean that people will drive there rather than walk. No-one will come to Tesco and then also visit the Town Centre. If you are in the car already, then there are plenty of store nearby to drive to. I do my monthly shop at Asda in Wheatley, but then use the Town Centre for everything else. I don’t need yet another store!
And he has been released all ready !! So much for justice and 14 months ???
Oh No It won’t!
I cannot think of one good reason to allow this dreadful company with it’s dreadful designs and appalling track record should be allowed within 20 miles of Thame.
This will completely wreck the town centre killing local business
We have enough national supermarkets already in Thame
Get motivated and help stop this dreadful idea.
Perhaps residents thoughts should be brought into the equation – it’s not all just about the traders in the town centre. Thame is growing and needs to move with the times. If we had a strong town centre (and I don’t believe we have), an out of town store would not present a challenge. The majority of residents do their food shop outside Thame (or online) and a new Tesco would encourage people to stay in Thame as well as provide jobs. come on Thame – move out of the Dark Ages! I had a rare Tuesday off from my full time job in Zoxford this week – it took me a full half an hour to peruse both the market and town centre shops and no, I’m not a “newbie” I’ve lived here for almost 37 years so have seen the size of the town double already – unlike the town centre.
The info is on the Thame Runners’ website: http://thamerunners.co.uk/cpm-thame-10k/
I would like to sign up for the Thame 10k this year. What do I need to do?
Thanks
I would love to know if an offence has been committed here and if so, hope he would be prosecuted. Community Service at Stoke Mandeville hospital would seem a fitting punishment.
Couldn’t agree more regarding the state of the verge on the Aylesbury Rd. No one cares anymore if you are in Thame park/dump your vehicle wherever you want.
Pity they dont ticket the cars parked on the pavement along the Aylesbury Road,
The Builders have made it into a bog where they have parked while building the houses, cars further down parkedon the path so no pushchaire can pass. I always understyoo pavement were for pedestrians not CARS
Long may it continue! I run a small business in Thame and my driveway is blocked by careless or thoughtless drivers regularly and up until recently it has been very hard to get anyoine to do anything about it.
OMG I lived in Simmons Way 30 plus years ago, no problem parking then, feel really sorry for them, as I now live in Haddenham, and the parking is creeping down Sheerstock like a cancer.
As a witness of the accident I can confirm a child was hit by a car. The driver did not see the red light apparently and did not stop in time. The driver did pull over however and was beside himself. The low winter sun being the main culprit. I personally would like to see the return of a lollipop lady and more signs down park street or on the actual road warning of the school’s presence. In the child’s defence they did nothing wrong, except did not wait until all of the cars had stopped. Something the school has addressed immediately during an assembly. As a parent at the school I have to say on the whole the children are pretty road wary, they have to be! I have seen many near misses so it’s not an exceptional case. It’s a shame that someone to hurt before we realise how dangerous Park Street can be.
Completely agree that a lower speed limit should be in place by this crossing and school and Elms Park – I can’t personally see how Park St and Chinnor Rd are going to manage the increased traffic the town plan will bring.
I agree with your original contributor that Park Street should have a 20mph speed limit as should other streets in Thame including the Town Centre. In fact on most occasions with the number of parked cars in Park Street it is not possible to do more than 20mph. I think that the problem outside John Hampden is that some motorists accelerate into that area in order to get past the constriction before the car coming the other way. It’s completely bad driving and I’m afraid there a few careless drivers around the Town. I have noticed that the PCSO is sometimes at the crossing in at the time most school children are crossing and a member of staff also on duty certainly in the afternoon. The primary school children for the most part are very careful in contrast to some of the Lord Bills students who seem to think that they can wander across junctions willy nilly.I think some road safety education for everyone would be desirable.
Yep its a dodgy crossing when the suns low at winter time. Do they not have a lollypop lady?
I completely agree with the other post, whilst I accept that some drivers don’t pay enough attention in rush hour. However I am regularly amazed at the lack of road safety the children have – the other day I was driving down park street and a child was riding his bike the wrong way down park street at 5pm it was dark I had my lights on he had no lights and no helmet. I’ve also had children run across the crossing without waiting for the lights to change outside the school. Perhaps there needs to be a grater emphasis on road safety from parents schools and drivers. You can be the best driver in the world but not stand a chance of a child bolts out in front of you.
Whilst I’m glad no one was seriously injured I think that there needs to be some responsibility on the pedestrian, whether adult or child, for their own safety. A crossing does not automatically mean a car will stop – I’ve lost count of the times in the town centre that pedestrians cross at the traffic lights whether they be green or red.
Getting across the town in the morning whilst children are walking to school is a minefield in itself – twice in the last 12 months I have written to Lord Williams due to students jumping off pavements on their bikes into the flow of traffic, walking out from behind vans, cars and generally assuming that everyone else is responsible for their safety.
It seems that the younger generation are being taught that it is not their responsibility to make sure that they are safe – it is up to everyone else – including the person you’ve never met behind the wheel of a car, who if the lights turn with only a second before you reach the lights had no way of stopping.
Whilst I agree that the level of traffic down park street is unacceptable – it is also one of the main arteries from one side of Thame to another – this will not change – therefore surely the answer is to educate our children, teach them responsibility and that it is not a stranger’s place to make sure they are safe. That responsibility sits with them.
The designs do not look to be in keeping with Thame and South Oxfordshire. Rather mundane,uninspiring and an unattractive gateway to Thame.
I agree about the Friesians. First thing that struck me about them. My great uncle had lots of them on Canvey Island yonks ago. . However, dare I say: this is basically a good moos story.
Oh please let them stay black and white and actually looking like cows! It would be such a shame to spoil them by making them multi-coloured garish monstrosities.
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It will kill the independents – big shame.
Tesco should not be able to develop on the daf site. It is too far out of town, is on the wrong side of town and is in a residential area. Not only will a supermarket there affect the high street but it will also affect the desirability of local houses such as those on pickenfield as traffic flow will be greatly increased. The cattle market is by far the better location for a supermarket although I don’t think thame needs a 4th supermarket. Sainsburys were campaigning to move on to the cattle market in 2013 so there is obviously a desire from them to do that and this would be my preference, with the existing sainsburys site given back to the high street as independent shops. TTC, SODC should not bow to the pressure of the corporate animal and should instead focus on how to develop the high street. Many plaudits were given as a result of the thame town plan, however nowhere in the plan did it mention the development of the daf site or the addition of a new supermarket to the town. How and why was this omitted ?
Good news, rather have a Tesco, than a Lidl !
Not sure how people can be pleased with this news.
Do they want Thame to turn into just another over-developed ex market town? no independent shops in the centre, another bland/ same old high street?
Say no to Tesco – we want to keep the heart in Thame.
Thame does not need a big Tesco! We have a wonderful range of independent shops on the High Street, plus 3 supermarkets already with Tesco already located not far away for those that really must!
This is not good , it will destroy the heart of our town
I’m beginning to think that Tesco are deliberately targeting Thame because it wants to undermine the neighbourhood plan process. Neighbourhood plans would stop them running railroad over residents, which they probably see as a threat
Excellent news!
Great news.
Good!
i agree with t rushforth. The answer to all this is to allow sainsburys to move on to the cattle market (which they were campaigning for last year) or alternatively another supermarket brand (although my preference would be sainsburys). I believe that the cattle market planning application is now for “non food retail” which the town doesn’t need. To be fair to all thame residents, nowhere on the ground breaking thame town plan did it mention putting a supermarket on the daf site, or indeed give options for siting a new supermarket.
The “answer” in my view is to allow a supermarket on the cattle market and use the daf site for housing. This would expand the housing stock, within the perimeter of the ring road and also it would complement houses in the surrounding streets.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but perhaps Thame should have not voted against the Supermarket in place of the town centre cattle market. Instead of being completely negative look around at similar size & thriving towns in Oxon & Bucks as I do during the course of my job. For example Marlow, Sainsbury’s right in the town centre, large car park ( which Thame lacks ) for everyone to use when either at Sainsburys or into the town centre ( Planning S106 ) can make this happen ) and a thriving & well served town centre , including new small business opening up
Very well said Richard! We are having the exact same problem and it’s just not fair! I used to think Thame was a lovely area…. Having second thought now! Full of criminals not a great look.
I work in Thame and for those suggesting using the cattle market where should I park on market days? I pay council tax I park careful and not on corners or blocking people in so why should I not be able to park my car on the road?
I travel over 30mins each way to get to work and contribute to the local economy by working and spending money in the local area.
I have had WD40 sprayed on my wingmirrors outside one house in particular when parking legally and safely on lash lake. So rather than park their I now park elsewhere. I regularly witness the ‘residents’ double parking or taking up unnessary space to park their cars on the ‘public highway’ because they feel they own that space outside of their property.
How about the local residents complain to local government that they need to provide suitable parking rather than taking it out on people who are trying to get the economy out of recession and make a living for their family’s rather than the mindless stupidity of vandalism which is the easy way out.
Very sad man
The cars are taxed and tested; get over it. If you are sad enough to take it out on the car and not on the (owner) of the car, very childish if you ask me. It happens everywhere. Just to warn the people who are tampering with cars down that road, some people have had cameras fitted to their cars so be very careful because you will be caught.
CPM and Travelodge (employees) have done it for years round our way and football people at the weekend. No roads are private so you can park there. End of!
The police in Thame and everywhere else are too busy giving out food hampers and serving food to the oaps to do anything about this issue. Bring back a full time traffic warden who would sort the whole town out as Peggy Long did.
I don’t blame the residents of Simmons Way – good on them! I have been tempted to do the same down my road which is round the corner. Every day for years we have had to suffer poor and selfish parking by people who dump their cars to work in the town. Put your hand in your pockets and pay to park in the cattle market, up in the town or behind the Co-op. I know of residents with Young children who have to park miles up the road because they can’t park outside their own house because of employees cars (mostly Waitrose). I’m so glad Sainsburys plans for the Cattle market weren’t approved as it would be even worse. I really worry about emergency vehicles not being able to access properties if required. I also really feel for the young parents with babies/toddlers and old people with either push-along shoppers or wheelchairs, who take their lives in their hands by having to walk in the road. Don’t even talk to me about putting a child’s life at risk Kim!!!!! A child’s life is far more in danger in this area trying to walk along the pavement than someone smearing something on your windscreen – what utter tosh! I will also say though that some residents are at fault – well certainly down my road – they have drives but choose to double park, or is that just to stop the freeloaders? I work at the JR in Oxford. I cannot park there so I have to pay £2.00 a day to park my car at Thornhill and then get the bus for another £2.80 a day. Freeloaders – pay to park in the car parks.
It seems this “selfish parking” is occurring all over Thame’s residential roads. Unfortunately we have the same issue down my road with the CPM employees. Some days I can’t even park outside my own house. That being said I get on with it. The cars usually dissapear around 5.30pm – 6.00pm and hey presto! There’s a space for me. You don’t see any of our residents touching peoples cars because of it though!
People need to get a grip! and find something better to do than to spend their lives watching who parks where all day.
To the comment below! I have to park in Thame myself and I don’t park “selfishly.” I come back to my car most evenings to be welcomed by a lovely person saying I’m causing them unnecessary stress!! How the hell can I be causing stress to a Woman who has her “own gravel parking area.” The way she spoke to me was disrespectful! I have to collect my little girl from nursery after work which is in Aylesbury so if they had put stuff over my windscreen they would have been putting a child’s life at risk! I think yellow lines should be put all down that road. That way the residents won’t even be able to park there!
Have a good Christmas!
We live just around the corner just off the lashlake estate and this sort of thing has been going on for years now. We walk up Moorend lane daily and the parking up this road is horrendous from 08.30-5.30.
