Olney Town Council Reports

• January 2011

• February 2011

• March 2011

• April 2011

• April 28th 2011 - Olney Town Meeting

• May 2011

• June 2011

• July 2011

• August 2011

• January 2012

• Adopt or amend a Code of Conduct 
• Adopt or amend a Register of Interests for publication 
• Set rules (standing orders) for disclosure of interests 
• Manage standards and ethical governance as part of the wider corporate governance of the Council 

• February 2012

• There was no evidence of MKC consulting with OTC or OTC's Ward Councillors about the land disposal; 
• The land was not advertised for sale in an appropriate publication. This was because MKC's Valuer felt that sale to this developer was the only viable option for achieving a development rate for the land, since this developer had already secured the key area of private garden. The Valuer should have set out the justifications for not advertising the land in writing, but appeared not to have done so. 
• MKC used independent expertise to value the land at a development rate, and secured a price higher than this valuation. 
• Summary: "In my opinion, the Council ... disposed or the land in accordance with relevant law and largely in compliance with Council Policy, There were some procedural issues which appear to have been missed but in reality these issues are unlikely to have resulted in any different outcome in the disposal." 

• March 2012

• April 2012

• May 2012

• June 2012

• July 2012

• August 2012

• September 2012

• November 2012

• December 2012

• Dogs not allowed
• Where dogs are allowed on a lead
• Where dogs are allowed to run free

• January 2013

• February 2013

• March 2013

• April 2013

• May 2013

• June 2013

• July 2013

• August 2013

• September 2013

• October 2013

• November 2013

• December 2013

• January 2014

• Is a departure from the adopted plan and is outside the town development boundary
• Is incompatible with the existing land use
• Is disconnected from the rest of the residential development in the town
• Will be accessed via the existing office development
• Has poor access onto Warrington Road towards the town centre
• Was a speculative development by the developer and just because it has turned out not to be financially viable for commercial use this is not justification for a fragmented housing development
• May be required for future employment building for Olney to develop as a sustainable town

• February 2014

• March 2014

• April 2014

• May 2014

A Van at Emberton Park

Councillor Colin Rodden leave of absence
Under Section 85 of the Local Government Act, any councillor who does not attend meetings for a period of six months automatically ceases to be a member of the council unless granted a leave of absence. Colin Rodden is current working abroad and, although due to return to the UK in May, has found it necessary to delay his return until July and has thus requested a leave of absence. One of the factors to be considered when granting such a request is whether the individual is able to continue performing ward functions by phone or email, and in his letter of request Colin explained that he had been doing just that. Whist agreeing that Colin was still actively engaged in council business, Tony Evans said he was not comfortable with council business being conducted by email. Discussion should take place in open meetings, he felt. The council agreed by a majority to permit the leave of absence. 

DOFF’s Field parking
Olney has some funding available from MKC for a community parking scheme, which was intended to go towards providing a parking area at the top of the recreation ground and additional spaces in the East Street car park. Instead, the council have been considering an alternative plan to allow limited parking on Doff’s Field, owned by the rugby club. However, this would mean applying for a variation of the planning permission originally granted for use of the field. To that end, OTC had approached MKC for pre-application advice on providing access via Austen Avenue.  A response had been received from a planning officer saying that, having discussed the matter with the Senior Highways Engineer, there was not sufficient justification to apply for a variation and they would not support such an application, due to the disruption it could cause to residents of Austin Avenue and Carey Way. If OTC wished to proceed with the application it would need to submit substantial background information relating to the parking problems in the area that had led to the application. 
Jeremy Rawlings said it was clear that this officer had no idea of the situation and had ignored a request from OTC, who fully understood the matter. 
Tony Evans expressed his desperate disappointment that MKC had adopted such a standpoint and suggested that OTC and the rugby club now get together to submit the application. 
John Sharp reminded members that it was MKC that had ordered that Crouch’s Field must not be used for organised sport until the parking situation was resolved, and now they were rejecting a parking proposal which would contribute to that resolution.
John Boardman suggested that a meeting should be held with representatives from MKC to make them fully aware of the issue before progressing with the application, which was agreed.

B.O.F.F. Indemnity
Deidre Bethune presented a request, on behalf of the organisers of the Big Olney Food Festival (BOFF), that the council consider indemnifying them in case of financial loss. A number of members were not happy with this.
  John Sharp was of the opinion that it was a commercially run event and pointed out that OTC does not charge the organisers for use of the Market Place. It does not indemnify the market traders on the Thursday market if they have a bad day, he said. 
Debbie Brock emphasised her support for the event, saying it was a very good event for the town. She recalled that the council had provided indemnity previously but with the caveat it would not be on a permanent recurring basis. 
John Boardman said he could not support the request and thought that the organisers should build up their own contingency fund. 
Tony Evans asked if BOFF had presented its accounts to OTC, saying he would not be comfortable granting the application until he knew how much it had made last year, which was considered a success
. 
Ron Bull wondered in the event of a loss, who would cover it? And, if there was a profit, who would receive it? 
Deidre replied that some of the profit goes to charity, some towards the cost of Dickens of a Christmas and some to building up a reserve. The council agreed that the event could now be extended to three days, but delayed a decision on the indemnity request, pending further information about finances.

Allotment fee increase
As reported last month, OTC has increased the rent it charges allotment holders from £2 to £3 per pole, an increase of 50%. An average-sized Olney allotment is five poles in area, so its rent has increased from £10 to £15 per year. Last month, a small delegation of the allotment holders had attended the OTC meeting and it had also been the subject of comments at the Town Meeting. 

Tony Evans said that Olney had not increased its rents for several years and had now fallen behind most other councils.  Rosemary Osbourne said that one of the main concerns of the holders seemed to be that they were not consulted, but Tony Evans said the council was not obliged to consult and wouldn’t necessarily do so with other groups. He pointed out that it costs the council £5 per pole to administer the allotment so it was effectively losing £2 per pole. Only four holders out of 140 had attended last month’s meeting, he said, so there was no reason to believe that the majority were not content to accept the increase. 
Ben Brock said he had not appreciated that the council actually made a loss on the allotments, and proposed that they increase the rental still further to at least cover costs. The proposal was not supported by any other member. The mayor proposed that the council increase the rent, as recommended by the Recreation and Services Committee, which was carried.

Odds ‘n’ sods
Debbie Brock reported that MKC had recently appointed Carole Mills as its new Chief Executive. Carole has held a number of roles in local government, most recently as Deputy Chief Executive and Corporate Director for Resources at Nottingham City Council. The Parish Remuneration Panel of MKC has increased the allowance payable to members of OTC from £742.23 to £750 a year. However, no member of OTC has ever claimed the allowance. Tony Evans said that he believed that councillors should give their time free of charge and would consider his position on the council if any members claimed the allowance. Steve Clark, reporting on behalf of Emberton Park Liaison Group, said that plans to transfer the leasehold of the park to the Parks Trust were ‘bubbling along in the background’. The park had recently been the venue for a celebration of the Sikh Festival of Vaisakhi, a harvest and a New Year celebration. The authorities were not made aware of the event and it was probably advertised by social media, he said. A lot of litter had been left, and there were reports of excessive noise and speeding, although one nearby resident claimed not to have heard a thing. Emberton resident Debbie Brock said it was great to see the park being used by such a diverse group of visitors.
Steve Clark said comments had been made on the Olney Noticeboard Facebook page about the bad state of the Whirly Pit, and some residents were offering to clean it up themselves. Steve had suggested that they attend that night’s OTC meeting and present their case, but none had. The Whirly Pit is actually the responsibility of MKC, although Ron Bull said that a sign there referred to both OTC and MKC. 
Debbie Brock said she would refer the matter to Andy Hudson, MKC Head of Environment and Waste. The fence and hard standing around the football pitch has now been completed, but it appears that it is not universally popular with residents. 
Tony Evans wondered who would be responsible if it was damaged by the fair, for example. Would it be OTC, the football club or the Fair?  Next Meeting - 2nd June The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 2nd June in the Council Chamber at the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate. 

• June 2014

• July 2014

Town Clerk Liam Costello receiving a Highly Commended certificate by the Society of Local Council Clerks

Odds and sods
Steve Clark reported that more than 100 veterans had attended the annual Armed Forces Day held at the Carlton House Club and much appreciation had been expressed by those present. However, he was disappointed to note that only two members of OTC were present. Joe Stacey reported that the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group were progressing with the questionnaire that would shortly be sent out. Ron Bull noted that a number of private premises had trees and shrubs extending into footpaths, causing problems for pedestrians. He suggested that members of the public contact the highways department of MKC, where discussions with the property owners had not resolved the matter. Tony Evans said there had been reports of loud music being played on the recreation ground late at night. The police had been called but seemed reluctant to take action. It had been repeated the next night near the old reservoir at the top of Long Lane, where the police had attended and confiscated the equipment.  No Meeting in August Next Meeting - 1st September There being no meeting in August, so the next one will be held at 7.30pm on Monday September 1st in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre.  Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• August 2014

• September 2014

Olney Skate Park Request

Berrells Court resurfacing
In 2011 local resident Roy Turner obtained planning permission to erect two dwellings in Berrells Court on the site of some garages. One of the conditions of the planning consent was that the applicant lays a tarmac surface along Berrells court before development commences. The court is a public right of way but is not registered as belonging to anyone, has not been adopted by MKC and the surface is currently in a very bad state. OTC has agreed to take the lead in the resurfacing and will take contributions from interested parties, including Mr Turner who will make the major contribution. Recently Mr Turner obtained a variation in the planning consent to require him to resurface the road before occupation of the properties, rather than commencement of the building. OTC have obtained an agreement from Mr Turner to pay two thirds of his contribution up front to enable OTC to commence the work, with the remaining one third to be paid upon completion. Once again the matter of long term maintenance was raised, although Deidre Bethune cut the discussion short by saying that OTC had agreed to progress with the project, subject to agreement by Mr Turner and it was not a matter for discussion now. 
Town Clerk Liam Costello said that because it was not adopted the owners of the adjacent properties would be responsible for the upkeep. 
Peter Geary pointed out that the surface was being laid to a high standard so there will not be a problem of pot holes appearing for many years. He added that OTC would be making up the shortfall of the funding as not all residents and businesses in Berrells Court were prepared to contribute. 
John Boardman asked if OTC could apply to have it adopted once resurfaced but Peter said the drainage via soakaway would preclude this. 
Ben Brock asked what would happen if Mr Turner sold the properties before completion. It was agreed that in that case the final third should be payable on point of sale and the agreement would be modified accordingly.

Tesco deliveries
Concerns have been raised by residents of East Street about the impact of lorries delivering to the rear of Tesco in the Market Place. It appears that Tesco have honoured the promise made to only use small vehicles for deliveries, but other suppliers are using large lorries which are not suitable for such a narrow access. One resident had suggested placing bollards on the pavement to ease the situation. Peter Geary thought that provision of bollards could be requested as part of the current capital scheme but wondered if it was now time to revisit the original request from Tesco to have timed loading bays at the front of the store. Joe Stacey suggested that OTC contact these other suppliers directly, pointing out the problem but Peter thought it was up to Tesco to resolve the matter themselves. 

Draft Minerals Plan
As reported in July, in order to meet the required provision of aggregates the emerging MK Minerals Local Plan should identify specific sites for extraction. As part of the ‘call for sites’ process the industry has put forward a total of 14 potential sites for allocation in the plan. Peter Geary pointed out that the Manor Farm and Lavendon Mill sites could result in an extraction rate of 70 to 80 thousand tonnes per year and not the 70 to 80 Tonnes stated in the July Mercury report. He said that MKC had done a poor job in approaching landowners and also the process plants are situated in Wolverton, so it would have made more sense to consider sites closer to there. He suggested that the actual demand might be less than estimated in the plan, so it might be possible to remove one or more sites. Peter will draft a response on behalf of OTC.

Odds and Sods
The existing wi-fi system provided by MKC to the library will be extended to the rest of the Olney Centre, although OTC will have to foot the bill of £3.8k. There was some discussion of whether this ought to go out to tender but Liam Costello said that the extension of the library network from the existing provider would be considerably cheaper than a new standalone system. He pointed out that corporate bookings for the centre had been lost due to the lack of wi-fi.  The new fence round the football pitch has reduced dog fouling but Jeremy Rawlings said that it had increased on the Youth Club field. Tony Evans said that there did not seem a great desire from the Rugby Club to support the proposal to allow limited parking on Doff’s Field on match days. Tony Evans said that MKC were not fulfilling their obligation to maintain the public play areas. An officer from MKC had recently made an unannounced inspection and will be producing a report. Next Meeting - 6th October The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 6th October in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• October 2014

• November 2014

• December 2014

• January 2015

• February 2015

• Develop plans to offer more care closer to home, i.e. move services away from hospitals into GP surgeries or the home;
• Carry out further detailed work on the preferred options for the future provision of hospital services;
• Develop a detailed plan outlining the practical steps that need to be taken to prepare for public consultation. This plan would be delayed till the end of the year, due to the need to avoid any activities which could be deemed as publicly sensitive in the run up to the general election;
• Keep clinical, public and patient engagement at the heart of the Review.

