04 March 2025 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of Thame Town Council held on 4 March 2025 at 6:30pm in the Upper Chamber, Town Hall, Thame.

Present:

Cllrs M Baines, D Bretherton, N Champken-Woods, D Dawson (Deputy Mayor), A Dite, H Dollman, D Dodds, M Dyer, L Emery, A Gilbert (Town Mayor), C Jones, S McGarry, and P Swan

Officers

M Sturdy, Town Clerk
L Fuller, Committee Services & Processes Officer

 

Prior to the start of the meeting, the Town Mayor led the council to observe a minute’s silence in honour of former councillor, Lionel Morbey, who sadly passed away last week. Lionel had served on the council between 1999 and 2011, and been an active member of the community. The Town Council sends its sincere condolences to Lionel’s family and friends.

 

1) Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Cowell (personal) and Richards (personal).

RESOLVED:

  1. To accept the apologies and reason given from Cllrs Cowell (personal) and Richards (personal).

 

2) Declarations of Interest and Dispensations

There were no declarations of interest.

 

3) Co-Option

Cllr Swan entered the meeting during this item.

There had been three applicants for the co-option – Andy Wainwright, William Wilde and Michael Leigh. Each candidate has been sent the same three questions in advance and was given 5 minutes to address the council.

  1. What capacity do you have to be a Town Councillor?
  2. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Thame and the Town Council?
  3. What is the best thing about Thame?

RESOLVED:

  1. To assist with administration, the Council uses a ballot system to elect the co-opted Councillor.

Following this, the Chairman announced the result of the ballot, that Andy Wainwright had received a majority and was therefore co-opted onto the council. The Chairman thanked everyone who had applied and hoped the Town Council could capture their enthusiasm.

 

4) Civic Announcements

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s civic attendances were noted.

The Mayor acknowledged that this evening would be Cllr Champken-Woods’ final meeting before resigning. Cllr Champken-Woods has been a town councillor since 2003, served as both Mayor and Deputy Mayor twice, been Chair of the Community, Leisure & Recreation committee seven times, and has served as both a district and county councillor. Cllr Champken-Woods served as the council representative for Thame Senior Friendship Centre, Thame Town Cricket Club, Thame Welfare Trust, and Thame Health Hub. Outside of the council, he has been Chair of Thame Montesson Twinning and Thame Sinaia Friendship Associations, and founder of the Thame and District Classic Motor Club and Music in the Park. Cllr Champken-Woods is moving away from Thame to be closer to family.

The Mayor presented Cllr Champken-Woods with a leaving gift, which was followed by a round of applause from the council.

Cllr Champken-Woods thanked all those who he had worked with, and overall he had had enjoyed his time as a councillor, and had been proud to serve as Mayor twice.

 

5) Public Participation and Public Questions

There were no applications to address the Council.
There were no questions put to the Council.

 

6) Reports from County Councillors

It was agreed to take this item after Item 16, as County Cllr Gregory was not yet present.

The report was noted.

County Councillor Champken-Woods reported that there will be a trial period of a one-way system on Nelson Street from Southern Road end as far as the fire station.

Two cul-de-sacs off Ludsden Grove will become no waiting areas as of Monday 10 March.

County Cllr Gregory entered the meeting.

What will the £200,000 allocated for the Haddenham-Thame Greenway be spent on? It is expected that the next stage will be a feasibility study, although details are yet to be confirmed. The current administration have requested that the next administration make provision in their budget to continue this work.

It was confirmed that in future, visits to waste centres will need to be pre-booked. Cllr Gregory agreed to provide the justification for this.

The council thanked Cllr Gregory for communications to residents regarding the temporary traffic lights at Priest End, but questioned how multiple roadworks can take place around Thame at the same time? Cllr Gregory agreed that the impact of these works was unacceptable, however an assessment is undertaken by county council officers prior to approving any works.

Cllr Gregory added that it had been a pleasure to work with Cllr Champken-Woods and will be sorry to see him go.