The workers from The High street (Waitrose,co-op,Topsport,estate agents to name a few) all battling for the limited spaces available blocking access to driveways, parking on corners,blocking off dropped kerbs.Double parking nr Simmons way is a major problem where we have seen vehicles have to turn around and go via Lashlake to get to Greenway and surrounding areas.
There would be no chance any emergency vehicle would make it through!!
We can understand peoples frustrations in the area with the inconsiderate parking shown by the workers, the double yellow lines on the corner coming into Moorend Lane which never used to be a problem has now turned into another 3 parking spaces for the workers and nothing seems to be done about it. Bring back Peggy the traffic warden!
We wonder if the workers should be given a subsidised permit to park in the cattle market and free up all the streets around Moorend lane and Lashlake areas due to the car park mostly being partially occupied most of the day.
We dont think the residents have a problem with sensible parking but when they have to face selfish ignorant parking everyday then these problems as stated in the previous letter will carry on.
This sort of thing happens everywhere have a look in the Shearstock estate close to the Haddenham station next time you pass and feel for the residents there which have the same problem as us. We feel if the workers parked sensibly and don’t upset residents with poor parking then problems like the above letter just wouldn’t happen.
Have a Great Christmas
As the report plainly says, the housing plan is for Site F, as designated in the Neighbourhood Plan. Secondly, Tesco has not yet put in a planning application. This is a pre-planning sort of testing-the-water, consultation stage.
So is this actually part of the Neighbourhood Plan or just an independent application outside of the plan. I am totally lost at what is happening in Thame at the moment, one minute reports tell us we have no need for another retail food outlet then Tesco put in an application. One minute we had a Neighbourhood Plan then next its all changed.
Crazy people! Need to get a life really. Maybe the council should put yellow lines down and then they won’t even be able to park there.
I just can’t see how an out of town supermarket can be of any benefit to Thame. Once people get in their cars to go to the shops, they may just as well go to Wheatley or Risboro, why do we need to suck shopping from the Town Centre.
Thame has always been a quality, and much admired traditional Oxfordshire town and is well known for that among its residents, local communities and visitors from wherever, and to go along these lines will surely kill off that respected and affectionate standing . In other words, let it retain its pride as it is now and stand out from the crowed.
An edge of town development will kill Thame town centre. As previously stated, there is no way that people will walk to the centre of Thame to visit other shops – but park up shop in Tesco’s then drive home. with the 3 supermarkets we already have (and the BP garage for the other end of town, we already have a great choice of supermarkets. what these current supermarkets provide is parking WITHIN the town centre placing shoppers within the centre of a thriving town and encouraging them to visit other establishments. Even the recently proposed supermarket on the cattle market site would have discouraged visits to the rest of the town. For those who support extra larger supermarkets, be careful what you wish for. Open your eyes on your travels and when you go through places like Risborough etc., you will see that there isn’t any vibrancy and quantity of people in the same way as you get in Thame.
Your last 2 comments did indeed pass the moderation process; See: https://www.thame.net/archives/18041#comments
It would appear that my last 2 comments did not meat the moderators standards, so all I will say here is that there are many people like Melanie who put convenience ,competitive pricing & choice high on their agenda but may not voice their opinions as fervently as the ” Antis “
I support a Tesco in Thame. As a busy working mum I welcome more convenience and competitive pricing!
Concern expressed by health agencies and simple visual evidence of obesity, indicates that there is a surfeit of food available in all areas including Thame so a reduction rather than an increase in supply is called for.
The claim that 200 new jobs would be created is nonsense unless consumption is to increase or retailing to become less efficient.
Totally agree with these sentiments. How can we possibly have rejected a town centre supermarket which would have retained trade to now consider building one on the outskirts!
Bring it on, also a wetherspoons pub!! That’s what Thame needs, not any more coffee houses or hairdressers we need to move with the times for the sake of our future generations… End of!
Just heard another alternative ….allow Tesco’s on the ring road, which would drive out Sainsbury’s which is useless anyway , & then let the building to Poundland . Lateral thinking ?
Most of the “against comments” are based on scaremongering over reactive feelings. So Thame, will become a victim of the Black Friday hysteria if we have a retail outlet of any sort on the DAF site ?? People who shop at ‘Risboro Tescos , leave their cars & walk into the Town centre ?? really ! , Oh come on people retaining a thriving town does not mean we have to restrict progress. We need Tescos and we also need more car parking spaces near the Town centre to allow additional visitors , so do not build on the cattle market, build out of town , and then what about a courtesy bus………now there’s a thought !
Referring to an earlier comment, I am not sure how having a Tesco will achieve reasonably priced accommodation in Thame. Also Tesco in Risborough is at the end of the High Street, not out of town.
Opposing Tesco will hopefully result in retaining a thriving town centre full of shops for future generations to enjoy, which is surely what we all want.
My objection is not with “Tesco” building on the DAF site, it’s with ANY supermarket being built on the outskirts of Thame. Look around at other nearby towns and then compare them with Thame – we are doing much, much better without any out-of-town shopping. Without a doubt, building a Tesco will be great for people in Long Crendon, Haddenham and Chinnor, as it will save them coming into town!!! No-one is going to do a weekly shop, load up the boot and then say, “I think I’ll go for a walk into Thame” – get real. The town centre retailers will suffer. Without a doubt, low cost food and petrol will attract many, just as we saw on Black Friday, so our ring road will become congested, right-turns into it from nearby roads will become death-traps and increased parking down those neighbouring roads from shoppers who can’t get a space will be a safety problem, particularly to children and the elderly living there. This will be further exacerbated when the Groves and Windles businesses are built on the opposite side of the road, adding another stream of cars and lorries on the ring road. To even contemplate building a retail and petrol station on this location is short-sighted and with no regard to the future of the town we all love.
Having just looked at some comparables to Thame, it is interesting to note that Chipping Norton has just granted Planning for an ALDI supermarket , where next Thame ???.
Could my previous conspiracy theory be correct , Tesco gain consent then sublet to Aldi or Lidl.
Then the High St will have even more Charity shops, hairdressers & nail bars
The “Say No to Tesco ” person believes we have three adequate supermarkets in Thame , many people , especially those on lower incomes would not agree. You can certainly discount Waitrose for reasonable pricing, Sainsburys for lack of product range, due to their restricted floor space , and so that leaves one shop in Thame. Sometimes you have to think ofothers, young families struggle enough to get reasonable accommodation in Thame unless they can rely on the bank of mum & dad, don’t drive them away by restricting facilities available to them. Thame will become a town where only the mature in years , & those commuting to London can afford to live . ‘Risboro is still a good place to shop & they allowed a Tesco on the outskirts or do we think we are better than them ?
I believe that this will destroy the fabric of the town centre robbing it of valuable trade and putting a lot of local shops out of business.
The proposals for Sainsburys were successfully rejected last year and I believe for the same reasons that the Tesco proposals should also be rejected.
We already have three good supermarkets which adequately serve the town.
I am scared for the future of Thame, as a vibrant busy Market town.
A Tesco super store will destroy local shops and bleed the life out of our community. We all need to voice our protests to our MP and our local councillors.
We really need for the Thame chamber of commerce, or whatever it is now, to step up and fight for the centre of Thame again.
An out of store a tesco of the size planned will rip out the heart of our town, and many businesses will go under.
After spending an afternoon shopping in the very busy town centre in Thame, with shops full of customers, it struck me how different it would be if people spent their time and money at an out of town shop like Tesco. Let’s be realistic here. People will drive to Tesco, park, shop and get back into their vehicles and drive home without visiting the town centre. This can only have a detrimental effect to business and livelihoods in Thame. Imagine the town centre with a number of empty shops and misted windows. If you are of the same view then please get behind this campaign and don’t just leave it to other people
Out of town supermarkets are the death knell of town centres. We are lucky enough to have a very vibrant one with a plethora of individual shops to choose from. I am a passionate Thame resident of over 30 years and want to protect it for generations to come. This proposal puts this in jeopardy and cannot be allowed.
Having just spent an afternoon shopping in a very vibrant Thame town centre with many of the shops full of customers the proposal of a Tesco on the outskirts of the town can only threaten this.
The fact is that when people go to shop at Tesco they will drive in, park the car,do the shopping then drive home without visiting the town. This WILL impact on the shops in Thame.
The thought of walking through the town in the future with shops closed down and misted windows cannot be what people of Thame want. Please get yourself involved in apposing this plan and don’t just leave it to others.
Mr Webbs comments below – Simon and I rest our case.
Completely agree with you Bob. As concluded in 1994 and 1999 a huge supermarket on the edge of Thame would significantly impact our Town centre. As Tesco plan to offer ‘click and collect’ all shops would be affected as would local businesses that rely on these shops and the footfall they bring.
Lets support our Town Centre and the Neighbourhood Plan that commits to keeping shops in the town centre. If this supermarket does go ahead it will bleed Thame’s heart dry and our vibrant town centre and the community spirit it has fostered will quickly be a distant memory.
A large supermarket on the outskirts of Thame will significantly reduce footfall through the Town centre. In addition Tesco plan to operate ‘click and collect’ at this store, so all local shops will be impacted.
Our Town centre is the heart of the community and the envy of other communities up and down the country. With so many High Streets struggling we should be supporting our High Street and local traders rather than turning our back on them. If this supermarket goes ahead, more out of town retailers will pop up on the outskirts of Thame and I’m afraid our vibrant Town Centre will be just a memory.
Bob is right. Tesco would be bad news for Thame on every level – for the High Street, for nearby residents, for traffic and (despite what Tesco says) for local jobs. The suggested ‘200 new jobs’ takes no account of the jobs currently located on that site that will be lost/relocated out of Thame or other inevitable job losses from town centre businesses.
I couldn’t agree more with the comments highlighted in the article above. However, there is a real danger that the businesses in Thame will just ‘sleep walk’ into closure unless they become a much stronger force in Thame and oppose this ridiculous development. Wake-up – time to take action now!
Come on Tesco we need you to come back to Thame and compete with snobsville expensive supermarket Waitrose!
It would appear that Tesco needs to get its Financial forecasting straight before it considers building yet another White Elephant!
We don’t need you Tesco,we are OK without you.
Mr Vickers, in his comment, talks of accusations of malfeasance and corruption levelled at various persons. The fact is that no such accusations have been levelled by the elmspetition group. What we have done is question why Councillors were fed misleading information and why, on questionable grounds, was an important letter from English Heritage apparently withheld from Councillors at the same meeting, where they passed the Town Plan for referendum.
Remember that that letter was written shortly after a site meeting with Mr. Vickers’ (then) planning consultants. The letter dismissed the site assessment of those ex-consultants and concluded that development on Elms Field would be deeply damaging. The letter was not “late” as Councillors were told.
We have asked who were the persons, unnamed in the meeting’s minutes, who were responsible for misinforming Councillors. Not only has no person stepped forward, there has been no denial of our assertions. Voters will make what they like of that fact and they can remind themselves of the facts by checking on thamenews.net and on elmspetition.org.uk.
Also we have also questioned the involvement of the Council’s Planning Consultant. An independent planning consultant rang me to express the opinion that the involvement of the Council’s Planning Consultant was unethical, given his close link with Rectory. When we asked the Town Clerk to comment on this, she responded “That is a matter for Mr. Collinge”. Yes, she was that dismissive!
The matter is currently being looked at by the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Disciplinary Committee
Mr Vickers also zeros in on three of our members and ignores the fact that we speak for well over 2000 signatories. He also complains that the Thame Gazette publishes our letters. If the subject matter gets to be repetitive, that is because no proper answers are given.