• Milton Keynes Hospital to retain its role as a Major Emergency centre and expand to include other services, while Bedford Hospital would lose some of its existing services and become an Integrated Care centre. 
• The reverse of the above.

• March 2015

• April 2015

• May 2015

• June 2015

Olney

Objection to new dwellings adjacent to sewage works
As reported in the April edition, MKC last year approved a planning application for 33 dwellings with access from Yardley Road in Olney on the Land at Warrington Road and Osier Way, despite a number of objections from OTC and comments from Anglian Water, who operate the sewage works adjacent to the land. A similar application for another 33 dwelling was recently refused planning permission by MKC primarily on the basis that it is outside of the planning boundary. OTC have complained to MKC about the inconsistencies in the decision-making surrounding the two applications and also that the comments made by Anglian Water about the potential impact of the sewage works had not been included in the report which recommended acceptance of the first application. A letter of response has now been received from MKC denying that there had been any inconsistencies in the two decisions but accepting that comments made by Anglian Water had not been included in the first report. However the report went on to say that Anglian Water had not actually recommended that the application be refused so the summary of ‘no objection’ was factually correct. Jeremy Rawlings said he would not have expected MKC to admit to any wrong doing and Peter Geary said he thought it was a ‘whitewash’. The complaint regarding the inconsistencies had been answered robustly, he thought, so there was no use pursuing that aspect but suggested that OTC should now raise the issue of the Anglian Water comments to the second tier of the complaints process. Steve Clark said it was not Anglian Water’s role to formally object, but to raise issues to be considered in the overall planning application. He noted that pumps do not run all of the time so the noise may have not been present when MKC made their assessment. Jeremy Rawlings said the smell was only present at certain times so the same would apply. Steve Clark said he was fed up with MKC not listening to recommendations made by OTC and proposed that the complaints process be raised to the next level.

Odds and Sods
Joe Stacey reported that a meeting had taken place between the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, doctors and Practice Manager at Cobbs Garden Surgery, and Donna Derby of the MK Clinical Commissioning Group to discuss future provision of services on new premises in the Town. Investigations had also been carried out into the capacity of the local schools. Liam Costello reported that there will be no funfair in the town this year. The date proposed by John Scarrott had already been promised to the Colts for BOTO and no alternative date or location had been agreed. Colin Rodden said he thought that the litter problem in town is getting worse and adults seemed to be worse offenders than children. Ron Bull reported that his band of willing volunteers had put up the baskets round the lamp-posts recently. Jeremy Rawlings observed that there were an increasing number of advertising boards appearing around the sports facilities on the recreation ground, some of them very large. He didn’t express an opinion on the matter but pointed out that such signs need planning permission and the various clubs had been warned last year that MKC could issue an enforcement notice to have them removed. Chris Shaw expressed a view held by many that the associated income is an important source of revenue for the clubs. The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 6th July in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate

• July 2015

• August 2015

• September 2015

Olney Skate Park Request

Parking in Oakdown Crescent
Following a site visit in July, Milton Keynes Council (MKC) has suggested that a possible solution would be to introduce a residents’ parking scheme in Oakdown Crescent, with parking in the affected bays being restricted to residents and visitors. It asked what Olney Town Council (OTC) thought of this, and whether it would make a Community Parking Scheme application to help fund the scheme. Peter Geary felt that the scheme would not work in isolation, and that funding was for MKC rather that OTC to find. Deidre Bethune felt frustrated that, with some progress having been made in June, the process now seemed to have moved back to square one. OTC will request that David Hall, of MKC, come and present the scheme to OTC.

Westlands
Steve Clark introduced this item, explaining that Westlands is being used illegally as a House In Multiple Occupation (HIMO). MKC is aware of this and is treading carefully with its response. Peter Geary explained that there are many illegal HIMOs across Milton Keynes Borough and that there’ve been no reports of antisocial behaviour from this one so far. Its previous use, a care home, suggests that safety there, for example the provision of fire doors, is probably ok. He noted that if MKC served an enforcement notice for the HIMO to be closed, the building owner could lodge an appeal which, should the Council lose, would effectively be an application for a HIMO. Noting that its use as a HIMO followed MKC’s rejection of the owner’s planning application to convert the building as flats, he speculated that maybe the owner was trying to annoy the Council. Finally, he explained that the best solution might be to talk with the owner to come to some agreement for an acceptable, sustainable use for the building. Colin Rodden asked if there was a time period for which it could operate unchallenged as a HIMO, after which this use would become legal. Peter replied that this limit was four years, but that it would not apply in this case because MKC, having already serviced a notice to elicit more information from the landlord, had already started action. OTC will write to MKC expressing its support for its action and requesting monthly updates.

Events
OTC will consult via its Facebook page to see if a local event should be held to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, to coincide with the main celebrations being held on the weekend of 10th to 12th June 2016. The Olney Group will be holding Fireworks Night on Sunday 1st November. 

Recreation Ground play area
As reported a few months ago, MKC had applied to Biffa Waste Services for matched funding for improvements to be made to the Recreation Ground play area. This application had failed, but MKC had some spare play equipment, in good condition, which it now proposed to relocate to Olney at no cost to OTC. Tony Evans felt that the Council should ask MKC for a layout plan and timescale. Noting that OTC had been right not to consult early on the previously planned improvements, Peter Geary asked whether it should now consult on the new ones or whether it should just accept the equipment and not “look a gift horse in the mouth”. Steve Clark concluded this item, saying the Council would push MKC for a firm commitment on what they’d deliver and when.

Youth Centre Community Asset Transfer
OTC is considering applying to acquire the Youth Centre under the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) scheme. Introducing the topic, Jeremy Rawlings explained that the Youth Centre Committee and Local Scout Group had submitted a joint CAT bid for the Centre some time ago, but then had to pull out because the National Scouts would not support the application unless it was sole. Feeling that the Youth Centre was an important asset to the town, Jeremy asked if OTC would consider taking it on under the CAT scheme, the idea being that OTC would own the building and rent it to the Youth Centre and other groups. Tony Evans felt it was important to pursue this, as another organisation had previously shown an interest and its aims could be very different from those of the Council. Peter Geary agreed, saying that OTC should start to consider the transfer and, if it later decided that it shouldn’t go ahead, pull out of the process. In preparation, Jeremy Rawlings agreed to produce a business case for the building.

Bits ‘n’ bobs
The Market Place CCTV installation has stalled due to the local Police Constable having changed. MKC’s initial response to Ron Mihill’s proposal last month for additional pedestrian crossings on the Market Place was sceptical, as it felt there was already too much activity outside the row of shops near Costa Coffee.

Elwyn Lack
Elwyn Lack, Deputy Mayor of Olney some years ago, sadly passed away on 7th August 2015 aged 89. A minute’s silence was held for him, and concluded the meeting. Next Meeting - 5th October The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th October in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• October 2015

• November 2015

• December 2015

• January 2016

• February 2016

• March 2016

• April 2016

• Annual Town Meeting April 2016

• May 2016

• June 2016

Parking in Oakdown Crescent

Lavendon Road Section 106 Requirements Consultation
Section 106 is a planning obligation under which developers pay money to Councils in order to mitigate the negative impacts of their development work. While there’s much variation in how locally and on what the money must be spent, typical examples include children’s play parks and increasing the capacity of local Doctors’ Surgeries. It was being discussed today because the recently refused application to develop 50 homes to the South of Lavendon Road has been resubmitted, leading MKC to ask OTC for its views on how, if this application was successful, the resulting money should be spent. It’s worth noting that OTC’s influence here will be somewhat limited. Joe Stacey, the Councillor who’s primarily been driving the Neighbourhood plan, was clearly frustrated as, when he’d previously sent a questionnaire to all Councillors asking for their views on how the Plan should drive the Council’s response to consultations just like this, he’d received just two responses. The questionnaire will be re-sent and, very likely, a good number of responses received this time round. David Hosking, one of Olney’s Ward Councillors, felt that Parishes and small towns tended to get a raw deal from Section 106, and that Councillors should go through the consultation, item by item, challenging each one. He stated that it was a negotiation and OTC needed to negotiate harder.

Dickens of a Christmas
Following an earlier suggestion, the Dickens of a Christmas Committee has been looking into closing the A509 for the event. This is clearly not a trivial task and the quote from Ringway, MKC’s approved contractor, to implement the diversion was £800. The idea continues to be discussed.

Council audit
The Council has just comfortably passed its latest internal audit. Deidre Bethune congratulated Liam Costello and Debbie Eason, the Town Clerk and his deputy. The accounts will be available for public inspection from 13th June to 22nd July.

Markets
The pizza outlet at the Thursday Market has decided to take up a pitch in London instead, so will no longer be attending Olney’s Market. Councillors voted by a majority to have a Belgian Fries van occupy the vacant pitch. Perhaps already missing the pizza, Councillors approved the Italian Market to return on Sunday 16th October.

One Stop deliveries
As discussed before, and as covered extensively in various posts on the Olney Noticeboard Facebook page, there is ongoing concern about lorries delivering to One Stop on the High Street parking on the zig-zag lines near the crossing. It was noted that, while PCSOs can issue a fine of only up to £30 for this offence, Police Officers can issue a fine of up to £1,000 plus driving licence points. This safety concern will be discussed at the next Council meeting.

St Peter & St Paul churchyard wall
The old stone wall of St Peter and St Paul’s churchyard is deteriorating and in need of repair. The wall is MKC’s responsibility, but OTC has received a letter asking it to contribute towards the repair. Tony Evans, noting that MKC has been looking after the churchyard since 1994, felt the wall was unsafe and carried the danger of a rock falling on a vehicle or, worse, a person. He asked if a site visit could be arranged to show MKC the problem. Peter Geary felt that this letter broke protocol in that individual MKC officers shouldn’t write directly to Parish Councils and that, as a result, OTC should reply to a person higher in the MKC management structure in order to progress the matter.

WEEE and textiles bank
MKC has asked if it can place a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and textiles bank in the car park to the rear of the Library on West Street. Councillors were concerned about the location, and a small group will visit various possible sites in the town to see if a more suitable one can be suggested for a three month trial of the bank.

Swimming Steps
As reported before, the Swimming Steps are in the process of being repaired. Due to some recent spells of heavy rain, the works are taking longer than expected, but should still be completed before Riverfest, due to take place on Sunday 3rd July. Next Meeting - 4th July The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 4th July in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• July 2016

Oakdown Crescent, Olney

Refusal of permission for 50 Houses on Lavendon Road
MKC planners have refused permission for 50 houses to be built on land opposite the ‘Sainsbury’s site’ based on a number of points: ● The proposed access of a mini roundabout close to the bend in the road was not considered safe ● There was no sustainable drainage scheme included ● The applicant had failed to demonstrate that the scheme would not place a burden on or have an adverse impact on infrastructure, education and leisure facilities. The applicant has lodged an appeal against the decision which will now be dealt with by the Secretary of State. The council decided to concur with the reasons given by MKC for refusal but Steve Clark noted that the applicant had probably assumed that the Sainsbury’s development would go ahead and an extra spur could be built from their access roundabout.

Community Skate Park Update
Tony Summerscales attended with Committee members Francis and Tom to present a report on the current state of the project. Tony circulated a plan which showed the location of the proposed ramp in the position currently occupied by the Zip Wire. He said that the proposed structure would be lower than the existing ramp on Johnsons Field and would blend in well with the surrounding landscape. He explained that the project was still in the early stages but the committee were looking at three possibilities for a build partner, emphasising that the tender process will go through due diligence. The first fundraising event had taken place at the recent Riverfest where £178 had been raised. The next steps would be to produce a confident business plan to take to potential sponsors in the town and to seek a firm financial commitment from OTC. There then followed a discussion about how OTC might be able to assist with the funding. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings suggested Section 106 commonly known as Planning Gain which developers pay to secure planning permission. Peter Geary observed that funding could come from the Parish Partnership or Community Foundation, but would need to be applied for. If necessary it could be ‘forward funded’ from OTC reserves, he said. Helena Newbold said that some banks were prepared to match fund local projects so long as they are a charitable trust (which the skateboard committee currently isn’t). Tony said he didn’t want to lose the local interest and momentum gained from Riverfest and was concerned that the OTC Finance Committee was not due to meet again until October. It was agreed that an extra meeting of the Finance Committee would take place in order to discuss possible assistance with funding for the project.