 

7) Reports from South Oxfordshire District Councillors

The report was noted. District Councillor Barker spoke to the report, highlighting the key points.

Regarding the reorganisation of local government, what is the District Council’s influence? Councils in Oxfordshire have been asked to create proposals, with two options currently being considered, which will be presented to Government ministers who will make the final decision.

 

8) CCTV Agreement

The report was noted. The Town Clerk presented the draft agreement for 2025-2030, which was a continuation of the existing service.

RESOLVED:

  1. To authorise the signing and sealing of the CCTV Agreement for 2025-2030.

 

9) Effectiveness of Internal Control / Financial Risk

The council received the financial risk assessments and reviewed the effectiveness of internal control. There was some discussion regarding financial risk assessment 9b – Banking and Investments.

There were two matters in this risk assessment which required further review and confirmation on current practices from the Responsible Financial Officer – review of banking arrangements and approval of financial transfers.

RESOLVED:

  1. To approve the measures taken to mitigate financial risks.
  2. That risk assessment 9b – Banking and Investments be brought back to Full Council subject to further review by Officers.

 

10) Internal Audit 2024-25

The council received an interim report of the Internal Auditor for 2024-25. The council accepted the report and raised no concerns.

 

11) Reports from Representatives on External Organisations

The council received the reports from the nominated external organisation representatives.

Red Kite Family Centre (Cllr Emery):-

The centre has 15 families on the outreach register and provides 1-1 support on social services. Attendance by young families has been strong, with 27 new registrations since September. Recent fundraising events have been very successful. The centre has recently undertaken a collaborative tree planting project with 21st Century Thame.

Chinnor Rugby Club (Cllr Bretherton):-

All teams are performing well, and it is a credit to the club that they are in the championship.

Parish Transport Representative (Cllr Bretherton):-

The next parish transport meeting is next week, and the minutes will be circulated. There are changes to bus services across Oxfordshire, in Thame the 280 has been replaced with the 400 bus service which will provide the same frequency.

Thame Carnival (Cllr Emery):-

Thame Carnival will meet next month. There are some issues regarding the road closure expense and marshalling.

 

12) Members Questions (under Standing Order 11)

No questions were raised.

 

13) Minutes

The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 21 January 2025 were received.

RESOLVED that:

  1. The minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2025 are confirmed as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman.

 

14) Environment & Assets Committee

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2025 were noted.

Under Item 8 of the minutes, it was question what recommendations had been incorporated for safe play space for girls? Various options were presented, which included sheltered seating. The council received free advice from individuals passionate about creating safe spaces for girls, and will continue working with them to develop a parks strategy.

The Chairman of the Environment & Assets Committee advised that under Item 14, a recommendation had been made to the council to approve that Thame becomes a plastic free community. A local business committed to being plastic free is involved in supporting organisations with the transition to removing single-use plastics.

RESOLVED:

  1. To approve Thame becoming a ‘Plastic Free Community’, meaning that Thame Town Council will:
    1. Lead by example and remove single-use plastic items from its premises.
    2. Encourage plastic-free initiatives, promoting the campaign and supporting events.
    3. Put a named council representative on the Plastic Free Community steering group.

 

15) Community Services Committee

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2025 were noted.

 

16) Planning Committee

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2025 were noted.

 

17) Exclusion of the Public

MOVED:

  1. That under Section 1, Paragraph 2 of The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.

 

18) Council Asset

The report and accompanying documents were received. The Town Clerk provided a verbal update on the council asset and reminded the council of the asset’s organisational structure. The council discussed the proposal received to amend the asset’s lease. It was agreed that the council should always act in the interests of the community. The council indicated that they were not supportive of the proposed changes to the lease.

The council supported the current work and aspirations of the Clerk and two appointed Councillors.

 

The meeting concluded at 7:57pm.

 

Signed ………………………
Chairman, 29 April 2025