The accusation of a “demand” for free land by myself is totally untrue. The fact is that I have long wanted to purchase a small plot at the back of my garden, before Dutch Eelm Disease a copse, which I hold on a long lease arranged with the Purser family. It was Mr. Vickers, who visited me and, finding that I was against development, said that my single objection against his plan would not count for much, but offered to give me the plot if I would agree not to object. I proposed that, any plan submitted should allow for a 30 metre division between the backs of my house and those on Park Street which overlook the field. Mr. Vickers agreed to this and that the area would be planted with trees. Not only is all this is writing, the matter was fully reported to the dozen or so persons who met to establish the elmspetition group. We agreed a tactical response but when Mr. Vickers later decided to take no action prior to receiving a planning consent, we decided to drop the matter and I added my signature to the petition.
People should recall that, at the start, it was put about that The Elms had been bought as a retirement home. This despite the fact that Surveyors were quickly on the scene, despite the fact that sheep did not need to know exact boundaries and tree locations. Scepticism was widespread and the story appears to have been dropped.
Remember also that Rectory threatened myself, and others, with legal action for having the temerity to resist the spoliation of what SODC has described as “important open Space”. Mr Vickers’ earlier lawyers are also on record demanding the names of all signatories on the petition (at that time 500) so that they could be threatened with legal action also. We refused to give this information but the 2000 odd names and addresses appear on the SODC planning website (go to planning and type in P14/S2176/FUL in the search box), so Rectory can now issue proceedings if they wish. Signatories can be sure of course that this, frankly silly, threat will go nowhere.
As we have said before, we are not questioning Rectory’s ability to produce a quality product. All we have said is – not on this site. The reasons are clearly laid out in the petition, which can be seen on our website. No sense to build on Elms Field and no need. Go build on sites C,D or F. Of course that would reduce the profit from what we estimate to be an extraordinary level in Elms Field, so we do understand Mr Vickers’ desire to press on.
What is mystifying is why there are Councillors supporting him and apparently prepared to renege on the contract they signed in 1948 to protect The Elms; and not to open a public access into the sheep pasture. Also to ignore the conflict within their own Town Plan between an agreement to build on land which was not one of the sites proposed and analysed for suitability by the Planning Authority and the same plan’s promise to protect existing open space.
The same Councillors have allowed rectory’s application to “improve” the park to go forward, despite the fact that all the “improvements” benefit Rectory and have not a jot of benefit to the owners and users of the park. The former being the people of Thame.
Instead of a row of mature trees allowing sight of the open space of a sheep pasture, users will be faced with a wall of houses within feet of the boundary. The re-locating of the paved play area, with the loss of one basketball court in the process, is surely proposed in order to move noise away from Rectory’s buyers. And the proposed mounds seem to be a cheap way to dispose of spoil from excavations on the housing site. Dump it in the adjacent park. Furthermore, the proposed footpaths are totally useless and do not shorten the distance for pedestrians going from the Broadwaters area in to the town center.
Mr Vickers is wrong to say that his scheme will be judged against the plan and established planning principles. The fact is that, being in the plan removes from SODC the normal right to consider a site’s suitability. As for “sustainability” (a much abused word) – read the petition.
This is why we are asking for the Plan to be revised. The Council already has a backup plan to relocate houses to sites to the sites analysed by SODC originally, if less that 45 are allowed on Elms Field. Zero is less than 45 so we say re-allocate the lot. And restore SODC’s proper power to assess all applications on
their merits.
Yes, my personal main concern is my outlook. Others have different main concerns. The point is that there are many reasons against this development and signatories of the petition are united in mutual support. Please read the petition and, if you sympathise, add the signatures of the over 18s in your family.
I am pleased to respond to Simon M’s Questions as follows:
It is a long established principle in National and Local planning policies that Town centre sites should always be considered first as they are the most sustainable, compared to edge of Town sites where everyone will need to get in a car to go to the Town centre. Existing publicly accessible open spaces would be most unlikely to be considered, but The Elms is privately owned land that no one can enjoy or access presently and very few people can see. This will change when the land is opened up and a new park and footpath links are provided
Planning permission has been granted for the seven unit development and is now built. In our experience the public are often concerned about the implications of additional traffic, but in reality there is no discernible difference once developments are completed. The highway department were consulted throughout the Neighbourhood Plan process and confirmed The Elms suitability for development. The site will have significantly less impact on the town centre traffic compared to the other allocated sites, due to its highly sustainable location.
English Heritage initially objected to the principle of development, but subsequently withdrew that objection once they fully considered the site and its history. Furthermore they reinforced their view at the Examination in Public.
In response to Mr Webbs statement below:
Mr Webb continues (to) disseminate his misinterpretation (of) the facts in an attempt to justify his argument and garner support. As noted above, English Heritage withdrew their objection to the Elms allocation and reaffirmed the removal of their objection at the Examination in Public. Mr Webb was in attendance at the Examination, yet he continues to deny the facts.
Mr Webb’s interpretation of the covenants in the transfer of Elms Park to the Council is wrong and has no substance whatsoever.
It is unfortunate that Mr Webb will not accept (that) all of his arguments have been considered throughout the Neighbourhood Plan process and beyond by senior planning officers, local councillors, district councillors and legal professionals, as well as an Independent Examiner. Nothing he has said, and continues to say is new or of substance.
Unfortunately the PCSOs may not have strayed from the Town Centre down towards the Two Brewers end of Wellington St. , the same vehicles most days, on the Double Yellows even in Wellington St & who work in the offices there ! Taking the micky !!
Seems Cllr. Dyer is right on one point. The Plan promises to protect Elms park but does not extend that protection to Elms Field, despite the fact that the Planning Authority had designated the two, together, as important open space and ignoring the fact that English Heritage said that development on the field would be deeply damaging.
Another “mistake” in the plan, Councillor?
As for the Conveyance not referring to Elms Field, this seems somewhat at odds with the facts.
The Conveyance is clear but first, let the public understand that, following WW2, the government was faced with a need to build a large number of houses and the 1947 Town and country Planning Act gave them a right to compulsorily purchase land which had access to a road.
The land belonging to The Elms had such access by virtue of the Park Street entrance to what is now the Park. Leonard Purser gave the land for the park to Thame to avoid the danger of a council estate on the land behind his property. This is totally logical and his motivation can be attested to by witnesses with whom he discussed the matter.
Going to the conveyance, Cllr. Dyer should read clause 2. It states – “The Council hereby accepts the said property and so as to bind the property hereby conveyed into whosoever hands the same may come and so that this covenant may be for the benefit and protection of the premises known as The Elms Thame aforesaid which said property is coloured green on the said plan herby” etc etc.
THE PLAN CLEARLY SHOWS THE GREEN AREA TO BE ELMS FIELD PLUS THE HOUSE ITSELF AND ITS GARDEN.
Furthemore, in clause 4, referring to two small gates intended to allow the owners of The Elms sole rights of direct access to the park, states “ No other occupiers of premises abutting on to the Park are to be allowed private entrances to the Park” etc. etc.
It will be interesting to see whether this Councillor will withdraw his remarks.
I’m sure there would be no problem with that Cheryl. Could you please drop one of the leaflets you will be distributing, either into me at Thame.Net, Jordans Courtyard, 8 Upper High Street, Thame (white gates to the right of Rumsey’s, black post box on the wall on the left as you go into the courtyard past the cow ! OR to Racquets Fitness Centre, North Street, Thame (back of the cattlemarket) sometime before Saturday. Many thanks.
Dear Tesco,
We would like to thank you for the flyer posted through Thame doors today highlighting your intention to destroy a town that has been around since the 12th century. As residents, we already feel that Thame offers a great range of food, groceries and household goods many of which are supplied by local independent retailers that have thrived even during one of the worst recessions in history. Your plans will do nothing to enhance the shopping experience for residents or visitors to Thame and will put many of the retailers out of business.
Clearly, new jobs are always welcome and 200 is not to be sniffed at. Except there is evidence to suggest that for every superstore that is opened results in a net loss in employment – so we are probably better off saying thanks but no thanks.
Similarly, We are not sure how the 295 free parking spaces are considered a benefit. All it will do is to encourage both local and out of town shoppers to drive to the store creating excess traffic, noise and pollution. So these exciting plans for Thame you talk about are actually of no benefit to the local population and will only enhance your corporate pockets.
As for the modern employment space, I am sure that DAF and the other residents of the site would be glad of some new and environmentally sustainable offices ensuring that jobs do actually remain in Thame. To achieve this laudable goal certainly doesn’t require the development of a store that is not in keeping with the local character of our community.
Finally, You are probably correct in saying that your proposal will encourage more people to shop locally but in reality this will just be at your store with no economic benefit being made to the Thame high street so please stop misleading this great community we are all so proud to belong.
It is very important that the traders of Thame play a prominent role in this process, as the advent of Tesco will impact many livelihoods. Evidence in other market towns tells its own tale. Well done to Sue and Sonja for helping to bring the traders together and give them the opportunity to collectively voice their opinions.
Dear Thame.Net.
I run a small business from my home in Thame and wondered if it would be okay to hand out some leaflets on Saturday.
Many thanks
Cheryl Cordall
Family History Researcher
Extract from ‘Supermarket’s bid to build in Thame’, 10 Nov 14, 3.15 (thamedotnet): Jack Pearson, Tesco’s Corporate Affairs Manager, said: “We have been keen to open a supermarket in Thame for many years and think that a store would be popular.”
Tesco’s application to have a presence in Thame has already been rejected three times – in 1994, 1999, and 2004/5. What is it about ‘We don’t want you in Thame’ that Tesco doesn’t understand?
I have a small shop in Thame,and the introduction of Tesco will have a direct impact on my shop and possibly all small independent shops in the town.
Thame has a thriving town center and it needs to stay this way, Having a large Tesco so close to the town center will only draw people away from the high street and this will have a major impact to the majority of the independent shops
Everything Tesco has to offer we already have on the high street,and as for the 200 jobs they will offer to Thame i fear there will be a lot more than this lost.
We need to stop this going ahead for the future of Thame and its thriving high street
As someone who has followed this story for some time and who has absolutely no vested interest. I believe the vast majority of residents who signed the petition would feel a lot happier if 3 simple questions were answered rather than this constant repeating of the same arguments,
Q1, Why when there was plenty of scope in the larger developments to absorb the 45 houses did the neighbourhood plan choose a green area in the heart of the town that was always going to be controversial.
Q2, after refusing permission previously for a development of 7 homes in a similar area due to traffic concerns do they now think it acceptable to build 45 homes using the very same roads?
Q3, Why were English Heritages neutral and important views totally ignored?
From the outside it seems bizarre that all this upset has been created unnecessarily and if the houses had been shared between the other sites the town would be a happier place.
Why was this site ever considered a good idea?
I look forward to not receiving sensible answers to these questions and expect the respective camps to continue their bickering.
Regardless of who said what, how it ended up in the ‘The Plan’, whether the plan is right or wrong, who’s in who’s pocket, who’s got vested interests, etc etc……
There does seem to be an overwhelming raft of objections, according to the SODC website,towards building on The Elms….. And this cannot be ignored.
Correct, as a member of the public, I cannot access The Elms, (neither can I access the majority of Thame Park) but this is not an argument for building houses on it?
This is an one area of Thame that does not need houses on it, plenty of space around the ring road!
I support the objections to Tesco plans.
The structural changes to food shopping habits indicate that large supermarkets are not the choice for many shoppers, they are losing popularity.
In addition, Thame is an interesting and vibrant town centre, an out of town large Supermarket would seriously damage this – we must not allow that to happen.
Affordable housing and housing is required – lets put people first.
Recent publicity indicates that Tesco is the supermarket chain that lacks any ethical values, we want them here because….?
Tesco, isn’t that the supermarket that piled ’em high and sold ’em cheap? Arn’t they now the supermarket that piles ’em high in jail?, And thats just the senior excecutives!