Riverbank footpath Carey Way to Clifton ‘Planks’
There has long been doubt about the official status of the footpath that runs from Carey Way and along the riverbank to the bridge known as ‘The Planks’ at Clifton Reynes. The section that has been the main cause of discussion runs from Carey Way around Doff’s Field, which is now owned by the Rugby Club. In an attempt to clarify the situation MKC submitted an order to modify the definitive map by adding the footpath, thereby making it an official right of way. A local public enquiry was held in May, led by an inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The report has now been published refusing to grant MKC the order. An order can be made if there is reasonable evidence that a right of way exists but a higher standard of proof is required to confirm it, based on the balance of probability that it has been used by the public on foot for a period of 20 years. In this case it is presumed to have been dedicated as a public footpath unless there is sufficient evidence that there was no intention on the part of the landowner to permit public use. The supposed path has been diverted over the years and ownership of Doff’s Field has changed hands a number of times since Dorothy ‘Doff’ Kitchener passed away. The inspector decided that status of the route was brought into question in 2002 with the first change of ownership so decided to examine the claimed public use for the 20 year period from 1982 to 2002. MKC produced written evidence from 59 Olney residents supporting the claim that they had enjoyed uninterrupted access along the route, some from as far back as 1938. However, none of them were called to give evidence in person to the enquiry. Olney Rugby Football Club were the objectors to the order and their Counsel called nine witnesses to appear in person to support the assertion that a post and wire fence and a five-bar gate with barbed wire along the top were in place during that period which would have required forcible entry to the field. As none of the supporters were present to answer questions under cross examination the inspector concluded that their evidence was outweighed by that delivered verbally at the enquiry and concluded that the order should not be confirmed. This was obviously a great disappointment to OTC and Ward Councillor Peter Geary said they needed to learn from the mistakes that had been made but there was no appeal against the decision. Steve Clark suggested that representatives of the Rugby Club be asked to state the clubs reason for the objection at the next Joint User Group meeting.

Merchant Navy Day
The council have received a letter from Seafarers UK informing them that September 3rd is Merchant Navy Day in recognition of the sacrifices made during the two World Wars, but also the vital part that the Merchant Navy plays in modern day commerce. OTC has agreed to purchase two Red Ensign flags to be flown in the Market Place and Olney Centre on September 3rd.

Odds and Sods
Due to the recent heavy rain, work has had to stop on repair of the bathing steps, but a temporary platform was put in place for the Riverfest raft race. Work will recommence soon. Councillors had been invited to a presentation by Charles Wells to show off their plans for the revamped Bull, following the recent fire. All were very impressed and a public exhibition is due to be held at the end of July. Peter Geary noted that the work would probably not start until the New Year, due to the complex planning requirements of a listed building. The street lamps in the High Street have reached the end of their life and need replacing. It is likely that they will be replaced with standard galvanised columns. Colin Rodden noted that the previous days Riverfest had been a huge success and thanked those involved in the organisation. Martine Stoffels suggested the use of digital signs at the entrance of the town to prevent some of the fly posting which currently takes place for local events. The Recs and Services committee will consider. Assistant Town Clerk Debbie Eason will henceforth be known as the Deputy Town Clerk Next Meeting - 5th September The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th September in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• August 2016

Olney

• September 2016

Olney Council report for September 2016

Public Participation
Richard Hillier Richard Hillier spoke first, noting that the steps near the Co-op were dangerous due to a broken paving slab. Jeremy Rawlings and Steve Clark gave some background, noting that the ownership of the steps was unknown, although they appeared to belong to Milton Keynes Council or the Co-op. Councillors appeared sympathetic with this issue, and Jeremy noted that he’d reply later to Richard with further information. Sue Warren Sue Warren spoke on the long-running topic of parking in Oakdown Crescent, this time a parked car needing to be moved in order to allow an ambulance to drive out of the Crescent. She also stated that various carers visiting people in the Crescent have formally complained to their managers about the parking situation. Martin Allen Martin Allen spoke about the litter problem on the Recreation Ground, suggesting the Council create a litter picking unit. This idea will be put to the Recreations and Services Committee. John Perkins Finally in this section, John Perkins spoke about the ongoing problem of delivery vehicles stopping on the High Street and thus slowing or blocking traffic. He felt that the A509 causes difficulty for Olney citing excessive speed, weight of traffic and injuries. He asked if Olney Town Council (OTC) had prepared an action plan to improve the situation. Covered by various Councillors, and in previous Mercury articles, the idea of de-priming the A509 was discussed briefly but is not easy, as the Highways Agency controls priming and such a change would have effects for miles around. Also, the lack of a bypass, a subject omitted from the Neighbourhood Plan because it may otherwise have dominated it, was noted as a related issue. The topic was discussed later in the meeting.

Parking in Oakdown Crescent
Councillors will shortly be meeting with MKC to get feedback on this issue and push again for action. Peter Geary suggested that OTC follow up with the Ambulance Service because, if a report had been filed on the incident, it would be useful to inform MKC of the fact.

A509 congestion caused by lorry deliveries
Various ways to improve the situation were discussed, including the provision of loading bays (though many would be required) and asking shops to cone off an area when deliveries were expected. Joe Stacey felt that increasing the width of the road by realigning the kerbs at certain key points, such as that near One Stop, would help greatly. Peter Geary noted that the problem was almost insoluble and that the kerb realignment idea had been presented around eight years ago but, admittedly as part of a set of traffic ideas, met with huge opposition and so was not progressed. Councillors decided first to approach certain key shops and, out of goodwill, ask for their help (e.g. using smaller delivery vehicles) and, if that didn’t work, to look again at the kerb realignment idea.

A lorry 

Barnfield
Barnfield has been surveyed and is believed worthy of Local Wildlife Site status. Buckinghamshire County Council has contacted OTC to ask its permission for the field to be presented to a selection panel and thus have the chance of gaining this status. Councillors were broadly in favour of giving this permission, but wanted to understand all the implications first. A quick review of the paperwork suggests that the aims of this status are to encourage continued good land management and provide advice. OTC will invite a representative to the next Recreations and Services Committee in order to learn more.

Skateboard Park and zip wire
As reported before, the zip wire will need to be relocated if the proposed Skateboard Park goes ahead. Although measurements first need to be taken and approval sought from MKC, it’s likely the wire’s new site would be between the children’s play area and Doff’s Field.

Recreation Ground toilets
The sewerage system which serves the Tennis, Bowls and Football Clubs, public toilets and Council workshop runs under the roadway from the Bowls Club to the Football Club dugout, then through the adjacent private land to connect to the main Anglian Water system. For a good while now it’s been prone to blocking, and the Recreations and Services Committee voted to appoint a drainage consultant to perform a CCTV survey of the system and recommend solutions to this problem.

Future direction of Local Services
Ron Bull, along with Councillors from other local Parishes, attended a MKC meeting covering this topic. The basic premise was the increasing social care MKC needs to provide is much reducing its ability to spend on non-statutory local services such as grass cutting. For example, it was stated as near certain that MKC would not pay for this in three years’ time. It was also stated that a similar principle would apply to other services including play areas, dog bins, etc. The suggested solution was for OTC to increase its precept and take on the work itself. Based on the example of how Swindon is handling a similar scenario, it might lead to a Council Tax increase of £75 per year for a Band D property. Peter Geary, who is a Ward Councillor, explained that the underlying funding problem was real, but felt that the presenter of the meeting had overplayed the issue slightly. For example, MKC had just extended its grass cutting contract until 2023, so was unlikely to stop cutting grass any time soon. He felt OTC should push for a Service Level Agreement with MKC so both sides knew where they stood.

Street lights
The street lights along the High Street are standard columns, each fitted with an embellishment kit and a different top. Periodically, MKC perform ‘topple tests’ on them to ensure safety. The current embellishment kits were gifted to the town and, if any lamppost needs replacing, MKC would pay for the column but it’s likely that OTC would have to pay for the new embellishment kits and, if they can’t be reused, tops.

Next Meeting - 3rd October The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 3rd October in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

A lorry 

• October 2016

Olney Council report for October 2016

Oakdown Crescent
A small group from Olney Town Council (OTC) met with their colleagues from Milton Keynes to discuss the ongoing problem with parking in Oakdown Crescent. A two tier approach is to be taken: First, there will be a residents’ consultation to gauge views on a permit parking scheme for the Crescent. Second, Milton Keynes Council (MKC) will try to allocate enough money to create an organised parking layout, likely with cars in the middle of the Crescent. Peter Geary questioned whether, while the improvement in parking layout would help, the permit parking scheme would make much difference. This was because, once you’d allocated one permit per Oakdown Crescent and landlocked Weston Road households, plus one each for visitors, you’d overwhelm the parking capacity in the Crescent. Steve Clark suggested allocating Oakdown Crescent households two permits (fixed plus visitor) and landlocked Weston Road residents one fixed permit. Councillors decided to endorse the consultation. Is this, finally, a move towards at least a partial solution?

Street lights
As reported before, the condition of the street lights on the High Street is deteriorating. A structural survey has been conducted and, due to a combination of age, rot caused by dogs peeing near the base of the posts and the increased wind resistance caused by excessive ‘extras’ attached to the posts, all approx. 78 of them will be replaced between January and March next year. The replacements will be LED lit, appropriate for the area, for example black, and similar but not identical to the current posts. They’ll allow the Christmas lights and hanging baskets to be mounted, but the other signage that is kept will be moved to new posts sited nearby.

Steps near Co-op and Oxfam
Following on from Richard Hillier’s question last month, OTC is working towards fixing the steps leading down from the Co-op car park to Oxfam. In spite of looking back over old maps, OTC is little nearer discovering who owns them. In a pragmatic move, the Council will seek advice and approximate cost for a bricklayer to fix the problem. However, there was a concern that, should it have the work carried out, it may lead to the Council then assuming responsibility for the steps. It was also noted that it would be hard to get anyone to admit to owning them, due to the ongoing maintenance work that would entail. The Council will write to the Co-op, the company felt most likely to be the owner, asking for a donation towards the work.

A509 congestion caused by lorry deliveries
This topic was raised at last month’s meeting, and Liam Costello had arranged a meeting with One Stop in order to see if, for example, they could arrange deliveries by smaller vehicles. Councillors discussed the issue for a while, Martine Stoffels being keen to have representatives from MKC come to see the problem first hand and for Olney Councillors to try thrashing out a solution with them while there. The Council will ask MKC if their representatives can attend.

Barnfield
Barnfield has been surveyed and is believed worthy of Local Wildlife Site status. Councillors have decided to give permission for the field to be presented to the selection panel and thus have the chance of gaining this status.

The Barnfield

Johnson’s Field zip wire
The zip wire on Johnson’s Field, currently partially dismantled, is in need of significant work to restore it to working order. It’s unclear whether MKC will decide to perform this work or to remove the zip wire completely, regarding it as having reached end of life.

Johnson's Field Zip Wire

Neighbourhood Planning
Joe Stacey reported that Historical England, a consultee on the process of deciding residential and commercial development sites, has requested that an Environmental Assessment be performed. MKC is thus considering reversing its previous tack that one would not be required. Councillors were against this request, Helena Newbold noting that only three or four Neighbourhood Plans in the area had conducted this Assessment, with Newport Pagnell having won an award for their Plan without doing so. The Council will write to MKC asking them to override this Historical England request. As background, a Strategic Environmental Assessment is required where a development plan, such as a Neighbourhood Plan, is being prepared which is likely to have significant environmental effects. Environmental effects include those on heritage, habitat and the environment. Its purposes are to identify these possible effects and use them to inform the choices made in plan preparation. To perform an Assessment, a detailed statutory process would have to be followed.

Changes to MKC planning delegation
MKC is attempting to reduce the number of Planning Applications placed before its Development Control Committee (DCC) and Development Control Panel (DCP) by deciding more strictly which should instead have been determined by its officers under delegated powers. Their analysis shows that the highest single trigger for applications to be considered by committee was from Town and Parish Councils yet, in most such cases, those Councils did not send a representative to the subsequent meeting to argue their case. The next most significant trigger was the number of representations from members of the Public and, with this being based purely on a threshold and with no triaging of the acceptability or policy compliance of the applications, often resulted in perfectly acceptable applications being agreed anyway after needless additional consideration by committee. The proposed changes are that speakers’ rights at both the DCC and the DCP be amended to: • Allow the Ward Councillor to speak without having to declare ‘Objection’ or ‘Support’; • Remove the ‘Right to Reply’ requirement and simply allow the Applicant or Agent to speak in support of their application, irrespective of the recommendation or objections received, for three minutes. • Reduce the numbers of speakers objecting to a scheme to one, three-minute slot per application; • Allow members of the public to speak in support of an application on the same basis as those objecting to an application with one, three-minute slot per application. These proposals are open to informal consultation and, as such, OTC is invited to respond with its view. After some discussion, Peter Geary suggested the Council write to MKC to suggest a longer speaking time for more members of the Public to object, and similar for the Town and Parish Councils though, having objected, they must then speak at the resulting meeting. Peter will work with Liam to compose a suitably worded letter. Thank you to Liam Costello for providing the above list of changes. This is quite a detailed issue and, for further information, of which there is much, surf to http://bit.ly/2e4YsFe where you can view all the information from the meeting in which it was discussed. OTC will not be  the only Councillor or Council to object, as viewing the Collated Late Papers link on that page shows clearly.

Hanging Baskets
After a good display this year, the Hanging Baskets are now past their best and should have been taken down by the time you read this article. Next Meeting - 7th November The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 7th November in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• November 2016

The IndieGo Collective

Steps near Co-op and Oxfam
MKC have investigated the somewhat vague ownership of the steps, which are in a bad condition, and concluded that they belong to the Co-op. They have written to the Co-op informing them of this decision and instructing them to carry out the necessary repairs.

