Polls Open for Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan Referendum

Thame residents will today decide by referendum whether they want to adopt a new Neighbourhood Plan (TNP2). Polling stations have opened across town and will remain open until 10pm.

It’s hoped today’s referendum will attract a large number of voters. The Neighbourhood Plan needs to receive more than 50% of the ‘yes’ vote if it is to be “made”. If successful, South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) will adopt the Plan and it will become part of the suite of planning policies used to help shape and determine planning applications in Thame.

If the majority of people vote ‘no’ or the vote is tied, then planning applications will continue to be decided by the District Council without reference to the TNP2.

Change of Venue for Some Residents

Soon after poll cards were sent to residents in January, SODC advised Thame Town Council of a change of venue. As such, those who were originally instructed to vote at the Snooker Club must today vote at Chinnor Rugby Club, Rectory Pavilion, Kingsey Road, OX9 3JL. All other residents should check their poll card for their designated polling station. 

Poll cards are not required to vote, however voters are reminded to take photographic ID. If you have lost your poll card and are unsure about where to vote, contact SODC on 01235 422 600.
 

Forgot to Post Your Postal Vote?

You can still vote in today’s referendum. Simply hand in your completed and sealed postal vote pack directly to a polling station in your area. Please note, you will need to complete a postal vote handling form when doing this or your postal pack will be rejected.
 

The Plan That Thame Built

When local communities were given legal powers to develop Neighbourhood Plans, Thame was one of the first towns in the country to embrace the initiative. The people of Thame recognised that without such a plan, Thame could look very different.
 
The Thame Neighbourhood Plan was developed by the community for the community, who decided its main aim should be to make sure that Thame maintains its character as a real market town.

Thame Town Council’s role was to facilitate community involvement, collate feedback, deal with legalities, and prepare the documentation in readiness for consultation and examination.

In 2021, after the first consultation for the new Neighbourhood Plan (TNP2), it was found that the residents and businesses of Thame wanted the Plan to keep the same effective clear vision and objectives of the first plan. 500 sets of comments were made by the public. After a further two consultations and an additional 1,100 sets of comments, the Submission Plan was presented to Thame’s Full Council.

In May 2024, the Council submitted the plan to SODC for further consultation and independent examination, and in November 2024, the independent examiner recommended that the Plan proceed to referendum. Today, Thame will decide the Plan’s future.
 

Still Undecided?

To find out more about the Thame Neighbourhood Plan 2, including links to SODC’s specified documents, visit www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/tnp2.

We have also added a 5-minute video below which shows how the plan was developed and some of what it contains.
 

Neighbourhood Planner Responds to Flood Risk Question

We have been distributing a leaflet this week answering some of the most frequently asked questions about the Neighbourhood Plan. The leaflet has given rise to a further query – asking us to justify the following statement made within the section on flood risk:

“As part of the planning process we believe the developers will have to show the homes will not be at undue risk of flooding from any water source between now and the next 100 years, even after taking into account the much higher rainfall events expected due to climate change.”

Here is the response from Thame’s Neighbourhood Planner:

Firstly, the area for the built development shown in TNP2 is not within any area that has ever been known to flood by long standing residents or local environmental groups. 

Guidance issued by the Government on how to carry out a Flood Risk Assessment, required for all major developments in South Oxfordshire gives this advice to applicants and decision makers:

“Assess all sources of flood risk and how those risks may change over the anticipated lifetime of the proposed development. You need to account for climate change in your assessment.” and;

“Your Flood Risk Assessment should:
…demonstrate how the development will stay safe throughout its lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere…”

The link to this advice can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/378fxfkx

The lifetime of a development is explained within further Government guidance; for residential use, it is assumed to be at least 100 years, unless there is specific justification for considering a different period.

The paragraph of Planning Practice Guidance that covers this can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/4ubr3yty (Paragraph: 006 Reference ID: 7-006-20220825).

This is not to be confused with a “1 in 100 year flood”. This phrase is commonly used in media but its use is unhelpful and misleading as it confuses the likelihood of a return event with the chance of a flood event. The chance of a flood is best expressed as a probability, for example a site with a 1% risk is one where a flood has a 1 in 100 chance of happening in any year.

The starting point for TNP2 and the Local Plan is that development will be steered to the areas of very lowest risk. That will be those with a less than 0.1% chance of flooding, i.e., less than 1 in 1000 chance of happening in any year.