They are also the chain that took the beef out of beefburgers, the ethics out of accounting and the profit for farmers out of milk – and now they want to take the heart out of Thame centre.
The Tesco promise is a couple of hundred jobs, but how many will be lost from other retailers in the town centre – what will be the NET gain?
So we want Tesco in Thame because…………..?
I understand that most large Supermarkets are under pressure as a result of excessive sales space BUT the Country, and Thame, have a shortage of affordable homes or land to buIld those homes?
We want Tesco because……..?
Please do not let a major Supermarket rip the heart from a delightful and successful town centre.
Mr Vickers has rightly pointed out that the Elms Petition Group, and Peter Webb in particular, have repeatedly stated and re-stated ‘facts’ which they know very well to be untrue and I am compelled to point out three such transgressions in Mr Webb’s short comment below.
Firstly, there were no ‘delegated sites’. There were sites that SODC had evaluated and sites that they hadn’t, but there was no limitation or direction on what sites could be considered under the Neighbourhood Planning process.
Secondly, the Neighbourhood Plan did not promise to protect existing open space. Policy ESDQ1 (Neighbourhood Plan, page 43) stated that the open spaces identified in Fig 11.1 (Neighbourhood Plan, page 44) will be protected and retained. The identified sites include Elms Park but not Elms Field.
Thirdly, the Council is not breaking the contract that was signed when they accepted the gift of land for Elms Park in 1948. The conveyance makes no reference at all to the part of Elms Field retained by Mr Purser. In fact it does not even preclude building on Elms Park but specifically alludes to the possibility, and lays down conditions that would need to be met. Thame Town Council, however, have chosen to protect Elms Park from any development.
All of these facts, and the evidence to support them, have been made clear to Mr Webb on numerous occasions yet he continues to ignore them and persists in bending the truth to suit his own agenda. I wonder how many of those who have signed the Elms Group Petition have done so under the influence of such misinformation ?
“I would refer to Mr Juthani’s letter last week on the Elms. I am quite sure that if Mr Juthani were aware of the manner in which the EPG have conducted their campaign he would no longer describe them as demonstrating outstanding citizenship. It is surely not the Labour party’s official stance to condone misrepresentation and completely unjustified accusations of malfeasance and corruption levelled at elected officials ,their officers ,their advisors and our Company. This has caused great distress to many hard-working and honest people. Equally when he talks about the democratic process needing to be followed, were he to research the process that took place over some two years I am sure he would conclude that democracy was first and foremost in all of those processes and in line with the Localism act that the Labour Party endorse. Were he to read the report that Thame Town Council prepared he would be suitably illuminated on this matter.
I have also written to Mr Juthani and offered to show him the justification for my comments above that he might be better informed
On a separate matter I wonder for how many months more the Thame Gazette will continue to be the mouthpiece for Messrs Webb, Marianczak , Jeffries and Clanfield. How many times will they allow them to repeat the same old lines that have been disproven time and time again. Can I suggest that the Editor review all of the letters that they have submitted which must run to many hundreds of column inches and they will see that from many months, if not over a year ago nothing new has been said. Surely a community newspaper should not be a perpetual mouthpiece for a few people that are highly motivated with self-interest to keep repeating the same old lines?
The people of Thame should also be aware that some two years ago Mr Webb told us in writing that he would not object if we complied with a set of demands including the free transfer of land adjacent to his property. As we did not accede to his demands his objection can therefore not be one of principle but more of retribution.
Our current detailed application is still under discussion and once refined will be judged against the Neighbourhood Plan and soundly established planning principles. These will demonstrate we believe that the development will exceed all national standards and result in a development that will be of the highest quality. It will also be of the most sustainable nature in the centre of the thriving market Town of Thame. In addition it will provide a very accessible new area of parkland accessed directly from the Upper High street. Many objective people have pointed out that presently no one can see this land or enjoy it apart from of course a few people that currently overlook it – Mr Marianczak and Mr Webb included
No way do we need a Tescos, Asda yes x
Thame is a very vibrant town and needs to remain like that for the sake of its future. Putting an out of town shop will only draw people away from the centre and putting local business under financial pressure.
Tescos portfolio of offering
Groceries……………Already availabli the the town centre
Optician……………….Already available in the town centre
Butcher………………..Already available in the town centre
Florist…………………..Already available in the town centre
Clothes………………..Already available in the town centre
Newsagent…………..Already available in the town centre
Shoe repairs……….. Already available in the town centre
Wines and Spirit….. Already available in the town centre
Chemist……………… Already available in the town centre
Cofee shop………… Already availablein the town centre
Etc.
Why on earth do we want to take people away from the town and put all these businesses under threat and have a ghost town like has already happened to so many other places. this is not scare-mongering it is fact, We need to fight for the future of our town.
Does anybody ever shop at an edge of town superstore and then pop in to the local town centre for a coffee or to visit the butchers? Any big supermarket on the edge of Thame will attract customers to the edge of Thame and not to the centre of Thame. Town centre shops are the only option that really brings trade in to the town centre.
Reading the comments in the local this week, Cllr Welply ” cheap food of dubious quality ” & Tim Chapman quoting Tesco’s CEO about slowing down or cancelling out of town developments, could it be that they ( Tesco) will gain consent & then sublet to Aldi or Lidl ? Conspiracy theory ?
At last someone with a pragmatic view ! Well said GB ! We should be encouraging people to come to Thame & a shopping ” attraction” like Tescos will do just that. The specialist outlets should welcome the fact that people from surrounding small towns and villages have a reason the come to Thame and whilst at Tesco come to the smaller town centre shops as well.
If we allow this development to take place, contrary to the town plan, then it is just a matter of time before developers start targeting other parts of Thame. We should be vocal in our opposition.
GB is totally wrong, having an out of town supermarket will make the town centre less vibrant. The town plan clearly wants retail to stay within the centre, and we should do all we can to make support the plan and stop Tesco.
Hopefully Sam Juthani will now speak out against the proposed out of town supermarket that Tesco want to build. Especially as it is completely against the town plan which wants to keep retail in the town centre
why are people so keen about trying to kill off a beautiful little town like Thame,Ive worked all over the country and the market towns are vanishing quick ,this is a true gem lets keep it this way.
There are many business in Thame which will suffer because of this development if people are so obsessed with Tesco go online for your shopping.
This must NOT go ahead.
I own a small business in the center of Thame,this will be the end off my shop if this goes ahead.
Thame has such a great reputation for small independent business and this will only put a abrupt end to that,lets just hope this goes away before many small shops in Thame do.
I just do not believe the 45 properties will so significantly increase the traffic compared to the hundreds of properties that already use these routes. That said making Nelson street one way and adapting the design to create a vehicle entrance / exit from the town centre would make sense.
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Maybe if some people dont know what the issues are they should take a look at some of the many objections lodged with the SODC. One of the main problems is that the planned access will create a dangerous increase in traffic along Nelson St and Southern Rd – both main pedestrian routes for local residents and children going to St Joseph’s and John Hampden Schools, and the town centre. The roads are single-track for the most part and other local developments have noted this problem with the council. Cars are already going up on the pavement daily, only just missing families. There is evidence of this. The construction traffic and the 90+ additional Elms resident cars that the development would bring, will cause more problems and I have no doubt injuries and worse. SODC are taking this problem seriously and the planning officer has come to see for herself. It’s not just about the actual site and buildings, it is whether this is a safe suitable area to develop as the access is far from ideal.
Couldn’t agree more Adam. The elms is privately owned. No one can use the land unless you are invited to visit the house. It is waste land at the moment so I really don’t understand what the issue is here. If it was the park they wanted to build on I would totally agree with the no building. So many people I speak to rant on about building on the park and I then have to explain to them it is a private house and property they want to build on and not the park!
Every time I read a letter or comment re: the Elms petition I feel like starting a separate petition to build on the land. Then I remember that Thame residents have already voted on where new housing should go including the Elms – the Thame Neighbourhood Plan! It was and still is a good plan
Nothing Sam Juthani said is anti-growth. Building the houses on the delegated site instead of on supposedly protected open space is simply good sense and responsible.
“Thame resident” has no name to show who it is that can’t see that building on Elms Field contravenes the Town Plan’s promise to protect existing open space. “resident” has also failed to pick up on the fact that the Council appear willing to break the contract they signed when they accepted the gift of land for the park in 1948.
Hopefully such “residents” are few in number.
Others can join the petition by visiting elmspetition.org.uk. They might like to help out friends and neighbours who are not connected to the internet. All that the petition needs is names and addresses of over-18 persons who are against the unnecessary devlopement on Elms field.
I worked in Thame for years and I can say that some people are loyal to their local stores but a lot will seek out the cheaper option as I’ve seen loyal customers who shop in the local stores for years move onto the bigger supermarkets because in the times we’re living in they want more for their money. I said this a long time ago but Thame is slowly turning into Aylesbury, Thame can be a buzzing vibrant place to live without the need of big names and chains, I think the main buzz for the town at the moment is the fact that theres plenty of local small shops, as soon as the bigger chains start coming in the small local shops will perish as they cannot compete and Thame will no longer be unique
GB is mistaken. A Tesco store on the fringe of the town will, as similar developments up and down our country have done, destroy the independent Butchers, Bakers, Outfitters etc. no matter how good they are. That is pragmatism. At the same time, the life of the town centre largely destroyed and with it much of the health of our town,
It is no accident that central government have at long last come to see just how destructive such developments are, they are based upon 1960-80 concepts, devoid of humanity and ethics.
GB does really mean be pragmatic, he/she actually means that Thame has nothing worth protecting. I am sorry I disagree.
Hello Thame Resident,
I’m not anti-growth, anti-change or anti-investment at all. But I am pro-civilised debate, civic action and community engagement. I think that development can be done with the support of the whole community and not a divisive, fractured way.
I believe that investment for the future works best when everyone in the present supports it.
Kind regards,
Sam
Anti Growth.
Anti Change.
Anti Investment and future prosperity.
A great candidate for Thame!
I think people should take a more pragmatic approach to the delivery and expansion of Thame as a town. Tesco will deliver an alternative food and fuel “option” at competitive prices. Thame does not have a big supermarket. Waitrose will never be affected as it draws consumers who stays loyal to the brand. Sainsburys and CoOp have prime positions in the town and will always bring in customers. The independents such as, Newitts butchers will never struggle, again with loyal customers.
Tescos will draw people from the surrounding village area to either live or shop in Thame as opposed to travelling to Aylesbury. This will reduce car usage and in my view be of benefit to the local economy. Thame has the infrastructure to cope with an edge of town store without affecting the traffic on the High Street and its residents.
Tesco could draw certain shops from the high street, namely, Sainsburys and CoOp which, are the biggest eye sores of them all! If you look at all of the vacant premises in Thame, they do not stay empty very long at all. It is a highly desirable location for small retailers (none of which are ever food companies). I think Thame needs to stop filling vacant space with hairdressers and look at the town models of Marlow and Henley. If you walk around Marlow or Henley there is a buzz which, Thame distinctively lacks. Both examples are heaving with restaurants, bars, high street shops… “options”. Have you ever seen Prezzo empty?
Investment brings money to an area which, increases house values, creates a desirable location for more stable retailers and will make Thame a more vibrant town to live in.
There has and will always be the “anti growth” movement. People do not like change. I urge residents to look at the bigger picture. Think of the future of the town and the opportunities to make it better as opposed to reasons to stop growth and let Thame fall into the dark ages. We all want Thame to be a more desirable and affluent town to live in.
The reaction to Waitrose was not as strong as may have been expected, partly because it was being based adjacent to the town centre so would not draw people away from it.