Public Art in Olney
Members of OTC have had a meeting with the Public Art Officer for MKC, who was described as ‘very enthusiastic’. Steve Clark pointed out that every Section 106 ‘planning gain’ grant contains an element of funding intended for public art, none of which had ever been spent in Olney. Tony Evans noted that the state of wicker pancake figures continues to decline and reminded members that they had discussed having them remade in metal.

Odds and Sods
OTC has agreed to fund the provision of one member of staff for the library for a further year at eight hours per week. The five gang grass mower has reached its end of life and will be used for spares for the three gang mower. A new Trimax mower will be purchased for £15.5k which will be cheaper to service.  A chain of beacons is to be lit across the country on 11th November 2018 to mark the end of the First World War. OTC plan to light the beacon on Barnfield as part of this act of remembrance. Des Eley passed on his thanks to TOG who organised the recent fireworks display, saying that he thought it was the best yet. Sally Pezaro, who is also a member of TOG reported that once again the recreation ground toilets backed up and became blocked and the gentlemen’s toilet light was not working. Tony Evans admitted that the toilets are ‘an embarrassment’. Steve Clark noted that the recently published Olney guide contained many errors and requested that assistance be given with the proof reading when the next edition is submitted for approval. The guide is published by a private company called Local Authority publishing and not OTC. Next Meeting - 5th December The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th December in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• December 2016

The Olney Wine Bar

Devolved Landscape Maintenance
As reported last month MKC has had to cut £111m from its current budget and needs to find £20m next year plus a further £60m by 2020. In order to do this it is proposing to devolve some local services to the parish councils. A letter has been received from Carole Mills, Chief Executive of MKC, attempting to provide an update on progress, although it seemed to cause more confusion than it did provide information. The services involved include weed killing and filling of grit bins. Peter Geary pointed out that MKC is currently able to benefit from bulk discounts of materials which would not be available to the individual parishes if they had to purchase individually. Tony Evans reminded councillors that when OTC took over the maintenance of open spaces from MKC it did not include responsibility for large trees. MKC has not carried out any maintenance for many years resulting in a potentially liability for OTC if it was forced to take over the responsibility. Bucks Association of Local Councils (BALC) will be holding a conference in March next year to hopefully gain consensus on a way forward but there was concern that this might be too late.

Traffic on Aspreys
In August OTC placed a Speed Indicating Device (SID) on Aspreys and the results are now available:
10 MPH - 25 vehicles 20 MPH - 403 vehicles  30 MPH - 5970 vehicles 40 MPH - 6852 vehicles 50 MPH - 565 vehicles 60+ MPH - 36 vehicles
Colin Rodden was concerned about the excessive speed outside of the Ousedale campus (although this survey was carried out during the school holidays) and thought perhaps the current advisory 20 MPH limit should be mandatory.

Odds and Sods
The steps leading up to the Co-op from the High Street will be repaired but there has been no response yet from the Co-op regarding responsibility of the surrounding land in general. Peter Geary summarised the MKC budget proposals explaining that the bus operators grant had been reduced. Street cleaning frequency will be reduced, the rapid reaction street cleaning will be reduced from two teams to one, and the Noise Complaints team will only operate from 09:00-17:00 Monday to Friday. Rosemary Osbourne reported that dumping of waste on ‘Pebody Island’ had continued. Jeremy Rawlings said it had been reported to the Environment Agency but the matter would be reported again. OTC has completed the purchase of a small piece of land at The Goosey which was required to complete the Olney Circular Walk. Next Meeting - 9th January The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 9th January in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

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Mercury's reports for 2017

• January 2017

Orchard Rise parking problem

Hanging baskets
The hanging baskets mounted on the lampposts along the A509 in the Summer have been organised by Ron Bull for the last 11 years, and his wife Sheila for around five years before that. He’s stepping down from this task, and has asked the Council if it would take over. Colin Rodden thanked him for his hard work over this long period. Tony Evans noted that the time needed for basket planting and subsequent growth meant that a decision was required in the next month or so. Councillors agreed to see if another organisation, for example Olney Events, would take on the task with the proviso that, if not, the Council would take it on with Councillors doing the organisation so as not to create more work for Council staff.

Market Place Christmas tree
Deidre felt that the tree had insufficient impact in its current position South of the toilet block near the High Street, and suggested it be moved to the High Street side of the grass area behind the war memorial. She’d talked with some members of the local Royal British Legion (RBL) and they were content provided the tree was not too close to the memorial. The general view was that the idea was good, so it will be investigated further and the RBL contacted for an official response.

Milton Keynes Council budget consultation
As reported previously, MKC needs to find £20m of cost savings next year plus a further £60m by 2020. Peter Geary spoke about a few of the ways in which this will likely affect local Councils. The effects on landscape maintenance, the filling of grit bins and weed spraying have been reported previously. He added another two planned cuts: MKC’s Emergency Planning Service (which swings into action in the event of a major incident such a gas explosion) may soon operate only 9-5 Monday to Friday, and the subsidy given to bus companies for Junior Tripper bus passes may reduce causing their price to increase. It was also noted that the precepts charged by local Councils would almost certainly increase as a result of responsibilities they took over from MKC. John Boardman was unsure how MKC could achieve the 60m savings, noting that the Council Tax from the planned additional dwellings would nowhere near cover the shortfall. Peter Geary noted that growth was actually much of the problem: Councils have to provide services, such as schools, to new housing areas before they’re fully built and generating Council Tax revenue. He also noted that MKC’s current cutting and slicing of services could not continue and that what was really needed was a radical change to the way it functions and provides services. He felt that the Government would not stop cutting until Councils bit the bullet and transformed, for example by empowering the people at the bottom of the organisation. Finally, Peter noted that OTC would pretty much have to ‘stomach’ the changes for this year, but plan ahead for which cuts it will accept and which it will fight over the coming three years. The increasing importance of developing a two sided good and cooperative relationship between OTC and MKC was noted.

Bits ‘n’ bobs
Pinders Circus will be held on the Pyghtle from Thursday 27th to Sunday 30th April. As reported previously, Kevin Viney was concerned about the colour of light which would be provided by the new LED lighting units when the lamp posts on the High Street were replaced. A verbal response has now been received but, being quite technical, has been requested in writing. Separately, the lighting units on all lamp posts in Olney and Newport Pagnell are due for replacement in the next financial year.

Olney Wine Bar and Brasserie
As reported last month, the MKC Licensing Committee considered an application from John Shayler on behalf of the Olney Wine Bar and Brasserie to align the hours permitted for the sale of alcohol, performance of music and performance of dance. After noting OTC’s objection to the later hours requested, the Committee voted to curtail these hours, and approved the application with the sale of alcohol permitted 10am – 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and 10am – midnight Friday and Saturday. It is also a condition of the licence that drinks must not be consumed in the outside area after 9pm.

Yardley Road Solar Park
Tony Evans reported that construction of the Yardley Road Solar Park was now well underway. There are 2-300m of field track leading from the turning on Yardley Road and, while some attempt has been made to keep this track in good condition, it has not been successful, so mud is being pulled onto the road by vehicles exiting the site. He felt this was a safety risk, particularly with the exit being on the crest of a bend which is taken quickly by many drivers. Jeremy Rawlings noted that it was a statutory duty not to bring mud onto the highway from such sites and Peter Geary concurred, saying it was an issue for planning enforcement. Next Meeting - 6th February The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 6th February in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• February 2017

Goosey Rubbish

Odds and Sods
Age UK are planning to close the Tuesday lunch club held at Clifton Court due to declining numbers. OTC currently pays for the transport of residents that cannot make their own way. The Thursday lunch club at the Olney Centre will continue, so OTC will transfer its funding to the Thursday club. An agreement has been reached with all interested parties to relocate this year’s Christmas tree to the north end of the Market Place by the war memorial. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 6th March in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• March 2017

• April 2017

Sodium Light v 4K LED Light - Oundle Town Centre (April 2017) © Kevin Viney

Kevin presented a picture that he had taken in the historic town of Oundle which has been fitted with the Woburn style lamp posts that are due to replace the similar ones in Olney and where one sodium light had been left. This enabled comparison of the intensity and colour with the modern LED lamp replacements. On the left of the picture is the warm yellow light (see illumination on pavement) and to the right is the somewhat harsh intense light from the 4K LED fitting, along with the similar colour of the fluorescent white of the shop front illuminating the ground. On a wet surface the white light would give a lot of glare, he said. Replacement in Olney is due to commence at the beginning of April, but Kevin suggested that OTC request MKC to delay for a period of six weeks until Holophane, the supplier, can obtain the warmer 3000°K lights. These are the norm in the USA, he said. John Boardman wondered if MKC had had any feedback from other parishes where LED lighting had been deployed and thought that High Street residents would be the first to complain when it happened in Olney. Joe Stacey asked if OTC actually have any authority to delay the deployment and Jeremy Rawlings questioned whether as a council they wanted to. Sally Pezaro was of the opinion that the yellow lights are part of the Olney atmosphere, particularly with the Christmas lights. The council agreed to request the delay. Update:A response has been received from MKC refusing to agree to the delay and stating that the replacement of lighting in the High Street will commence on 18th April and then continue to the rest of the town. The reply stated that “the design of the lights has already been reduced from the 5000k that have been used on the grid road network that has formed part of our overall replacement programme. It has been proven that the temperature of the proposed units replicates moonlight, which is the best type of light source for the human eye to view at night.” A number of the lights already exist in the town for residents to compare for themselves. They are the top of Spring Lane, the footpath on Aspreys between Sillswood and Hollow Wood, and The Knoll close to the (A)Maya restaurant. Any comment should be addressed to MKC Street lighting on 01908 252353 (Mon-Fri).

Fun Fair
John Scarrott and Sons will be bringing the funfair to Olney between 19th and 26th June. As Chairman of the Recs and Services Committee, Tony Evans has requested that it is not located on the Nursery Field (football pitch) due to damage that has been caused previously and is now repaired (note: last year Scarrotts voluntarily cancelled at the last minute, for fear of causing damage as the ground was so wet). Joe Stacey questioned whether the damage had actually impacted the football club and suggested that if damage is caused then Scarrotts should be asked to pay for it. Jeremy Rawlings said that there really was nowhere else it could be held and suggested that it go ahead this year with a review in July, which was agreed.

Town Meeting
The Annual Town Meeting will take place on Thursday 18th May at 7.00 pm in the Olney Centre, with cheese and wine after. This is your chance to come and meet your councillors and police representatives and question them on any matters concerning the town and its future. Perhaps you have an opinion on LED street lighting? Are you in favour of the growth of the Town? Are you happy with the level of policing? Alternatively, you could just have a moan on the Olney Noticeboard Facebook page…. Next Meeting - 8th May The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 8th May in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• May 2017

• June 2017

7th June - Two operatives were seen at the Goosey site, but were simply adding fencing to the structure, despite apparently having been served notices to remove the rubbish.

Pictured at the beginning of the year showing two otters on the bank of Goosey Island. Disturbing their place of rest is highly illegal and has been reported to Milton Keynes Council who have said they would look into the matter.

Odds and Sods
The Town Council’s annual financial statement has been prepared and may be inspected by members of the public between 11th June and 21st July. In May 2018 the Data Protection Act will be replaced by an EU directive known as the General Data Protection Regulation. The Government has confirmed that Brexit will not affect the UK implementation so councils are being advised to prepare now. Kevin Viney said that the replacement of the lights in the High Street is progressing and is due to be complete w/e 9th June. There has been a delay with some as they are adjacent to gas pipes. It is expected that those in the High Street in Newport Pagnell will be changed before the team return to Olney to start on the rest of the town. Tony Evans said that the recent Farmers’ Market had been the ‘best ever’ in terms of attendance by traders and the public and thanked Martin Ward for covering in his absence.  Heléna Newbold thanked the volunteers from Olney Events for putting up the floral baskets in the High Street. Next Meeting - 3rd July The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 3rd July in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• July 2017

West Street in Olney

Nursery field and fair
The fair had recently visited town, based as usual on the Nursery Field, the football pitch adjacent to East Street. The associated large vehicle movements had resulted in some damage to the field, and Tony Evans was asked to comment on this. He felt that the ground would recover in time for the football season, although did question how popular the fair had been. Helena Newbold noted that, the two times she visited, it had been packed with happy looking families. John Boardman explained that the Council collected around £900 from the fair, so there was some benefit there. Tony then noted that OTC had spent money reseeding and spiking the field, and it seemed odd to do so only to have the fair damage it each year. The item concluded with the Recreations and Services Committee being asked to discuss it and recommend the best way forward.

Summer football camps
The Council had received an email from Pete Lindsay, who runs the children’s summer football camps. These were started by Olney Town Colts FC but are now run as a private operation, although one which contributes to the Colts to cover costs of equipment and changing rooms. Liam, having provided that background, asked whether, now it was a private operation, OTC should start to charge for its use of the field. Tony Evans was concerned that the email stated when the camps would be held rather than asking permission for them to be held. Councillors decided to let the camps proceed this year free of charge, review, then consider charging next year.

