Vibrancy and Vitality Study for Thame Town Centre

1. Thame, like many market towns, is fighting the impact of competition as a shopping destination from its larger counterparts such as Oxford, Aylesbury and High Wycombe. The proposal of a Tesco supermarket development on the outskirts of the town adds another dimension to those pressures. 2. There are already a large variety of initiatives / festivals etc in place through various organisations that all helped to gain recognition of Thame in 2015 as a “Rising Star” in the Great British High Street competition and Thame High Street achieving 2nd place in the RTPI England’s Great Places competition. 3. There are opportunities for revenue funding of at least £28,000 from South Oxfordshire District Council / Thame Town Council to be spent during 2016-17 (from 1/4/16) on other initiatives to improve the vibrancy and vitality of Thame High Street. There are some who believe the money should be spent on a Market Town Co-Ordinator resource, and others who think it should be dedicated to further events. 4. Thame Charter Market has just celebrated 800 years and additional funds of up to £5,000 have been set aside for maintenance / equipment / marketing initiatives to help its future. 5. Thame Town Council is therefore seeking a Town Centre specialist consultancy to analyse how best those funds should be spent in Thame to maximise the vitality and vibrancy of the Town Centre, while making other recommendations (including capital items) for the future. 6. A set of recommendations is required by 3 May 2016, so that the Town Council, working with other voluntary organisations in the town, can select those it believes will be of most value.