Speaking purely for myself, I was more relaxed because from my viewpoint Waitrose/John Lewis are far more ethical than Tesco’s are and were.
Just a question, what was the reaction many years ago when Waitrose wanted to build on the site it currently occupies?
Very valid points raised here. All Residents Associations should come together though and jointly oppose this plan to protect the town centre.
What next – high rise flats on Oxford road? This would just be another nail in the coffin of the town plan, which clearly states retail should be kept in the town centre. If we don’t all work together to stop the developers then our own part of town will be next.
Tell your town and district councillors if you oppose it. Even if they personally support it they have to represent you. The same for our MP and residents associations; make it clear to them if you are against this.
Tesco are being investigated by the serious fraud squad , that’s a Criminal investigation at head office level!!! They do not care about local communities, just their profits.
Good just what Thame needs as I go to asda in high Wycombe once a month & top up shop in town
Can you please confirm that you are a Thame area resident. Thanks Ed.
I personally welcome an opportunity – it will be good for the consumer especially when most people still do a ‘big’ shop outside of the town – let alone the job opportunities it will create plus the potential to bring more people into the the town – whether it be a Lidl/Aldi, Tesco or Poundland!!
Please go along – you will find something you need for Christmas. Not just cards, but candles, aprons, stocking fillers, gift wrap and such lovely smiling assistants !!
The independent food shops would struggle with a larger supermarket but if Thame absolutely needs a bigger supermarket then the best solution would be for sainsburys to move and be part of the cattle market development. m&s or similar shop to move into sainsburys site. Tesco should keep out…thame should remain a tesco free zone !
No thanks not against new development but very much against supporting Tesco,known for its bullying tactics ! Hopefully people will rise up against this bid and keep Tesco out !
There are over 80 members in the Thame UKIP Peoples Army, join us.
Makes me laugh all you people saying no we don’t want you no stay away tesco but your the first ones to say stuff the farmers we want houses for are kids we are happy to alow Lord williams school to move on to farm land so they can build houses on there old site happy for them to take grass fields around the by pass to supply your kids with houses but no tesco’s your not welcome really some people that live in thame need to just think about what they are saying
No thanks Tesco or anyone else who wants to build out of town shopping in Thame. One of the best things about Thame is the High Street, exactly how will this development enhance that.
It was a pleasure to take part.
I would prefer to see an aldi or lidl store in thame, would be much nicer!!!
100% against this development. It would overload the already busy roads and take much needed business from a classic market town. There are already two supermarkets serving the local area as well as a host of good local businesses.
We don’t need or want this Tesco and I urge every resident to attend the planning meetings and raise awareness. Block this proposal! As for Tesco, they have stores in Aylesbury and Princes Risborough, which is more than enough.
With any luck Tesco will not have the business case anyway looking at their finances.
Thame is vibrant shire market town with a busy, diverse and successful town centre – and one of the main reasons for this is because it doesn’t have an out of town superstore!
Those who talk about allowing “progress” need to visit some other market towns and see the empty shops or the endless charity shops in their high streets. It is not “small minded” to want to stop this potential development, it is vital to the town’s ongoing success.
Thame is a huge success – dont allow Tesco (or anyone else) to set up a store and suck the life out of our lovely town.
A lot of small minded people on here trying to stop development.of Thame yet again. Its about time Thame moved into the 21st Century. Tesco’s would be welcome as far as I’m concerned and well overdue. A lot of “self interest” people blocked Sainsbury’s plan for the town centre so now an out of town plan is hopefully what you will get.. I have lived in Long Crendon / Thame for 61 years and ran a local company for 28 years so am well qualified to comment on this.
Tescos Yay!
The “Thame Plan” is pretty clear that this site is for Employment use only, not a food store, and the additional retail space that the town needs should be predominantly in the town centre.
Thame, deserves quality.. Tescos is everything but this!!! Understand thame is a thriving town, which is doing absolutely fine without the bull dozer tactics of them!!! It’s a BIG NO from me!!!!!!
its time people stopped living in the past thame is an ever expanding place and needs improvements like this I also think putting a 99p store or pounland here would help keep locals happy to shop in thame instead of oxford or Aylesbury
No thanks! Thame as we know it would never survive a supermarket of this size. If people want Tescos they can order online no need for a supermarket!
Say “NO” to Tesco and save Thame Town Centre
No No No
In 2012 the Sainsbury plan was rejected which would have at least retained customers and spend within the current buoyant town centre. So how now could an out of town store ever possibly be considered as an option thereby driving custom out of the centre! For the sake of the long term future of our successful town centre we should come together and fight this ludicrous proposal.
Good for Tesco, bad for everyone else. It would suck the life from the town.
Nope. No one wants a tesco
No thank you tesco.
No thank you Tesco. don’t need nor want you. what about all the people already working on the site?
Puzzling that Tesco want to do this, given the recently reported downturn in the trade of some of their supermarkets around the country. I can’t see that this would be anything but deleterious to town centre trade and life. As for the description of the site: it is on the outskirts of Thame. It is not a suburb of Thame. Given the other nearby developments already approved, one of them contrary to the Neighbourhood Plan (Howland Road), I wonder whether Tesco are envisaging the scene as a future suburb. That up to now is not on the public map. Beware thin ends of wedges.
We certainly do not need another supermarket or more petrol pumps in Thame. It would drain money from the centre of town by taking people out of the centre. Haven’t they got the message yet?!
About time too.come on Tesco.
This would be ideal! Co-op and Saisnbury’s arent big enough for thame and arent the best!, also with the number of houses going up a bigger supermarket and another petrol station IS needed !
This would be so bad for the town. We have butcher and bakeries which would not survive this
Nope, nope, nope.
Tesco would be great for Thame, if people don’t want to use it that’s entirely up to them, surely more choice & competition is good for the consumer.
With the large number of new houses proposed the current supermarkets in town are inadequate. Large numbers of residents already drive to Wheatley and Aylesbury, if a new store reduces this then that has to be a good thing.
It is time Tesco’s accepted that we do not want them here!
If they insist upon trying to force themselves on us, they are simply demonstrating how unethical and immoral that they are, simply using their enormous financial muscle to force themselves upon our community. We should deal with them in the same way as we would any other bully; resist them, reject their approaches, use the law, and make it impossible for them to function here!
This new junction layout doomed from the start, it’s a very dangerous junction to use, one crash happened on it not long after it was opened (probably because it wasn’t well signposted about the change). To add insult to injury whilst these works were carried out the two pretty big pot holes leading to the junction were left untouched….
The 40 bus service is a life line for many people in Thame, especially visiting the hospital at High Wycombe and shopping locally. After all, by the time the bus reaches High Wycombe I have often noticed that people are standing. Surely it cannot be said the service is not commercially viable. My husband is disabled and can no longer drive a car so for people like him the bus service is even more important.
Way to go, son!
Yes. They should be removed and I will when I get time. But interestingly, one report was of interest recently to an insurance loss adjuster in a road crash investigation !
Aren’t these road/travel reports a bit out of date now.
Brilliant.Tell the man he can get a good pint at the Cross Keys.
We could do with a walk-in minor injuries unit in Thame.
A very dangerous junction now, the other day there was a telephone engineers large van parked on the left completely blocking what little vision you have to turn right I was also puzzled for a few seconds as to who had priority at the junction, needs sorting quickly as I believe there has already been an accident recently.
I emailed Thame Town Council regarding this dangerous road layout in June this year which was forwarded to OCC highways ( haven’t heard from them) It is not down to Taylor Wimpey to rectify this dangerous road junction.
With or without the new homes due to be built, the road layout is just the most ill thought out design I have seen in a long time. It’s an accident waiting to happen and I cannot believe someone was stupid enough to sign off on the plans in the first place. It shouldn’t be down to Taylor Wimpey to show how they will improve it.
It’s down to the moron who originally thought it was a good idea to fix the problem. When the work began we all assumed that finally someone was using their brain and thinking ahead to the new home and putting a small roundabout there.
The new layout is dreadful if you are coming from Wenman Rd to turn right you can not see far enough round to the left to see if any traffic is coming, I had a couple of near misses , It will become a nightmare and death trap with all those new flats there , Sort it out quickly !
Only now is the council worrying about traffic from Site C?! It was obvious from the moment that Site C appeared in the draft Neighbourhood Plan that traffic to and from it would be an issue for the town. It would have been better to allocate these houses to a site nearer the town centre and with better links to the road network such as Site F on the Oxford rd. Site C is not a very sustainable site to develop.
Councillor Lambert stood out from other councillors as being very defensive. He also seemed confused; how can 2100 people who have signed a petition against any development of The Elms Field be described as “pockets of people objecting to building behind their homes”? Cllr Lambert appeared to be looking for sympathy for having apparently been called a traitor; he might be well-advised to look at why a longstanding resident of Thame would be so moved to verbally express this feeling.
SODC say that a reason must be supplied to justify re- examining, and possibly amending, the Town Plan. Surely the discovery of a conflict of objectives within the plan is such a reason.
The elmspetition group has recommended to the Council that a small committee be set up to examine how to handle the situation at minimum cost. This could include a postal vote for a change, simply calling for the deletion of Elms Field as a site. Why can’t this be done? There is no need to rewrite the Plan. It is a simple editing job.
The essential thing to keep in mind, and a fact that Cllr Lambert seems incapable of understanding, is that SODC Planning’s normal power to examine the site for suitability is limited by the fact that the site is in an adopted plan. It needs to be taken out so that SODC powers are restored.
“The development proposals include a number of potential public benefits for Thame, such as the public open space, new footpath/cycleway linkages and an open space link between Elms Park and the new public open space for but at present the design of the scheme would not successfully realise these benefits.”
I can see no public benefit for Thame in opening up access from the park into Elms Field (apparently in contravention of the original conveyance in 1948), who would want to go and sit in the middle of a new housing development if they did not live there?! The only benefit is for the developers, to make their investment more attractive. Many of the proposed changes to Elms Park will reduce it’s usefulness, such as moving the basketball courts closer to the kids area (presumably to ensure their colourful language is easier to hear) and creating a toddler playground with no line of sight to the existing playground. The total usable are is also being reduced at the edges, so the park will effectively be about 40% smaller.
The ‘consultation’ was a sham, I don’t know of any regular users of the park who were engaged in the consultation or who support the changes now being proposed. Changes can be funded by other means and it’s a sad reflection on the council that they are in reality supporting these plans by asking for minor changes only.
You need to contact the Community Bank administrators: http://swancreditunion.org.uk/contact-us/ I’m sure they will be able to answer any questions you may have.
Strange … I drive along this road twice a day … didn’t experience any closure …..!
What are your savers interest rates??
I am unable to fine them anywhere.
Thanks Norman – well, Thame.Net tries to be get the important local news out as soon as possible, though I must admit, I didn’t mean it to take so long, but it’s important to have a comprehensive record of these thing on the public record for those who couldn’t attend. Public statements and press releases don’t tell the whole story.
Cllr. Lambert is totally wrong to continue to maintain that the letter from English Heritage was late or that as presented in the minutes it was received late – 3 weeks after the closing of the public consultation period. The same fiction is repeated in a press release issued by the Town Clerk in August 2014.
The letter was NOT written in connection with the public consultation.
The opening sentence of the letter makes it clear that it was a report to Council, via the Clerk, and followed a site meeting with the developer’s consultants. It was written within less than a week of that meeting.
The letter plainly dismissed the report of those consultants. It provided a true history of the site and it said that there was no question of any justification for this housing to be considered as enabling development. The minutes show the Councillors being misinformed on this matter also.
What the Councillors were told is clear in the minutes. They were given incorrect information. By whom? The minutes do not say. They also do not say who said that the 35 houses the plan group originally had put in the plan, was to be increased to 45.