Licence applications
OTC had received licence applications for the Bull Hotel and the Cherry Tree, both in the High Street, and Gabriella’s in the Market Place. All were supported, mostly because Councillors welcomed the new establishments and partly because they felt MKC didn’t really listen to OTC’s views on licensing anyway.

Skate Park
This item was to discuss the assessment of possible sites for the Skate Park. Tony Evans reported that the process had started a few weeks ago, but that work relating to the Neighbourhood Plan had delayed it. So, the item was postponed until the next meeting.

Waste on Goosey Island
As reported previously, there is a growing problem with illegal structures and the deposit of waste by the landowner on Goosey Island. Action on this is painfully slow, but the Head of Environment at MKC has agreed to look at the issue in detail. Peter Geary, noting that solving the problem would require action from both MKC and the Environment Agency, felt OTC needed to get the two bodies working together in order to address it.

Deputy Town Clerk
Jeremy Rawlings welcomed Jane Brushwood, the new Deputy Town Clerk.

Bits ‘n’ bobs
OTC will remind the Recreation Ground gate key holders that it’s meant to be kept locked, with vehicles limited to 5MPH on site. The yellow lines near the junction of Chantry Rise with Weston Road are faded and broken, leading to people parking on them. MKC will be asked to investigate. The open space off Stonemason’s Close is seeing some damage because, when it’s busy, cars are parking with two wheels on the grass. OTC’s groundsmen will investigate and recommend a solution. As reported before, The Youth Centre has now been withdrawn from the Community Asset Transfer scheme. Steve Clark noted that the Centre has a small pot of money to work from and that, with its only income being from local users, he didn’t know what would happen to the Centre when the pot was empty. Desmond Eley noted that the building required more than £100K of remedial work. Finally, Peter Geary explained that, if MKC wished to sell the Centre, they’d need to offer it to the local community to buy for six months before selling it elsewhere. He also asked whether MKC would wish to sell it for use as a Doctors' Surgery (as outlined in the Neighbourhood Plan). Next Meeting - 4th September The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 4th September, in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• August 2017

• September 2017

Olney Allotments Toilet

Community Circular Walk
Colin Rodden gave an update on the project, assisted by Mike Totton from the Allotment Association as well as Tom Jones and Amanda Molcher from The Cowper and Newton Museum. The vision is to have a series of walks looking at all that Olney has to offer. The walks will provide a whole day’s experience, encouraging visitors to see the cultural attractions and visit the shops and restaurants.

Neighbourhood Plan S106 agreements
This is a sum of money that developers are required to pay to the planning authority (MKC) and is spread across such things as schooling, health, recreation, amenities and public art. Joe Stacey reported that now the Plan has been formally adopted the Steering Group will now be replaced by a Development Committee, the first meeting of which will take place on 25th September. It is likely that this committee will consist of six councillors and six lay members and will consider, amongst other things, how to allocate the Section 106 funding. Peter Geary felt it was important that the needs of the town resulting from the new development be considered. The money can be spent over a period of ten years and Peter said it was important that some should be kept in reserves so that OTC reserves are not used in launching projects. Helena Newbold suggested that the breakdown of how funds are allocated to the individual categories is made available to residents via the OTC website. Joe Stacey felt it important not to under-estimate the amount of work involved and suggested that it might be necessary to engage a consultant.

Skate park site assessment
A number of sites have been considered, all with pros and cons, which have been identified in a document produced by Town Clerk Liam Costello. They are the recreation ground, the allotment field, Johnsons Field, The Pyghtle and Emberton Park. The site preferred by OTC is the allotment field, mainly due to its accessibility and distance from any housing. Colin Rodden was concerned about the remoteness of the site and Mike Totton, from the public gallery, expressed his concern at the impact on the small parking area available to allotment holders and that it might lead to a return of the vandalism experienced some years ago. Tony Evans said it was unfortunate that OTC had given the skateboard committee the impression that the current site of the zip wire on the recreation ground was the best location but further investigation had shown that it was not suitable. He thought that Emberton Park would be the best site, where a much larger facility could be built. Steve Clark reminded members that the park is actually owned by MKC and if there were any serious thoughts of locating the skate park there it was important to consult with Emberton Parish Council. Desmond Eley said that whatever site was chosen it was important that there is a water supply nearby, since OTC would be responsible for the upkeep and it would be necessary to regularly wash it down for safety reasons. Peter Geary was concerned that the allotment field is liable to flood and since much of the facility would be below ground it could fill with water. He suggested that OTC take pre-planning advice from MKC as there are planning regulations which might preclude some of the suggested sites. It was agreed to do this and discuss at the next meeting.

Goosey erections
Kevin Viney and Rosemary Osbourne have been in communication with Carole Mills, Chief Executive of MKC, about the unsightly scaffold, gates and rubbish on Goosey Island. The reply stated that because the gates are two metres in height they are classed as permitted development, even though the supporting scaffold is much higher, and therefore there is no action that MKC can take. The rubbish has now been put in builders’ bags, but the risk remains that flooding could result in it entering the river flow. This is the responsibility of the Environment Agency, who have no apparent concerns. The land owner also owns part of the larger southern island and Rosemary said that there was a possibility he may want to erect ‘no access’ signs. Peter Geary repeated his previous opinion that the only solution is to request that MP Mark Lancaster arranges a face to face meeting between MKC and the Environment Agency, since MKC seem to have ruled themselves out of any enforcement action. Additionally, OTC has been approached by solicitors for the land owner requesting that they sell their part of the Goosey. This was obviously rejected out of hand. It appears that he has divided his land into 21 plots that have been offered for sale as an investment for future building. Some of these plots have been sold and the aggregate value of the plots is believed to be in the region of £600k. Kevin expressed his opinion that this was a ‘shabby, speculative operation which was probably not even legal’. Desmond Eley asked if it would be possible for OTC to compulsory purchase the land. Peter Geary said yes, but it would need to be purchased for a particular reason, would be a five-year process and would involve paying the owner the market value. Kevin suggested that OTC should start the process of obtaining a public right of way along the entire bank of the southern island, which was agreed. The Clerk will write to the land owner’s solicitors formally rejecting their clients request to purchase the land and with a counter-offer of interest in purchasing his land.

Parking outside One-Stop
The MKC Ward Councillors have received a request from a resident requesting that a loading bay is provided outside One-Stop, to overcome the problem of traffic building up during deliveries. This way it could be managed in the same way as deliveries to the Carlton House Club. They passed it to the MKC Highways Dept who have considered the options and consulted OTC via an email. The email noted that any loading bay will require a Traffic Regulation Order, which would cost £2,056 and require consultation with all affected parties, including nearby residents who would lose parking outside of their properties and would probably object. Funding would be required for the implementation of the scheme. Peter Geary reminded members that this had been discussed by the council on previous occasions and if it was done for One-Stop, it would need to be done for all other businesses. There was a risk that Olney would end up with a High Street full of loading bays and no parking, he said. Colin Rodden suggested that One-Stop could be asked to make deliveries earlier in the day but Peter pointed out that there are deliveries from different suppliers during the day. Deirdre Bethune suggested that a loading bay could be situated outside of the Olney Centre, rather than outside residential properties. It was noted that the Carlton House Club does not have a formal loading bay, rather the manager cones off parking spaces the night before deliveries are due and removes them when complete, thus causing minimal disruption. It was agreed to seek the views of residents regarding provision of dedicated loading bays outside of the Carlton House Club and The Olney Centre.

Joe Stacey
Joe Stacey announced that he would be standing down from the council with immediate effect. He had notified the clerk of his intention to stand down in July but had stayed on to complete some outstanding work on the Neighbourhood Plan. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings formally thanked Joe for all his hard work on the plan and said he would be very sorry to see him go. As a result, a vacancy additional to that which will be filled by the forthcoming election now exists. If ten members of the electorate request that it be filled by an election, then it will be necessary to hold a further election, otherwise it will be filled by co-option.

Market Place parking weight limit
There has been considerable discussion on the Olney Noticeboard Facebook page about the stated weight limit of 1.5 Tonnes, which would preclude a number of family cars and all market traders’ vehicles. The previous notice stated 50 cwt but it appears that Napier Parking set it at 1.5 Tonnes when they were engaged to enforce the time limit restrictions. The original limit was set to prevent parking by lorries so Napier will be requested to amend the notices to 3.5 Tonnes.

Odds and sods
Peter Geary asked if any comments had been received about the new street lights in the High Street. Liam Costello said there had been complaints that they were originally too dim, but had now been increased in brightness by 30% and no further complaints had been received. Kevin Viney said there are still locations where the lights are obscured by trees, since the horizontal sections are shorter on the new post. The contractors had now agreed that power points for the Christmas lights could be fitted, he said.  Tony Evans reported that the grass cutting on Yardley Road by MKC stops half a mile short of the county boundary. The Pre-School have a requested a grant of £3,000 to assist with the £18,000 cost of resurfacing the play area and replacing equipment. The majority of the funding has been obtained from other community funds so OTC agreed to the request. Desmond Eley reported that a hearing-impaired resident had had a ‘near miss’ whilst crossing the road near the Hallelujah Lamp-post. This was due to the state of the pavement, but also due the speed of the traffic which is a particular problem late at night.  Sally Pezaro reported that the location code of the defibrillator at the recreation ground has been scratched off. Liam Costello replied that anyone dialling the emergency services would be provided with the access code. Next Meeting - 2nd October The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 2nd October in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• October 2017

Subway Frontage

Section 106 consultation for 250 home development
Peter Geary explained that the pictures in the Planning Application were illustrative only, the hard facts being limited to the development boundary, the entries and exits, and the Section 106 agreement. Thus, while a Community Centre had been mentioned, he felt clarification of who’d build it was required in writing before OTC gave its final view on the Planning Permission. Things like that needed to be tied down in the Planning Permission, he explained. Following on from the public meeting cancellation noted by Julia Clarke during the Public Participation section, Deirdre asked that OTC be given more time to compose its view on the development – the public meeting had not yet taken place and, in fact, its date still had to be agreed. Peter Geary said he’d be happy to request a delay to the planning decision but that, since it may result in MKC missing a Key Performance Indicator, it may prove unwilling to accede to the request. He noted that OTC should ideally submit its views to MKC by mid October, in time for MKC Officers to write a report for its November Planning Meeting. Colin Rodden sensibly noted that, with likely so little time available, some kind of project plan with milestones was needed. Jeremy Rawlings concluded the discussion, noting that OTC would request a delay.

Aspreys zebra crossing
This topic was to discuss the crossing issue raised by Maria Tennant earlier in the meeting. Colin Rodden noted that vehicle speeds on Aspreys were too high, with Thames Valley Police doing little to reduce them. He felt that a crossing would be a good use of part of the Section 106 monies from the nearby proposed 250 home development, although it may be required earlier than that money becoming available. Helena Newbold noted that she supported a crossing in this location. Continuing with his theme, Colin noted that, if people wanted to participate in reducing vehicle speeds, volunteers could be trained to use speed cameras under the Community Speedwatch programme. Neil Biggs, speaking briefly from the Public area, noted that an opportunity had been missed: When the traffic calming measures were agreed for the Ousedale build, they could have included the crossing. Peter Geary suggested the Council could ask Neil to look at any ideas or proposals.

Public planning meeting postponement
Mercury reports cover what happens during Council meetings, not outside them. However, every so often something is said, or not said, during a meeting which is worthy of further investigation. The postponement of the public planning meeting to discuss the 250 home development is a case in point. At a recent OTC Planning Committee meeting, it was decided to hold the public meeting. OTC asked the Ward Councillors to help it ensure that MKC officers attend the meeting, and was assured this help would be given. The meeting, organised by OTC, was due to take place on the evening of Thursday 28th September. That day Justin Booij, the MKC Senior Planning Officer due to attend, was unwell so he called and emailed OTC around midday to send apologies for himself and another Officer, Andy Swannel, and to say that “we will need to reconvene before the Council (MKC) determines the application”. Shortly after receiving that email, OTC decided to postpone the meeting and publicise its decision. But, if OTC had instead contacted MKC Officers or Ward Councillors, it would have learned that a replacement for Justin was in fact available and therefore the meeting could have gone ahead as planned. This has left both OTC and MKC frustrated, each seeing the issue in a different light. OTC contends that MKC did not make anyone else available, that it sent apologies for both Officers due to attend, and asked for alternative dates for the meeting to take place. MKC contends that OTC, as the organisers of an important time critical meeting, should have pushed back at MKC, for example talking with the Ward Councillors who’d assured it that Officers would attend the meeting, to see if other Officers were available. The new date for the public meeting is Thursday 26th October. While this will certainly be before MKC meets to determine the application, it’s unclear whether MKC will postpone that decision such that the MKC Officers’ report is written after the public meeting. So, both the choice of words in Justin’s email and the decision by OTC to postpone the meeting have turned out to be big calls. Thank you to Liam Costello and David Hosking for the above information.  Now back to the Council meeting...

