About Thame Green Living

Adopted unanimously by Thame Town Council in July 2020, the Green Living Plan is a ten-year plan for a cleaner, greener Thame. It has been developed to protect and enhance quality of life for everyone locally in the things that really matter – our air, our water, our overall well-being and the natural world that surrounds us. It has benefited from the contributions of many individuals and local groups, with the development led by the RSA Thame Group. While concentrating on Thame, the plan explicitly recognises the vital importance of the town’s links with its surrounding communities and countryside.

The plan recommends a series of actions and projects across five focus areas – green spaces and biodiversity, clean air, water, energy and waste – that involve and benefit the whole community. The actions can be taken by individuals, businesses and community groups, plus longer-term infrastructure changes are included. And all with the support of a new community organisation, proposed to be called Thame Green Living (TGL). 

This plan itself though is just the start. Without a broad and deep community involvement, with the active support of all everyone in the community, it will simply remain a set of ideas. But by working together we can make the changes we need. We urge everyone to get involved!

Some of the organisations we are working with:

Timeline

2013

Thame Neighbourhood Plan approved by Thame residents. In addition to allocating sites for the housing requirement by government and planning authorities, the Neighbourhood Plan recommended the creation of a Green Living Plan for Thame, to follow up on the issues of quality of life and sustainability raised during its creation.

In response, the Thame Town Council commissioned the RSA Thame Group, a local group of members of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce, to act as its honorary consultants and prepare the UK’s first Green Living Plan.

2018

In June 2018 an initial version of the Green Living Plan was presented to Thame Town Council, and a two month consultation period was approved to canvas the opinions of Thame residents.

Guided by the responses to the consultation, The RSA Thame Group, supported by a number of individuals and local community groups, then set out to create an updated version of the plan with specific recommendations and actions for Thame.

2020

On 14 July 2020 the Thame Green Living Plan was approved unanimously and adopted by Thame Town Council. The plan will be taken forward with the support of a new community organisation, proposed to be called Thame Green Living.

In October Thame Green Living launched Thame Solar Streets, a project that provides discounted solar photovoltaic panels to Thame homeowners.

The year ended with the launch of Love Thame Hate Waste, a project that aims to help Thame residents and businesses reduce, re-use and recycle their waste.

2021

In February 2021 the first new waymarked Thame Walking Route was published, for the four mile Thame Inner Circuit walk.

The second Thame Solar Streets project began in May, hoping to repeat the success of the original promotion, which has so far saved four tonnes of CO2 production.

Thame Green Living were voted Local Carbon Hub’s Community Group of the Month in July.

The waymarked, 20 mile Thame Outer Circuit walking route was published in August.

In September, hundreds of local people attended the first Thame Drive Electric event to learn more about electric cars from electric car owners.

The regeneration of the Rycote Meadow began in November with volunteers braving the cold to plant 700 trees.

December saw more trees in the ground as the Howland Road verge restoration began, thanks to Thame Green Living, Lucy Electric and Thame Trees.

About the RSA Thame Group

The RSA Thame Group, also known as Thame Green Living, has a core steering group of eight to ten volunteers. It was formed over six years ago under the aegis of the worldwide RSA. The RSA is the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, founded in 1754. It is a registered charity committed to finding innovative, creative and practical solutions to today’s societal challenges.