Cllr Dyer is on record stating that the plan was produced, as if by magic, through public consultation. He has denied the existence of a plan group. Obviously though, somebody had to resolve the conflicts arising from the public consultation. According to the Council’s own planning consultant, a plan group was established, and of course it was lead by none other than Cllr Dyer.
The Clerk, along with Cllrs Dyer and Lambert, are evidently very distressed by the personal implications. Understandably. Wouldn’t an admission and an apology from all three not be more appropriate?
OK, I declare my interest as a long-retired journalist. CONGRATULATIONS. Prompt, comprehensive, therefore very helpful to the community, and you caught the ‘first edition’!
You can make contact with the group via facebook https://www.facebook.com/thame4business?fref=ts and then Sue Martin Downhill will contact you.
I would like to talk with someone about linking our business to others in Thame and district
This sounds like a common issue with the Neighbourhood Plan. This is for a site where all that is at risk is design and consultation but we have an even greater issue with The Elms development proposal. Consultation has been poor, designs are hideous, traffic increases risk the safety of local residents and there is destruction of conservation land and protected trees. I hope we get equally strong support from the town council and SODC when those plans are presented for review.
Just for the record, Thame Town Council carried out a public consultation on whether or not to move the fair. Here’s the report from the time, from Thame.Net’s archives: https://www.thame.net/archives/4075
Oh dear, here we go again ‘new’ Thame shopkeepers and residents complaining about a traditional fair that has given generations of children and adults great entertainment and memories for many many years.
I suggest the fair is very important part of Thames history and tradition and should remain exactly where it is.
If a minority of moaning new residents and shop keepers can’t cope with a few days disruption once a year then perhaps they should find somewhere else to live or manage their businesses a little more efficiently.m
Please don’t move to our wonderful town and try and change it to suit yourselves, give a little thought to those families who have lived here for generations and want some important traditions to remain how they are.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand why Thame businesses are compromised during this time for an annual event that takes over the whole high st…. Please can it be reviewed/ discussed to move it to the showground! Somewhere less disruptive? It is now 4 days of trade that our local businesses lose (not forgetting another couple of days in October when the fair returns) I am not saying stop it altogether as I know its a tradition enjoyed by families, but the question of its location being the most suitable, especially as its for a lengthy time, needs addressing when we have a showground ideal for this type of event
There wil be an application to turn these into flats once this is built!
I am really surprised that so little note has been made of the fact that this development has been given approval by both Thame Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council despite the fact that it contravenes the principles of our Neighbourhood Plan. This site was allocated as 3ha in the Neighbourhood Plan and permission has been given here for 4.6ha which is 50% more than we signed up for when we were encouraged to VOTE YES. We need to defend our Neighbourhood Plan.
Full marks to “Save the Elms” the truth has emerged, now it is up to the people of Thame to register their opposition. Sign the petition at the pet shop or on line.
He’s home safe, thank you all
By the way @A.Victor, what was wrong with the Americano? I only ask because I work there and I’d like to make sure we’re giving you a good service 🙂 (I am the waiter who wears glasses) Sorry to hear it wasn’t quite up to scratch this time around.
We actually had an issue today in the afternoon in that, due to the restaurant being completely full over lunch and the coffee grinder being in constant use, the grinder became jammed, so we had to use a backup grinder which may have made the coffee more coarse/less fine. This might have changed the flavour somewhat I’m afraid, so I’m sorry about that.
Our manager Dawn is extremely approachable so if there’s an issue feel free to come in and have a chat about it, or alternatively I’ll be in from 9-5 on weekdays so you can ask for me (My name is Cole) and I’ll try to resolve that for you.
Thanks
Cole Bryant
Pretty sure the prices are exactly the same as they were when it was TimeOut @A.Victor. Which waitor served you your Americano?
Please call 101 or me his Uncle Craig on 07813 763112
Depends how this compares with other Thame cafe coffee prices?
Tried Treacles this afternoon and was charged £2.30 for a mediochre Americano with milk. Which by my reckoning the milk cost in the region of £0.45. Is the owner having a laugh?
Feel I’ve really been taken for a ride.
@Richard – to say the land is not used for anything is incorrect. This is the grounds of a grade 2 listed property. Just because the public don’t have access to it it doesn’t mean its insignificant. Would you suggest that the millions of square miles of countryside in the UK are also not used for anything and therefore should be built on?
It would appear your definition of progress is to build houses on greenfield sites (where there is suitable infrastructure).
Agree with your point re the infrastructure issues though, certainly the road access is very poor to this site.
@Matt – firstly, some of the most active objectors do not live in the immediate vicinity of the land. Secondly, because this land borders a public park owned by the town and people of Thame, it is EVERY resident’s concern. thirdly, what is wrong with protecting your own interest? If you stood to lose £££s then I’m sure you’d stand up and object too.
Finally, there’s a fair amount of information about the development available now allowing people to make informed decisions. This is due to the hard work of those opposing the development. I encourage you to seek it out and make decisions based upon it.
As stated everyone had some part of the NP they did not like or want, but had to vote on the whole selection or risk having it imposed at one site not of any choosing. This would be fine but the Elms site was not highlighted clearly and would be the wrong choice for Thame.
Quite clearly some bully boy tactics being offered by the powers that be.
To remain fair to the process the Elms should be out to referendum in its own and let the people of Thame decide.
If it goes through then descuss planning etc…
I agree with the previous comment from Richard.
It would also appear to me that the most vocal in opposing this project happen to live along Park Street. Would I be a cynic in saying these people are more worried about the value of their house prices than the development on land that is unused?
I cant see what the problem is. As far as I can see the land is not used for anything anyway but has Thame got the interstructure to cope with more people moving into what used to be a small market town? I’m all for progress as long as everything is taken into account when decisions are finalised.
100% with you on that.
Yes, be very vigilant because Eric would be easier to carry off than a full-size cow & wouldn’t require a large vehicle.
Oh this is disastrous. We will have to keep a closer eye on our Eric. The kids love him and he has been photographed no end of times. He is also world famous as we have many international visitors to the shop and they all take photos.
Jenny
A Piece of Cake
Evocative, informative, very moving. Thank you.
Having just seen the plans I can safely say I am not amused by this joke. Did they really just submit these plans for an area of land forming part of a listed building grounds and in a conservation area?!
I agree with the stance taken by ElmsPetition.org.uk that this is merely a way of directing public focus to design of houses rather than the fact that houses are being built at all!
We must not let this happen to Thame, we do not want any houses built on The Elms and we must continue to fight this desecration.
Anyone is welcome to let Thame.Net know there views about anything reported on. I have been in contact with the Elms group and I understand that a response is pending. You’d be most welcome to come to our Christmas party by the way Simon.
The park is only being ‘improved’ for the benefit of the property developers, to increase the value of their investment in Elms Park. The Elms Park residential development is already highly controversial so I’m very suprised that Thame.net published a puff piece direct from the developers PR without any context or alternative view. Did you seek a comment from http://www.elmspetition.org.uk/ for instance?
Or have they offered to fund improvements to your Christmas party as well as the park?
If the people of Thame are forced to accept a major expansion of the town is the County Council going to build more school buildings and provide for the additional G.P.s the increased population will require.
Good to see the Councillors are taking a sensible stance on this and not blindly following the due process.
However, maybe they should be putting some focus on more immediate dangers including the wholly unnecessary and very questionable development of Elms & Elms Park.
Don’t forget you can register your objection to the Elms Park Residential Development here: change.org
Was a fantastic night – despite the torrential downpour!
Thank you to EVERYONE involved, walkers, sponsors, supporters, marshals – whatever your role. Your support makes a huge difference to us as a small, local charity – we simply couldn’t do it without you all!
Great! get in touch with Mary Stiles at 21st Century Thame.
Tel: 01844-213851 or 07779-654840, or email maryandstella@aol.com
I would be happy to have a cow on my fourcourt…
I’d like to respond to Mr Knight’s comments in my capacity as the director of the film. What a shame the first and so far only comment is so negative, given the spirit of the project for which the film was made.
This was a practically zero budget film and, sadly, we were unable to afford an actor who had been trained in the correct method of wearing first world war military uniform. In the end, my son gave up two days of his time, free of charge. Similarly, of the limited crew on the two day shoot, none of us had any first hand experience of how to wear webbing or puttees or how to correctly dress a soldier going to war in 1914. If we had enjoyed a full production budget we would would have employed an expert, such as Mr Knight, to correct such mistakes. Sadly, we had to guess. From a personal point of view, I don’t think he looked ‘dreadful’ at all. I was very proud of him.
I’m surprised Mr Knight didn’t mention the fact that the soldier was wearing Doctor Marten boots, which were obviously wrong for the period, and that some of the hand grenades in the battlefield scene were from a different war entirely. We made do with what we had available to us.
The one concession I will make is that he should indeed have had a haircut. Unfortunately, when we started shooting on the Sunday the barber was closed.
I think we did a good job with the film and I like to thank everyone involved for freely giving their time. I’m very proud of what we achieved given the limited resources available to us.
I apologise in advance for being negative but the chap portraying the Tommy looks pretty dreadful. It is not difficult to get it right. His puttees are completely incorrect he needs a haircut and he has not been shown how to to carry/ wear his webbing correctly It is a shame when so much effort has obviously been put into this project. I hope the poorly turned out Tommy doesn’t detract from the film!
Thanks for drawing this to our attention. The date will be corrected straight away! See you there.
Hi
Megan Henwood will be headlining The First Thursday Music Club on THURSDAY 3 JULY 2014 (not June 5, as this article states).
For details, see: https://www.facebook.com/Towerseyfestival/posts/10152582658156062
Well done to you all
I think you two are two are talking about two different meetings? I believe Mr Clanfield is talking about the AGM on May 13 when the councillor agreed to no longer support the TCAC, not the Grants panel?
This subject was talked about when I was at school nearly 30 years ago, and be be honest it is a complete waste of money, rebuilding existing facilities including the drama facilities becasue some of the teachers do not want to organisate themseleves and cycle between the two sites and makes their lives easier. Instead they clog the centre of Thame with cars!
Dear Mr Clanfield
I am sorry that you feel the Council is responsible for the possible disbandment of CAAC. That was not the intention. All councils have been affected by major funding cuts as have all community groups who by their very nature must apply for grants to be able to continue their work in the community. The remit of the grants panel is getting more and more difficult as more groups apply for grants. The Panel has a set amount of money and has the task of deciding which groups they can help. We cannot fund the same groups every year whilst ignoring new applications for very worthy causes. For instance, ARC which organises volunteers to read to children in our local primary schools, is doing very worthwhile work in the community. As is the CAB. Other groups who applied did not receive grants and I’m afraid this has to be the case with only a finite pot of money. We always encourage groups to seek further grants form other sources.
Speaking from my own experience as an applicant, when the Twinning Association was refused a grant I set about finding another venue to hold our meetings. Racquets were very kind in offering us free space for out monthly meetings and we have met there for almost three years now.
Your personal attack on the Town Clerk is both unwarranted and inaccurate. Helen Stewart was not present at the Grants Panel and therefore did not have any say in the decisions. We did have a senior Council official present but she took notes, ensured the meeting was carried on efficiently and did not make any comments at all in respect of the applications. I have been on the Planning Committee for seven of my eight years on Council and, as a former urban designer myself, and with an architect as our Chair, feel that we have the expertise to look at applications in the conservation area and make appropriate decisions. We took great pains to make sure our conservation area policies were thorough in the Neighbourhood Plan and every application is tested on these policies.
Yours sincerely
Jeannette Matelot Green
Thame Town Council
You’re a bit late Sandy! The closing date to vote is past, the form which linked from the story to town council’s website, is no longer valid.