Goosey Bridge
Kevin Viney introduced this topic, asking the Council to consider listing Goosey Bridge. A survey of the bridge had been performed and its keystone found, dating the bridge at 1795. Most buildings of a similar age are listed and, with the bridge having links with William Cowper, he felt it should be recognised and retained for future generations. Peter Geary noted that achieving listed status would make the bridge more expensive to work on. Councillors agreed to work towards achieving listed status for the bridge. Neil Biggs noted that there was a related technical point they must consider, and Jeremy Rawlings asked him to raise it after the meeting.

Skate Park
Progress on finding a suitable location has been painfully slow and, while the latest idea to site it in Emberton Park appeared broadly supported by MKC, it seems likely that Emberton Parish Council will be strongly opposed to it.

One Stop deliveries
Deliveries to One Stop can cause traffic problems in the High Street. David Hosking has been collecting local views and, as before, some would like a loading bay while others think the resulting lack of parking would be too big a disadvantage. If an easy solution exists, it’s certainly not been found yet. Jeremy Rawlings noted that, albeit once a week, the Monday 7.30am waste and recycling pickups by the dustmen probably caused more traffic problems than the deliveries.

Goosey Island
As reported previously, the problems of unsightly constructions and rubbish on Goosey Island continue. Peter Geary explained that MKC is working on the issue and, thus, it wouldn’t be productive for OTC to keep pushing it for progress. This was a complicated issue so progress would be slow, he felt.

Bits ‘n’ bobs
Colin Rodden asked why the Parish and small Town Councils don’t get together to keep the foot and cycle paths between them clear. This was felt a good suggestion, which will hopefully be followed up. Helena Newbold noted that, while canvassing house to house before the vote on the first vacant OTC position, Joanne Eley had often been told that OTC was too slow to respond to emails and letters. She felt the Council should have a Communications Policy, stating how soon responses could be expected. Next Meeting - 6th November The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 6th November in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

• November 2017

• December 2017

Parking in Oakdown Crescent

John Bates Second to speak was John Bates, who made two formal requests to the Council. First, he asked for a full debate on the Neighbourhood Plan to establish its shortcomings and agree amendments to protect the town from excessive development projects through to 2031. Second, he asked the Council to withdraw support from the 250 home development to the West of Aspreys. He felt that this development fell short of the obligations required by the Plan: It would very likely result in the 300 home target being exceeded and would not provide sufficient funding for infrastructure and the promised community building.

Welcome and congratulations
Jeremy Rawlings opened the meeting by welcoming the two new Councillors, Chris Tennant and Paul Collins. Later in the meeting, he also read out a letter from David Hosking, absent from this meeting, which noted that those willing to stand and campaign for election deserved credit and that he looked forward to working with them. Jeremy congratulated Sally Pezaro, also absent, on the recent birth of her and Mike’s baby daughter.

Plan:MK presentation
Andrew Turner, a Senior Planning Officer at Milton Keynes Council (MKC) gave a talk on the proposed submission version of Plan:MK. Only a brief summary of the talk is given here but, to learn more, surf to https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning-policy/plan-mk. Plan:MK contains the strategy to meet MK Borough’s development needs until 2031. He explained that part of the plan was to allocate more land to ensure a five year housing supply and that, while there was currently sufficient land for this purpose, that state of affairs was vulnerable because of appeals against developments and scrutiny over how the amount of land required was calculated. He noted Plan:MK would strengthen Neighbourhood Plans, and that a robust land supply was required to fend off speculative development. Across the Borough, 26,500 new homes are required until 2031, 19,725 of which are planned already, leaving the remainder, 6,775 homes, to be built in new allocations. The bulk of the development would be in the expansion areas East and West of Milton Keynes. Andrew explained that the Borough is short on land for large format warehouses but had enough land in general. A large area of land East of the M1 and South of Newport Pagnell is identified as a strategic reserve site for homes and businesses after 2031 – although government infrastructure funding to improve transport links across the M1 towards Milton Keynes will be required for this to move forward. Finally, he noted that planning for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway, although shrouded in uncertainty, was progressing, with a decision on the corridor it would follow from Oxford to Milton Keynes being due Summer 2018.

Questions on Plan:MK
Once Andrew had finished his presentation, he took questions, some of which are covered here. Des Eley asked if the Plan contained any intent to improve public transport between Olney and Milton Keynes. Andrew replied that this did not fall within Plan:MK’s remit, it being more relevant to the MK Mobility Strategy 2018-2036, out for consultation until the end of January. Peter Geary pointed out that Milton Keynes wanted industry other than ‘big automated sheds’ (large format warehouses), as these occupied large areas but provided few jobs – and providing jobs was the aim. Noting that a site near Sherington is being considered for a warehouse style development and thus would impact traffic on the A509, he asked what Councillors should do to oppose it. Andrew suggested they say that the current sites provide sufficient employment, that new ones are not required and that the additional A509 traffic would cause a problem. Kevin Viney asked if rural areas with ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans, such as Olney, should feel a real sense of security, as there’d be no development ‘surprises’ there or in the surrounding areas. Andrew replied that Olney’s Plan would stand, up to 2031, irrespective of Plan:MK, with the latter taking the rug from under speculative developments. He also noted that both Plans will need to be reviewed in five years’ time. Peter Geary asked whether, for rural areas with no ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans, there’d be no further housing allocation. The reply was neither a straight ‘yes’ or a straight ‘no’. Helena Newbold asked what would happen if, for example, a farmer owning land just beyond the proposed 250 home development west of Aspreys was to sell it to a developer. Peter Geary replied that they wouldn’t get planning permission unless Plan:MK changes or Milton Keynes suddenly has an insufficient five year land supply.

Planning and Development Committees
A decision was made recently to merge the Planning and Development Committees. Councillors now thought that was incorrect, so voted to separate them, with all in favour bar Deirdre Bethune against. The Development Committee, previously termed the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, has seen the balance between Council and Public membership skew towards the former as members of the public have left or, in one case, joined the Council. Councillors agreed that a ratio of 10 Councillors to five Public should be aimed for, with the detail of how to achieve it being left to the Committee.

250 home development
Jeremy Rawlings will attend the MKC planning meeting on 14th December to speak about the proposed 250 home development. People from the public area can’t speak in favour and, with OTC broadly pro the development, Jeremy’s contribution will instead be to promote the need to clarify the situation with regard to the proposed community building. The developer has stated it will create the building, but information on it, such as size and facilities, is scarce and it’s unclear how it will sit with the developer’s Section 106 contribution.

Oakdown Crescent
Deirdre Bethune opened the discussion, noting that the current situation was embarrassing and unfair. Peter stated that OTC needed to know when MKC was going to deliver funding for the parking improvements. Liam noted that he’d very recently chased MKC, and Peter said he’d do the same within the week. Peter also asked that the record be corrected: The Oakdown Crescent Residents Parking Scheme was rejected because it didn’t achieve the required 70% agreement from those polled.

Bits ‘n’ bobs
Currently, the only electrical outlets on the Market Place are near the toilet block, resulting in a maze of overhead cabling on market days to supply power to all the stalls. OTC has been working towards providing outlets spread around the area, and it’s hoped the two weeks’ work can be completed in January. It’s possible that one or two Thursday Markets may be cancelled as a result, but any decision will be taken in consultation with the market traders. Tony Evans noted that the replacement wire version of the ‘wicker ladies’ looked very good – a fantastic job had been done. Progress on the structures and waste material on Goosey Island continues to be slow. Peter Geary explained that there were two relevant methods of enforcement – via the planning route and the Environment Agency. The first was acknowledged to be a slow process, but Kevin Viney will invite the latter agency to a site meeting, with Peter assuring him that an MKC planning enforcement officer will also attend. Kevin noted that the Goosey right of way application was progressing well. Deirdre stated that Dickens of a Christmas had been a very successful event. She thanked the Council staff, who organise much of the event behind the scenes, for their work.

Neighbourhood Plan
Although not specifically an agenda item, the level of controversy over the Neighbourhood Plan means it keeps ‘popping up’, this time within the Members Matters item, in which Councillors air areas of concern. Most of the discussion was centred on a contribution from Phil Geech. Although this wasn’t read out until part way through, it’s clearer to cover it first, followed by the resulting discussion. Phil had requested the statement be read verbatim. Joanne Eley did that and the full text is below:
“There has recently been some consternation surrounding a proposed development at Aspreys and the Neighbourhood Plan that encompasses it. Whilst the planning application is within the purview of Milton Keynes Council and will be addressed elsewhere the Neighbourhood Plan falls within the remit of Olney Town Council. I submit that, given new information that is available and some concerns over the conduct of the campaign, that a review is not only desirable but essential to ensure that the will of residents is properly understood. I would therefore ask two things of the Council: ● Will you support a review of the Neighbourhood Plan? ● In the interests of transparency will you ensure that no party concerned in the original plan is part of such review and that a balance of membership is between Council members and interested residents? I would ask that the question and answers to both are formally minuted.”
Jeremy Rawlings noted that only minor changes to the Plan were possible, the law not allowing major ones. He felt the Plan would have to be started again if significant changes were required. Peter Geary explained that, even if such work started now, it’d not be possible to remove items from the existing (and ‘made’) Plan. Chris Tennant noted that the locality website has a FAQ section where this point is dealt with, see the last question on mycommunity.org.uk/help-centre/faqs/np/. While there are various caveats, the main thrust of its answer is “Currently, to update a made Neighbourhood Plan it is necessary to go through the same process as done for making the original Neighbourhood Plan, including pre-submission consultation, submission to local authority, independent examination and referendum.” Joanne noted that Phil Geech had talked to a barrister about the issue, prompting Chris Tennant to reply that if Phil had legal evidence, “let’s see it”. Next Meeting - 8th January The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 8th January in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

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Mercury's reports for 2018

·    January 2018

Mercury Report: Olney Town Council There was an unusually low turnout of members for this month’s meeting with only nine being present. Public participation First to talk was Hillary Terry on the subject of the re-submitted Planning Application for four 4-bed houses with detached double garages behind numbers 63 & 65 Moore’s Hill. She said the main difference to the original application appeared to be an alleged wider access to the site and did not know of any residents in Moore’s Hill who think this application should be approved. There had been a recent residents’ meeting at which five Moore’s Hill households were represented, plus one from Dinglederry and three from Maybush Walk, with several apologies from others who also feel very strongly that this application should be turned down. Moore’s Hill is a sub-standard single width road of between 3.75 and 3.85m, and vehicles are required to drive on the pavement to pass. Both driving on, and parking on, the pavement is dangerous to pedestrians. It is often the case that pedestrians with children in push chairs need to walk in the road because of cars parked on the pavement. The situation is further aggravated enormously by the proximity to Olney Middle School, when Moore’s Hill becomes a car park and there is barely room to get a small car between the rows of parked cars. Building four extra houses will further aggravate the traffic problems in this road,  she said. The application is misleading and inaccurate, she felt. The developer is now proposing to demolish part of No. 63, without giving any details, suspecting the removal of the downstairs toilet. Hillary called into question the extra width the developer alleges for the proposed site access and pointed out that the boundary with Maybush Walk properties is incorrectly drawn on the application. Access is also hampered by a hedge which gives a difficult, if not blind, exit, not to mention the fact that traffic going in would be head-on to traffic going out. Although the applicant claims to have considered parking, in reality he is reducing parking for 63 and removing it completely for 65, Hillary said. She concluded by saying that the proposed development would be totally out-of-character with the houses in Moore’s Hill, thus fundamentally altering the character and nature of Moore’s Hill, an historic development long known for its old houses and spacious gardens. It is ill-advised, ill-conceived, dangerous and unsuitable, she said. Ralph Terry briefly spoke next, reiterating to points made by Hillary and asking that Olney Town Council (OTC) recommends rejection of the revised plan at the next meeting of the Planning Committee. He said that a more detailed document had been provided to that committee detailing where the plan was contrary to Milton Keynes Council’s (MKC) own planning guidelines.

Moores Hill

Finally, Sue Warren spoke on the subject of the parking situation in Oakdown Crescent. Sue repeated her firm belief that OTC had interfered in the request for a residents’ parking scheme by requesting that residents of Weston Road were included in the survey. Why were residents of West Street not included in the survey for a parking scheme in Orchard Rise, she asked. Ward Councillor Peter Geary’s assertion that OTC did not interfere was ‘ludicrous’, she said. Sue said she would wait till the end of the year when she would apply again, only this time she would not inform OTC,  as the residents of Orchard Rise hadn’t. She presented some photos which showed the scale of the problem, unlike the photo in the December edition of The Phonebox which appeared to have been taken in the middle of a weekday when it was not a problem. She concluded by asking if there was any news on funding from the MKC Community Parking Fund, which had been expected months ago. Town Clerk Liam Costello said that there would not now be any funding from that source. Later in the meeting Peter Geary said he and a number of other MKC councillors and officers had recently attended a site visit but the reception they had received from the residents had put back their case considerably.