I would like to vote for Ken Bennell who is a valued member of Thame LIons.
Ken is very hands on with everything that is asked of him
He has been raising money for Thame for 30 years
Congratulations Jay and Patsy! Everyone at ALS loves the Rising Sun – your Thai food is amazing!
Keep up to good work =]
I understand that someone contacted Cllr Peter Lambert about it, but I will check with him and get back to you.
Hi,
Has there been any response to the appeal to restart Thame in Bloom?
I haven’t read all the stuff about the latest planning proposals and I’m happy to be corrected if I’ve got anything wrong, but I wonder just what the input of the whole town – all the meetings about the Town Plan, the discussions, letters, anxiety among residents and residents’ groups, and the expense, most of all to Thame Town Council, and that will have been very great – will have counted for when the developers move in. It does make one wonder whether we all trustingly bothered to take part. Our Town Clerk is the Town Clerk. Her work has clearly been beyond the call of the duty she fulfilled so expertly. I would have thought an MBE was the least she deserved. I don’t know why I bother by now, getting towards 80 years old but this seems to be the kind of situation which my dealings with officialdom in various places, have pre-occupied me for more than 50 years.
Start time 8.00pm
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.
Utterly disgraceful, to still be reading that the lift hasn’t been fixed! What are Sanctuary Housing thinking? I understand Twitter can be useful in shaming companies that ignore complaints, no-one wants to be a hashtag! May I suggest that this article is shared through Twitter by those that can?
What a nice illustrated report!
Thanks a lot for the very pleasant week-end with ours hosts.
A bientôt j’espère.
I will be prosecuted if I really said what I thought but the landlords should be put against a wall and shot.
Congratulations from Montesson for these nice words ! We have appreciated this weekend and all the friendship shared with our hosts … and other Montessonais that we met for the first time at this occasion !
I gather the idea is for something more than just a painted line along the side of the road for cyclists. A lot of preliminary work has been done to add to and upgrade existing bridle ways and footpaths across the fields. Some info HERE about a local group campaigning & HEREMost importantly, such a route is in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.
So to cycle from Thame to ‘our’ rail station, we have to dodge gargantuan pot holes, speeding cars and hold up large lorries at our typical sedate 12mph while we struggle to cycle up the hilly twisty A418? No thanks, I value my life more than that!
Typical ostrich-like local gov’t attitude; who did the last structural damage risk assessment and when? Cllr Woods: stating the bl**ding obvious ‘after the horse has bolted’. Just glad that no one was killed by the unattached stone ball that could have fallen down! And then the councilors wonder why the population doesn’t trust politicians!
Fine but…I don’t know how landowners would feel about it, but from Thame, an equivalent of the the Phoenix Trail would be the only feasible route to the station, unless the cyclists are young and very fit and can eat up the hill from the Aylesbury Road roundabout.
My name is Marc Kenny and Shay is my son,I would like to thank everyone involved in an amazing night for my son,the Red Kites are a great charity and have gone out of there way to make a big difference to a little boys life,I have met Serena and a couple of others from the red kites aswell as Sandy and Tracey who are Shays trustees for his fund,these are amazing people who deserve all the credit for setting this up,thanks again Marc Kenny
BRAVO Jeannette !! Cette nouvelle election est bien méritée.
Toutes mes félicitations …
Huguette
Was the photographer you? Let me know your full name & I will certainly credit you.
does the photographer not get any credit for his work?
lol
The details of how to join in with Thame Tidy day have been published several times on Thame.Net. The start point was Racquets, in North Street this year. Be sure to keep your eye on the website for the next one. Better still, become a subscriber and we send you all the news! See our contact page: https://www.thame.net/contact
Hello
I tried to find you this morning so that I can join the litter picking team.
Where did you start your tidy up?
Please would you let me know details of next years tidy, or the next one you are planning. Thank you
Glad you like the picture Trish. Follow this link to my flickr stream https://www.flickr.com/photos/thamenews/14108670604/ and then just right click, and save the image on your own computer. Save the file on a memory stick and take it into the Fuji shop in Buttermarket and they’ll print it off for you.
Can somebody explain to me why a “car park” gets to be resurfaced yet every day I drive down the road outside Churchill Crescent, especially on a motorbike, its like dicing with death because of the craters – and that is just one road in Thame – I am sure there are many more equally as dangerous.
Fab photo , I’d love a copy , great day had by all thank x
Always reluctant to criticise volunteers.
I hope you’re volunteering David and not just hoping someone else will do it? email:tidythame@gmail.com to get involved.
Do hope you’ll be doing something about the alley that runs from Elms Road to the back entrance of John Hampden School. Fly tipping and rubbish is terrible up there.
What a shame the clear up was so poor though. The park is littered with cigarette butts, plastic cutlery and pieces if lemon. Not great when you’re walking your dog!
The entire UK should have 20 mph limits in built up areas.
Well done Peter. Every Mayor including myself is surprised at the school children’s knowledge of Thame and their interest in how the council works. Some of their questions can be pretty incisive too.
Oops! Thanks for pointing out the error!
Please note that the quiz starts at 19.30 not 7.30 in the morning. I’m not getting up that early.
Re. Thame Park Road closure. We only found out about this by accident. There has to our knowlwdge been no information about this important matter disemminated locally. Certainly nothing about it in the Thame Gazette and nothing from the Town Council. Not sure what Mr Nimmo Smith means about informing locals but we certainly have not been informed. Thank goodness for Thame.net.
Hee hee! Bit of colour blind moment there!! Thanks for pointing out the error.
Don’t you mean Green light. However that is good news.
I think it’s a ‘drop in’ session, but contact the Blood Transfusion Service via its website for info. http://www.blood.co.uk/donor-information/
Do I need an appointment, if so can I do after 6.30 pm please
In the light of there being as many as 2000 houses added to Thame might it beappropriate that the completion of the ring road (from Thame Park Road to the Oxford road roundabout) be seriously considered. This would help to identify a suitable area for future development and if carried out in the near future will resolve the inevitable road traffic problems in Park Street and Chinnor Road which will arise from developments already in the Town Plan.
I’m grateful to our PCSOs for their hard work in keeping Thame such a fabulous, safe place to live. Thank you all.
…this year headlined by the wonderful Skasouls UK.
We can’t sign you up! You have to go to the web link in the story !
Thanks for the heads up! Link seems to have fallen off! Techies on it now!
Are you aware that your “older news” link just reloads the news page?
Please sign me up for the Thame 10K
Excellent piece, Will, I enjoyed reading it.
To clarify, as I recall, since Adam Buckland’s staff, particularly Mark Green and Jade, stepped down from driving the carnival after June 2013, Cllr Dyte took over as Chair with yourself and other councillors on the committee. The Clerk and Councillors made it very clear at the CLR Committee meeting (Feb 11) that the council wanted the community to take responsibility for it as they did not ‘have the resources’ to take the lead. See: LINK Happily, Sue Downhill has done just that, and I’m sure looks forward to working with you Jeannette and the others on the committee.
This is incorrect. The Carnival was in danger of being cancelled as the Chair, Adam Buckland, had to step down due to business commitments. The town council is offering the same resources as they did before which includes me !
So it is. Thank for!
Meters not metres!!
How could the cheques have been allowed to fall into the fraudster’s hands? Presumably they were taken without consent from the Council Office; it will be interesting to hear the outcome of a Police investigation into the attempted fraud.
It would seem some murky doings are afoot, should it not all be brought into the light. As a longstanding resident and local Business i would not feel comfortable supporting any council or councilors unable to be open and honest in there dealings.
Excellent…. Here’s a plan, don’t put the band in a box and invest in a decent PA system.
This competition is being run by the Rycote Practice. You need to click on the link in the article, and then, once on the Rycote website, click through where it is says ‘click here for more details’. It seems you then need to download a poster with the details. If this doesn’t help, I suggest you call the surgery. Sorry, that’s all the information we were given.
Where do we submit the photographs? This is not clear…
Pity they shut down the separate tourism centre. As I said at the time.
You’re very welcome! Well deserved and a lovely good-news story on Valentine’s day. Best of luck for the award; see you in the pub for the quiz on Wednesday – bring ‘lady luck’ along with you!
Many thanks for allowing me such a generous write up, Sonja. I’m very lucky to have this space. Hopefully, luck will still be smiling on me when I go to the quiz next week!
Lee James raises another issue over the question of democracy in SODC. This Council will allow Councillors to speak on any issue but when it comes to a vote, a Councillor cannot vote if the issue concerns his or her constituency. The Democracy Manager says this rule was adopted to ensure that the Council would not ever be sued for vested interest votes.
SODC admit that this is not a pan-UK rule and they say they have no idea whether it applies anywhere else. They say the rule was adopted by the Councillors themselves and have not yet supplied requested minutes of the relevant meeting where the matter was discussed.
I suspect that as is usual, the matter was raised by officials and Councillors simply accepted their advice.
In fact, the Council does not need to fear suing, in my opinion. If a Councillor does have a personal interest and fails to declare the fact, then the council is a victim and can discipline the Councillor, in the same way that Parliament would discipline an MP.
Another fact is that Thame’s Councillor on the SODC Planning Committee, Anne Midwinter, has told people that the Elms Field proposal will go through. How can she say this in advance of knowing what is proposed? Also is she not there to vote on behalf of her constituents? Is she proposing to ignore the fact that the majority are against? Possibly none are for.
Anne has refused to talk to me, and says this is on the advice of the SODC legal department who tell her not to talk to opponents of the scheme.
This surely means that, if she did ask for opinions from other constituents, then she would immediately cut off the conversation when they say they are against?
I wonder how many people realise that Councillors are now salaried. Value for money?
EDITOR’S COMMENT: My understanding is that councillors are nor salaried, but receive expenses and allowances.
I would not be surprised if Lee James’ comments above bring a threat of legal action from Rectory’s lawyers, for his criticism of the process which has lead to the proposal to build houses in Elms field.
Both myself and Ron Clanfield, who have had similar temerity, have received threats of legal proceedings from Rectory’s Cardiff-based solicitor. In fact they also demanded the names of all who had signed the petition, in order to threaten them also. The threats were met with the promise to fight any action vigorously and the demand for names and addresses of others was rejected.
I have also been threatened with legal action by the Thame Town Clerk, for the crime of “harrasing” Councillors, who are refusing to speak to me. Demands that we cease writing critical statements about the development have also been made, personally by Mr Vickers, to Richard Jeffries. Let citizens of Thame be aware what is going on behind the scenes.
Many other questions spring to mind as I glance at the Thame ‘Neighbourhood plan’. The Elms is in the conservation area as is my home. This means that I can’t even chop down an annoying tree on my land yet it is apparently fine for the owner of the Elms to plonk 45 houses on his bit. Surely areas A,B,C,D & F (What appened to E?) which collectively have about the same area as the entirity of Thame could easily accomodate these houses without wrecking the town centre?
Yes I can be very specific indeed:
His first statement states that allegations by objectors are ‘patently’ untrue. They may well be untrue but they are not ‘patently’ untrue. ‘Patently’ means openly, plainly, clearly or obviously and if that were the case there would be no challenge. It’s is precisely because the process is not open, plain and clear that the issue exists.
His second statement describes the Elms as a ‘highly sustainable’ location. What does that mean? it can’t refer to its impact on traffic because Nelson Street and Southern Road are already groaning under the weight of the additional traffic created by developing areas such as the old football ground up the road, the busy Sainsbury’s car park etc. It can’t be a reference to the preservation of green spaces because this is about the last bit of greenery the council hasn’t already flogged to developers that doesn’t have a covenant on it. It can’t refer to the architectural merit and longevity of the development because like all modern development plans it will consist of squeezing as many houses as possible into the space to maximise profits. So what exactly does ‘sustainable’ mean? Is it just this decade’s buzz word like ‘partnership’ was last decades?
His third statement states that ‘consultations including the site were exhaustive’. Well they can’t have been that exhaustive because I wasn’t aware it was even proposed until very recently and I have since spoken to lots of Thame residents and have yet to find one who was aware of this development. Consultations were not comprehensive, all-inclusive, all-embracing, extensive, intensive and in-depth; in short they were not ‘exhaustive’. By the same token ‘subjected to scrutiny by SODC’ doesn’t give me any confidence at all; I have seen their processes in the past. Take for example corporation yard where SODC had to decide whether developers could build on a piece of land in Park Terrace. They granted permission of course, not surprising given that they also owned the land! Go have a look at those houses; they are not attractive, not well built and the parking spaces are so cramped they only work if half of them are empty. So no, scrutiny by the SODC is not reassuring.
His fourth & fifth statements are interesting in that they can’t decide whether The Elms and Elms Park are the same place or not:
On the one side it will result in ‘less than half the area being developed’ and on the other ‘The proposed housing is on privately owned land to the rear of Elms House to which no one has access’ and ‘…Elms Park will remain undeveloped’ so which is it?
Glad you find the article interesting. I assume you mean MR Vickers?? (Not MY Vickers?) Can you be more specific please. For instance, which comment(s) in particular?
B4009 High Street in KINGSTON BLOUNT around the Stert Road junction was passable with care at 08:50 this morning.
This is an interesting article: http://www.thametoday.co.uk/news/local-news/developer-denies-claims-of-improper-conduct-on-elms-housing-development-1-5800161
I wonder just how many of My Vickers comments are entirely correct?
The whole process pays little more than lip service to the pricipals of democracy and open government: look at the ‘Yes’ vote nonsense. Nothing to do with presenting two or more arguments and letting the public decide; all to do with the council marketing their own preferences under the veil of a mock democratic process. This is hardly surprising many councils employ ‘democracy officers’. This sounds good doesn’t it, someone to promote democratic processes? except that is not what they are for, they are there to ensure the council does the minimum it can get away with doing in order to avoid being outragously un-democratic. For examples see almost everything the SODC does in any planning applications involving big business or council partners against simple members of the public.
E.R.King.
Makes you wonder if any palms have been greased, I don’t suppose it would be the first time; NO one is worried how many houses they build, the majority of Thame people just want the Elms Park left alone, not destroyed for the profit of just a few. (Edited)
Well said!
It is quite obvious that members of the council are attempting to force this through in accordance with their own agenda’s and I wonder whether outright corruption is not at the heart of this conduct?
In any event no action should be taken while the council is not behaving in an open and accountable manner and while no MEANINGFUL public consultation has taken place.
On thame.net, neither of the two links above work.
Much anti comment has focused on cost, disruption and scenic destruction. More has to be said about need. Business persons work while on a train and a small time saving is of no real value. The person traveling to see friends or relatives in either London or Birmingham is also unconcerned about time. Also, such travellers are likely to reduce in numbers as conference calls take over from direct meetings.
Further, where is an analysis of the passenger makeup on the current Chiltern route. That is to say, what proportion of passengers start in London or Birmingham and travel the whole distance, as opposed to getting on, and perhaps off at the intermediate Chiltern stations. These latter passengers get no benefit and are surely the greatest part of the customers.
Oops! You’re quite right! Bit of a dyslexic moment there.
Surely the heading should read ‘conversation’ !
Andy KING, where do you live?
I bet it’s not in the vacinity of this proposed development
Most of the swap shops are organised by the local CAGS – here’s a link with timetable of Swap shops – you have to scroll down a bit for this year-they don’t take them off the website once they’ve been and gone.http://www.cagoxfordshire.org.uk/events/swapshops/cat.listevents/2014/01/24/-
Can you tell me if you are planning any more swap shops?
Oops! Thanks for that. Correction made. Apologies to Serena and Eveline
The names in the article don’t match the ones in the photo…
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.
I teach at CES and the students we have are lovely people. It is great for them to stay in Thame or Haddenham as they can catch the 280 bus to school. It is a great way to get to know people from other countries. If you have a spare room, give it a try for a week or so. I am sure you won’t regret it.
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?
Apologies – the report was a follow on from Tuesday’s report of one of the crashes at Junc 8 spur road. I should’ve repeated. Corrected now. Thanks for pointing out the omission Peter.
Where is the M40 spur road? Do you mean the M40 motorway? If so where exactly is the 1 kilometre stretch? Thanks
People are parking on double yellow lines and double parking in Thame everywhere these days and no-one is doing anything about it!
Having witnessed people parking on double yellow lines everywhere recently, I googled to find out if we still had a traffic warden. I didn’t know she had retired which explains a lot. Peoplke are parking badly everywhere in Thame and no-one is doing anything about it!
Apologies Alex. Must admit I just cut and pasted the quote from the press release and didn’t notice the spelling mistake. It has been corrected.
please note that the company is spelt “Kubota”. Please can this be corrected
Fantastic cause, fantastic night, fab scooter club, well done to everybody involed. Jules double diamond!
Full list of Top Hats on town council’s website
So where were they?
Traffic building up all way back to walton court aylesbury, just cycled passed ten mins ago, fairford leyes was also building up quickly.
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Well done nick!
In response to these comments we can confirm that not only were the Elms proposals featured in all Public exhibitions at the Town Hall including one exclusively for the Elms but was also included in the written housing options from the very start of The Thame Neighbourhood Plan process which were advertised extensively . We would urge all interested parties to attend the exhibition to see for themselves the current proposals and to make any comments which will of course be listened to and taken into account in the next stage.
Hi Maggie, there is a facebook page ‘Knighthood for Robin Gibb’ where you could find information and other supporters: https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Knighthood-for-Robin-Gibb/112794218831370
Hope that helps
I think it is important that people be aware that the event is being organised by a planning consultant, engaged by the developer to help get consent from the planning authority. This is what they are paid for and sucess is what assures future paid work. Expect therefor that objections to the development will be listened to and maybe a show made of recording them. Don’t count on them getting through to SODC Planning. As most people know anyway public presentations of this nature are part of the show and can often be classified as “Going through the motions”
Has anybody met anybody else actually in favour? But a problem is that many people feel that this is a “done deal. NOT SO.
Those who have not already registered their opposition can still do so by emailing name and address of all in the household (Over 18s of course and also neighbours and friends if they authorise to do so and provide their own addresses) by emailing a brief statement to elmspetition@hotmail.co.uk. Anybody not showing an OX9 postcode will be listed in the petition as a “Friend of Thame”.
Written objections, In an envelope please can be dropped into PetCare in the Buttermarket. Buy a little present for cat or dog if you wish.
My husband and I totally agree with you . we signed the petition on Remembrance Sunday and since then , have been trying to find out how we could help . Maybe you could forward something I could print out , and I could circulate around our local chapels in the North East . If this is possible who where would I send the lists to and by what date please ?
Surely there is enough space around the town to develop. Why not leave that beautiful piece of greenery and history in peace?
How ironic that the pictures for this story are from the public consultation dodged by the Elms development at the outset of the Neighbourhood Plan.
I am alo looking for my 18 year old black female cat missing rom Cotmore Close since 20th November. She never normally strays far from the garden.
I cannot believe that such a beautiful piece of land in the centre of Thame could have been approved in such a way, its plainly wrong.
There is plenty of land on the outskirts of Thame with so much better access into the site.
Furthermore its development is a sham and should never have been included into the Neighbourhood planm,
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How dare the Councillor not ask for a document from 1826 regarding land rights (?). As long as the houses are affordable, they get my vote for go ahead! Can’t stop progress.
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I support the Elms Petition group in this matter, it would be a travesty if this land and the Beautiful Trees were to be built on.
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My vote is for the ‘the Tom Wood’ room. I’ve struggled to believe what’s happened to my friend Tom this week. It still doesn’t sit well, to be honest I’m really struggling and at a loss to why such a great bloke has disappeared from our lives. All I know is I’ve spent some of my best memories up the club with my mate Tom and all the Chinnor boys. He was the life of the party and made us all smile. Singing ‘Take That’ on the microphone at my leaving party to Sydney, shouting buffalo, I could go on…you will never leave my memory. Tom I’m just lucky to have had you in my life and you will continue to make me smile. My kids will never know you but I will be telling them of Uncle Tom. Rest well B. I propose the ‘Tom wood extension’ – May it be larger than life and be the holder of great nights! Clarky
I have lived in Thame all my life and moving Thame show to earlier in the year is just wrong!! I think the ticket prices are the reason also why people can’t go nothing to do with the weather! I know for a fact I would take my little family if it was more affordable move back to Septemeber where it belongs and always has been is great but make it like the old days and bring back the original and loved format!
Well done to the organisers to let common sense and the will of the townspeople prevail by putting the show back to where it belongs in September. Nobody can predict the weather these days, especially the summers, so it was a small wonder that attendance at this year’s dropped on one of the hottest days this year.
At least in September, the weather is a little more consistent and you can prepare for the cooler weather. Farmers have finished tending to the fields and fruits have ripened and been turned into all manner of goods.
Innovation seems to be a bit of a dirty word, particularly when it comes to challenging the status quo. I have an idea that may breathe some life back into the show and foster better links with the independent retailers of Thame.
What I propose is that we reproduce what is good about Thame town centre and create a ‘Little High Street’ that will form the spine of all the market stalls. I will write a letter and try to get feedback from our retailers to see if it is worth approaching the organisers with this proposal.
What I hope this will achieve is to take advantage of the thousands of people, both local and from further afield to get a taste of what Thame has to offer when the Show is not on. Pitch rates would have to be reasonable and if we gather momentum now, it will give retailers time to prepare for it. Before you brush aside or rubbish my idea, fish and chip shops can get portable fryers, pubs can get portable pumps and estate agents only need a display and a desk. Should some of the higher value items stores or chains wish to participate, if you can’t afford mobile card payments, you can always use your mobile phone and get a card payment put through back at the shop in town.
Rather than grumble about the show taking trade away from the town centre, let’s be proactive and be part of the show. This used to happen years ago, so when people talk about how reinstating what used to go on, why not think back a little further, as it was in the Fifties?
Doing away with the moratorium on catering was one of the best moves yet, encouraging smaller local food retailers and breweries to attend. Yes, by all means bring back the beer tent, but make it communal ground that doubles as shelter from the elements.
By representing the town centre at the showground, not only will it fill all the stalls up and make the show bigger and better, it will keep some money in the town with people from all walks spending money at local stalls. If people agree with me, then I am happy to lead a quiet revolution!
Not official …just probable.
A knife? she had 10 of them!
I hope they throw away the key
Flabbergasted that the organisers blame the warm weather for deterring people; if it was raining you can bet they would be saying the exact same thing!
It doesn’t take an Alan Sugar to know the problem lies with the admission prices, which are nothing short of extortionate.
Excellent news that the show is to revert back to its traditional date. But you will have to also bring back the traditional format as well. with Beer tent, catering tent lots more trade stalls and exhibits – like it used to be. If it is anything like last years, then I agree that it should be the last one, as I certainly will not support it beyond 2014 A tradition of Thame that has been ruined. Also – watch the pricing. Families cannot afford the costs you imposed and therefore as much as they would like to come, just cannot justify the expense to do so. My niece with 3 children, would have cost her more than £60.00 for a show that took an hour to walk around.
Glad show back in September next year.
I suggest the committee plan a proper AGRICULTURAL show like 3 Counties at Malvern or Newbury, animals and not all stalls.
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Great to see one the restaurant awards made by students at the Rycotewood furniture centre come back to Thame to the James figg.
It was a top night.