Events Requests had been received to hold a number of events on the recreation ground, all of which have been approved:
● The annual Riverfest (raft race) on Sunday 1st July. ● Riverfest Rocks – a public charity fundraising music event in the Riverfest Marquee on the night of Saturday 30th June. ● The Olney 5km Stagger Race on 12th May to raise funds for the NSPCC. Bollards and weight limit in Silver End MKC has recently received a complaint relating to lorries mounting the pavement outside No. 4 East Street and is proposing to install bollards outside, similar to the bollards installed outside The Swan. They are also proposing a 3.5t weight limit from the Market Place, along Silver End until just beyond the property. Whist broadly in agreement with the bollards, members were concerned that the weight limit might cause problems elsewhere, meaning that large vehicles would gain access to businesses by travelling south along the length of East Street, or even via Church Street and Coneygere. OTC will write to MKC with their concerns.

East Street

Community Hall on new development At the last meeting of the MKC Development Control Committee the planning application for 250 new houses west of Yardley Road was deferred, due to outstanding issues with the section 106 contribution for the community hall. Chris Tennant reported on meetings that had subsequently taken place between himself, MKC ward councillors, officers from MKC and the applicant, where the focus had been on what would be required by the community. The applicant is proposing a building with a total floor area of 150m2, the hall area being 100m2. Tony Evans supported the proposal but was concerned that access would be via the new housing estate and might create access and parking problems. Peter Geary said that the building design need to allow for future extension and should consider residents that do not play sports. This led on to a discussion around the proposed provision of playing fields with either grass or 3G/4G synthetic turf. The problem with the latter, he said, was that it would have a maximum lifespan of 10 years and would cost a six-figure sum to eventually replace. Maintenance needs to be agreed from day one, otherwise the replacement cost would fall to OTC. Colin Rodden thought that the proposal should go out to public consultation, but Peter said there was no time for that because the DCC meeting will be held on 8th February and necessary reports will need to be in place by the end of January. A vote was taken on the community hall proposal and passed by a majority.
250th anniversary of William Cowper and Mrs Unwin moving to Olney To celebrate this event the Cowper and Newton Museum will be holding a showcase event at the Carlton House club on 15th February to which supporters of the museum and various dignitaries will be invited. OTC agreed to pay £250 towards the cost of catering for the event. Odds and sods Rosemary Osbourne reported that the double yellow lines on the Weston Road/Chantry Rise junction were fading leading to them being ignored. Peter Geary reported that MKC had appointed a new Deputy Monitoring Officer responsible for enforcing the laws on declarations of members personal interests. His view is that when such matters are discussed the member must leave the meeting, which is not what currently happens with OTC where the member remains but may take no part in discussions. He also reported that the MKC budget is currently being discussed.  Proposals are: ● A 6% rise in Council Tax ● Grit bins will not be filled ● Graffiti squads cut from 4 to 3 ● £500k cut from road resurfacing budget ● Pot hole repair budget cut by 15% or £100k. Also, removal of 28 day timescale for holes greater than 50mm deep. Currently if a repair is made within 28 days of a hole being reported MKC do not have to pay compensation for vehicle damage. Members were concerned on the impact of this measure. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings was concerned that MKC have been ‘slipping in’ LED replacement street lights without consulting OTC. The standard replacement is an eight-point high intensity array with no diffuser, he said (Mercury had noted that that particularly bright lamp at the top of Spring Lane is actually a double array of 16). Tony Evans reported that there is a large road depression on the route of the pancake race. Kevin Viney reported that collection of evidence to provide a right of way over the privately owned section of The Goosey is progressing well. A report on the proposed weight limit on the bridge is due at the end of the month. A meeting with the Environment Agency to discuss the unauthorised structure and rubbish is being held on 15th January. A new gate, including a pedestrian gate, is being erected on the Weston Road entrance. Work to upgrade the electricity supply on the Market Place has been delayed until March.

Cowper & Newton Museum

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th February in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

·    February 2018

Olney Council report for 5th February 2018

Public Participation
Sue Warren Sue Warren was first to speak, on the topic of parking in Oakdown Crescent. She stated again that the reason Oakdown Crescent wasn’t granted a parking permit scheme was that Olney Town Council (OTC) had insisted on Weston Road residents being included in the survey. Noting that OTC existed to improve the lives of Olney residents, she said this seemingly did not apply to those in Oakdown Crescent, Deirdre Bethune being the only Councillor to speak with them about the parking problem. She advised the Council that she’d made a formal complaint to the Local Authority Ombudsman regarding how OTC handled the application for parking permits in Oakdown Crescent, compared with the successful application for Orchard Rise. Christine Platt Christine Platt, Sue’s sister, then spoke briefly on the same topic. She noted that the Phonebox Magazine had reported Peter Geary as saying that he and other Councillors had visited the Crescent but that the reaction of those they spoke with had put back their case considerably. In her view, it was instead the case that, while Councillors had spoken with the residents, they did not want to hear what they had to say. Peter Geary Peter Geary responded to this specific issue. He took a group of Milton Keynes Council (MKC) Officers on a site visit to the Crescent in an attempt to convince them that work needed to be done to alleviate the parking problem. He stated that, factually, the Officers had been less impressed by the residents’ case after the visit than before. Addressing Sue and Christine, he stated that they needed to work with the Council in order to move the situation forward - their current approach was not helpful, he said. He concluded by saying that he supported them contacting the Ombudsman. If they had a problem, that was a sensible way to address it.

Events
The Council gave permission for Cherry Fair to be held on Saturday 16th June on The Glebe, and for Motorama to be held on Sunday 10th June on the Market Place.

New development and Community Hall
This topic concerns the planning application for the site to the West of Yardley Road. First, some background kindly provided by Liam Costello after the meeting. The planning application is for “Outline permission (with all matters reserved except access) for the residential development of 250 dwellings and associated public open space, car parking and community facilities including a multi-use community building”. This means that the applicant is seeking permission for the principle of those items, with their detail to be agreed at a subsequent more detailed application termed a “Reserved Matters Application”. So, the only things due to be agreed and set in stone at this stage are the highway access details and the Section 106 (S106) agreement. With regards to the S106, the MKC Development Control Committee (DCC) will approve the heads of terms of the S106 at their committee meeting, and afterwards solicitors for MKC and the developer will agree the S106 arrangement, which is a binding legal document. Now back to the meeting. Chris Tenant reported that he, Peter Geary, David Hosking, Tony Evans and Liam Costello had met with Providence Land and MKC Officers on a number of occasions to progress the Community Hall item. This covered the scope, layout, form, design and principle of the proposed building, along with the Section 106 package, due to be assessed by the DCC on Thursday 8th February. He noted that all this was “indicative” meaning that, as explained above, the precise detail of the Community Hall will not be agreed at this stage. Peter Geary noted that, in the amenity area, one of the two sports areas will be laid out as a pitch, while the other will remain the property of Providence Land, effectively their ‘lever’ to help secure the remainder of the Site E development area, which is essentially the remaining Westerly section of the Southernmost field of the overall development. Tony Evans noted that this second sports area needn’t be a pitch and could, for example, be a running track - although OTC would need to pay for the work required to achieve this.  Chris and Peter then covered the ‘phasing’ of the amenities becoming available versus the houses being built. The application currently commits to this happening only after 180 dwellings are built which, assuming a build rate of 50 dwellings per year, could be in around seven or eight years’ time. OTC would prefer, and will push for, a figure of more like 125 dwellings (50% of the total), thus ensuring that the first buyers have the benefit of the facilities earlier. Chris noted that the build rate would not be linear. For example, much infrastructure work would be required before the first house was built. He also noted that the foot and cycle path to Aspreys was similarly slated to be available only after 180 dwellings had been built, and this was not nearly early enough. Peter felt that this was fine tuning, on which he felt the developer would likely compromise. Note: In their meeting of Thursday 8th February, MKCDCC unanimously resolved to grant outline planning permission (with all matters reserved except access) for the residential development of up to 250 houses and associated public open space, car parking and community facilities including the multi-use community building.

How Olney’s new Community Centre may look. Supplied by David Hosking




Edgar Mobbs Close off of East Street. Right: Edgar Mobbs

Section 106 Museum and Archives monies
Paul Collins, Councillor and trustee of the Cowper & Newton Museum, proposed that it administer the Museums and Archives part of the Section 106 monies from local developments, currently £58,924 assuming the new 250 dwelling development. He noted that the Council nominates two people on the Museum board. Peter Geary asked Paul to confirm that the Museum would effectively have oversight of where the monies were spent, rather than necessarily spending them on itself. Paul confirmed this, and Councillors voted unanimously in favour, bar Paul who was not allowed to vote.

Goosey Island
Kevin Viney provided an update on the temporary structures on Goosey Island. The deadline for the removal of these structures expires in March and, if not heeded, MKC Planning Enforcement will take action at the owner’s expense. Further, the Environment Agency (EA) will write to the owner to remind him that, while temporary permission for scaffold poles under the weak wooden bridge has been given, he must now submit a permanent proposal. High winds have torn off a section of a gate coated with anti-climbing paint, and it’s likely that this paint is dangerous to aquatic life. The EA has been informed, and concerned residents are advised to report the issue to its incident hotline.  Finally, a planning application has been submitted by the owner of Little Goosey Island to install a cattle grid and gates, the land deeds indicating that he is allowed to keep animals. While this is clearly a concern, Peter Geary noted that an application can only ever be assessed on its own merits so, if OTC was to recommend against it, it would need good planning grounds on which to do so.

Budget and Precept
Councillors voted unanimously to approve OTC’s budget for 2018-2019. This includes an increase in its precept by 2.99% to £190,585 which, for various reasons, will result in only a 2% increase in the part of your Council Tax bill which goes to OTC.

Bits ‘n’ bobs
The street name for the 14 house development off East Street will be either Edgar Mobbs Close or just Mobbs Close. OTC will take on the administration of the Hanging Baskets which furnish the High Street and nearby roads during the summer, Jeremy Rawlings noting the Council would review whether its office staff required additional help. OTC’s Planning Committee has objected to an application for a retail food store with up to 26 residential units on the land at the corner of Lavendon and Warrington Roads. That was because the site was allocated purely for retail development under the Olney Neighbourhood Plan, and it was important for the sustainable future of the town that retail space be available to meet its growing population’s future needs. Tony Evans passed on OTC’s best wishes to Jeremy Rawlings who, as Mayor, would be in Liberal, Kansas for the Pancake Race.

Crossing outside One Stop
Deirdre Bethune introduced this topic, explaining that she’d heard of further incidents involving drivers not seeing pedestrians about to cross. Other Councillors, including Jeremy Rawlings and Tony Evans, agreed the crossing was dangerous, and fair to neither pedestrians nor drivers due to a mix of lighting and nearby parking. Noting that OTC had to be clear about what action it wanted, Peter asked that all such near misses be reported with dates and times. That would help increase the priority of any improvements, he said.

Olney’s One Stop Crossing

Councillor vacancy
Although not discussed in this meeting, Liam Costello asked Mercury to note that OTC will look to fill a Councillor vacancy by co-option at its next full meeting on 5th March. If anyone would like to be considered, please contact the Council, 01234 711679 or townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk, for details and an application form. Next Meeting - 5th March The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th March in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

·    March 2018

Olney Council report for 5th March 2018

Public Participation
Ralph Terry First to speak was Ralph Terry. He thanked the members of Olney Town Council (OTC) for their continued support in objecting to the resubmitted planning application for additional houses in Moores Hill. Ralph said there were four other points he wished to make. The first was the matter of the huge pothole and puddle at the end of West Street which had been there for over a month. The second was about the new street lights in the High Street. The Olney crest had not been replaced on a significant number of them and one had been left as a cut off stump. Thirdly, the footpath from Johnsons Field to the Middle School was in a bad state being covered in vegetable matter with the bank falling away and trees growing over the path. Lastly, he said that dog mess was particularly bad along the path, which he and his wife use several times a day and both had resorted to picking up the mess themselves.  Mayor Jeremy Rawlings responded that the sawn-off stump was probably due to an existing lamppost which had been found to be very close to a gas main during replacement and Transco were due to investigate and rectify. Dierdre Bethune explained that all the crests were supposed to be replaced as part of the lamppost replacement scheme, but Ringway, Milton Keynes Council’s (MKC) service provider are yet to complete the job. Later in the meeting there was a discussion regarding responsibility for clearing leaves from footpaths, which generally is down to MKC. Tony Evans noted that the mobile sweeper did not appear to have visited for some time. Colin Rodden pointed out that many footpaths had never been formally handed over from the numerous developers to MKC so remain unadopted.  Ruth Ayling Next to speak was Ruth Ayling. Ruth said she understood that the Thursday Market was struggling for business and wondered if the opening hours were precluding many people from using it, who otherwise would. She suggested that perhaps it should be open later as a trial to see if it gets more use. Steve Clark noted that the recent bad weather had meant that some stalls had been unable to attend, and footfall had consequently been low. The suggestion of later opening will be put to the market traders.

The Olney Crest

Co-option of new councillor
A vacancy having arisen and there being no request from the electorate for an election to fill it, it fell to the council to fill the vacancy by co-option. Residents Graham Harrison and Mike Hughes had put their names forward and, both being present, were invited to introduce themselves prior to the secret vote. Graham spoke first explaining that he had stood unsuccessfully in the recent election but the support he had received had encouraged him to put himself forward for co-option. He said he had been an Olney resident for three years and prior to that had lived in Warrington for 35 years and been the Parish Meeting Chairman for the last 10, attending Rural Area Forum and Neighbour Action Group meetings. During this time he had, with others, successfully opposed the building of the Nun Wood wind farm and the supermarket at Warrington BP station. In 2016 he retired as a magistrate after 23 years. Mike said that he had been an Olney resident for 23 years. During the next few years the town will be going through momentous change and, having previously served as a councillor and mayor, felt that he had the experience and ability to once again be of service. He explained that he is currently OTC’s representative on the Petsoe End Windfarm Committee, a member of the Ann Hopkins Smith Alms House Trust and member of St Peter and St Pauls Church Fabric Committee. A secret ballot was held and Graham Harrison was elected by nine votes to four.

Draft Framework for Parish and Town Councils to have an increased role in service delivery
Desmond Eley explained that MKC have big budget restrictions and are looking to cut expenditure further when the current contract with Serco for some services expires in two years’ time. One of the proposals is for Parish and Town Councils to take on and pay for some services themselves. He felt that OTC needs to proactively get an understanding of what residents are prepared to pay for. Jeremy Rawlings said that the problem is that it is not yet clear what MKC are likely to be dropping. Steve Clark suggested that OTC should reply saying that they are keen to work with MKC but felt that recent experience with the transfer of landscaping responsibility and the abortive attempt by OTC to take over ownership of the Youth Club under the Community Asset Transfer scheme had been a bad experience. There was no guarantee that Olney would not get ‘shafted’ again, he said. Peter Geary said that OTC was in a better position to take on the work than many other local councils as it has its own ground staff. The current MKC Public Realm Service Director had come into the job with the intention of cutting many services but it had since become clear that they could not all be cut, he said. OTC has for some years been responsible for its own landscaping services on a devolved basis from MKC. Instead of paying Serco to do the work, as happens with most other parishes, MKC gives OTC a grant to do it on their behalf. There had been some concern that MKC could arbitrarily reduce this grant due to changes in their budget, so an ‘extension of and deed of variation to agreement’ document has been drawn up and will be signed by both parties. The agreement ensures that: ● The grant will be reviewed annually, rather than quarterly as proposed by MKC. ● Any variation in the grant at the annual review shall not reduce the grant below a level which would have been charged by Serco. ● Any disagreement resulting from the review will be referred to binding arbitration.

Street naming
Local historian and resident Elizabeth Knight had been approached by MKC to provide suitable street names for the proposed new developments in the town. She noted that a 1970s document identified a field in the Stilebrook area as ‘Foul Slough’ which Mercury thought particularly appropriate, given the proximity of the proposed houses to the sewage works. She also commented that the proposal to name the new development off East Street as Mobbs Close, after local sporting and WW1 hero Edgar Mobbs was very appropriate. This provoked a discussion initiated by Tony Evans as to whether his full name should be used. It was agreed that this would be more respectful and might provoke locals to investigate his life and achievements further.

Silent Soldier Campaign
The Royal British Legion are inviting sponsors to get involved in the campaign by donating to receive a ‘Silent Soldier’ silhouette to commemorate the end of WW1 and as a tribute to those who didn’t return and to those whose lives would never be the same again. Council agreed to donate a sum to be decided. The silhouette will probably be displayed at different locations around the town.

Citizens Advice – Community Outreach Project
OTC pays £4,400 each year so that Milton Keynes Citizens Advice can provide sessions for Olney residents once a fortnight at the Olney Centre. These sessions can be booked by calling the clerk or deputy clerk at the Olney Centre on 01234 711679. The report for July to December 2017 showed that 27 people had been helped to resolve and address 59 separate legal, financial and personal problems. Joanne Eley noted that the two detailed case studies appeared to duplicate what is provided by the health services and wondered if the service essential or just a ‘nice to have’. Peter Geary replied that since MKC no longer provided the funding the parishes had agreed to provide support so that the 2-3% of residents who need advice on issues such as housing can obtain it locally. These are the most vulnerable members of society, he said. Desmond Eley asked why MKC had withdrawn funding. Peter replied because they were short sighted and the easiest thing to cut in a financial crisis is such grants. John Boardman reminded members that the councils of surrounding villages had been approached to contribute to the funding, but none had done so meaning that residents of those villages were now directed to the service in Milton Keynes. Dierdre Bethune was concerned that residents of those villages were not being supported and suggested that they speak to their own parish councils in order to provide their own service. Peter Geary noted that the cost for signing up for a further three years would be £4,293 per year, a discount of just over £300 in total. He said it was important for the providers to have commitment as they needed the continuity to plan ahead and ensure that they had people in place with the right skills. He suggested that OTC renew for a further year with a view to extending to three years next time the contract was up for renewal, which was agreed

Market Place CCTV
This matter came up during the finance agenda item where it was questioned whether OTC is getting value for money for the annual fee. Jeremy Rawlings was of the opinion that the service had been miss-sold. Pictures from the camera are stored 24/7 on a memory card which can then be remotely accessed. It was agreed to look at the possibility of getting the camera centrally monitored by the police in Central Milton Keynes.

Market Place Power Bollards

Odds and sods
The installation of power bollards on the Market Place is due to run from 10th to 21st of March and will hopefully be complete by the time you read this. This work will enable market traders to connect to a power supply close to their stalls, instead of draping overhead cables back to the main power box by the toilets. A temporary fence on the new development on East Street is encroaching 2-3 metres on to the Youth Club field. The estates team at MKC will be informed. It was noted that the cobble stones have been removed from outside the front of The Bull and replaced with a resin and gravel surface as part of the redevelopment. However, this is in accordance with the submitted plans and has been done on health and safety grounds. It was noted that the water consumption on the allotments was unusually high and will be investigated. Next Meeting - 9th April The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 9th April in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

·    April 2018

Olney Council report for 9th April 2018

Public Participation
Sue Warren First to speak was Susan Warren who reported that the Local Government Ombudsman would be taking up her complaint about the way that OTC (Olney Town Council) and MKC (Milton Keynes Council) had dealt with the issue of parking in Oakdown Crescent. She said it was nice to see officers from MKC present at the meeting now that the Ombudsman would be investigating. Martin Allen Next to speak was Martin Allen on the subject of the High Street premises previously occupied by T A Bennett & Sons. He asked if members were aware of any planning applications for the premises and if not, could they ask the owner to paint the rather unattractive boarding. Members were not aware of any application at that time. Kate Bostock Next to speak was Kate Bostock. Kate said that the bay window of her house in Bridge Street has been struck by vehicles twice in the last four months, the latest in a long line of such incidents over many years and each time she has had to bear the cost of repairs. Although the road was repaired a few years ago the camber seems to be getting worse again, she said, and was concerned about the safety of pedestrians. She had spoken to the MKC Ward Councillors about the possibility of a speed restriction or bollards on the bend. Ken and Gill Simmond Last to speak were Ken and Gill Simmonds from Long Massey about speeding traffic on Aspreys. Ken said that the speed and noise of traffic was increasing and the recently installed Speed Indicating Device (SID) had recorded one vehicle traveling at 57 mph. He said there were an increasing number of lorries and works vehicles using Apreys and believed that some companies were advising their drivers to use Aspreys to avoid congestion in the High Street.  He asked when the data from the SIDs would be available and whether it would be made public.  Peter Geary agreed that the data should be made public but Town Clerk Liam Costello said that the raw data is not easily understandable. He would be happy to explain it to Ken and Gill, he said. Gill said that even the data from the SIDs would not be a true reflection of the speeds because she had observed vehicles slowing down when the drivers saw the SID.  Mayor Jeremey Rawlings said the usual procedure was for the SID data to be sent to Thames Valley Police (TVP) and they then decide if further action is necessary.  Colin Rodden said that there were plans to implement a community Speedwatch, which would be covered later in the meeting.

Oakdown Crescent parking
Present at the meeting were Bernie Ibekwem (Interim Highways Community Manager) and Naveed Ahmed (Senior Highway Liaison Officer). Bernie explained that he was new to the role and was attending to look at the issue, listen to concerns and then take to the next stage. When he’d first picked up the issue he was under the impression it had only been going on for around two years but having investigated further it was clear it had a much longer history. Sue Warren said she had been fighting to get it resolved for 10 years and Steve Clark said he had seen some minutes of a meeting 38 years ago where it had been discussed.  Dierdre Bethune asked Bernie how long his tenure was likely to be, as one of the problems seemed to be that too many temporary officers had promised action and then moved on. Bernie said it was ‘number one’ on his priorities and the new MKC Head of Highways was keen for the matter to be resolved. A plan had been produced some time ago but it appeared this had not been forwarded to OTC.  Peter Geary said he had seen a plan which involved turning the entire central area of the crescent into a car par park for 14 vehicles.  Sue Warren said the residents had been presented with a number of options and had chosen ‘Plan B’ which consisted of a central circle with one-way traffic. Naveed said that that plan did not pass the safety review, so the current plan allowed for just 11 vehicles and she then presented plans showing the proposed layout. Sue observed that the current ad-hoc arrangement allowed parking for 18 vehicles.  Jeremy Rawlings asked if the scheme would be fully funded by MKC and Bernie replied that the current ball-park figure was £30k split evenly between OTC and MKC.  Liam Costello said that an application had been made in the last financial year for funding from the MKC Community Parking Scheme, but no awards had been made that year. Sue noted that there was no dedicated disabled space or Doctor/Nurse bay. It was agreed that a disabled space could be provided and enforced, and an emergency vehicle bay could be marked out but wasn’t enforceable.  Peter Geary noted that MKC enforcement officers visit Olney on average three times a week so could be asked to enforce the scheme. A vote was taken as to whether the proposed plan was acceptable, which was passed unanimously.  Sue Warren said that next December she would be reapplying for a residents’ only parking scheme, so it looks as though this will run for a while yet

East Street – Holes Lane general improvements
John Boardman said that the first phase of the two-phase housing development off East Street was coming to a close which should release around £30k in Section 106 (planning gain) funding. Two years ago MKC had put forward three possible improvement schemes and John suggested now would be the time to revisit these. Colin Rodden asked if it could be considered as part of the overall Section 106 funding from the proposed new houses off Yardley Road, but Jeremy Rawlings said legally it had to be spent in the vicinity of the development. This generated some discussion around what improvements could be made. One suggestion was to continue the footpath around the bend close to the recreation ground but Peter Geary said it would result in the road becoming too narrow for two way traffic and it would have to become one-way. Steve Clark said a one-way system would result in an increase in traffic speed. The alternative might be two way with priority in one direction but that would probably involve the installation of traffic lights, he thought. Chris Tennant said such a scheme would not be appropriate to S106 and would need to be a major capital project which in turn would need to consider all traffic movement around the town. Peter Geary said that with the current financial situation at MKC it was unlikely that funding would be available. Jeremy Rawlings proposed that the matter should be progressed outside the meeting and Desmond Eley expressed the opinion that it was only a matter of time before there was a ‘serious incident’

Community Speedwatch
Thames Valley Police have identified a scheme whereby communities can sign up to take part in exercises where they can themselves actively be involved in monitoring traffic speed in their locality. Two communities that have taken part in a trial have seen positive feedback. The scheme works by residents volunteering to assist in the setting up of the Speedwatch equipment and logging vehicles that are exceeding the speed limit. Offenders are then written to, via TVP, advising them of their excessive speed and given guidance to avoid speeding in the future. Vehicle details are recorded on the TVP Speedwatch database. OTC has requested volunteers via Facebook and to date around six people have expressed an interest. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the council office for more information. 

Land at corner of Lavendon Road and Warrington Road
As previously reported, Angle Property have submitted plans for a retail foodstore and up to 26 residential units on this site and officers of MKC Planning Department were recommending acceptance of the scheme. Peter Geary reported that he and a number of other councillors had attended a meeting with the developer where the developer’s objective had been to persuade OTC to drop its objection to the scheme. OTC’s objective was to get the housing element of the scheme removed because the recently adopted Neighbourhood Plan (NP) had reserved the site solely for retail use. Chris Tennant said that at the meeting the developer confirmed that the foodstore would be occupied by Sainsbury’s and they considered the site to be in-fill and therefore not subject to the restrictions of the NP. Peter Geary said the change in the retail market meant that the size of new stores was reducing, but it was not in the interests of the town to see the whole scheme fall apart. No one had been able to demonstrate a sound reason why the NP should be changed or challenged, he said. Tony Evans was of the opinion that anything that OTC did which weakens the status of the NP would cause problems further down the line and the recommendations of the plan must be observed. Steve Clark thought the submitted plans would be bound to be rejected by the forthcoming MKC Development Control Committee (DCC) and his advice would be to resubmit without the housing. Peter Geary asked if OTC wished to reconsider its decision to object to the plans in the light of all the information they had before them. This was put to a vote and was unanimously rejected. Hew then asked if the housing element was removed would OTC support the application. This was unanimously agreed.  Note: After a short debate at the DCC on 12th April the developer withdrew the application for the housing element. They undertook to resubmit the plans with a stand-alone supermarket within the next two weeks

MKC affordable housing
MKC has published a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) which aims to make clear the council’s responsibilities in providing affordable housing, both as a housing landlord and as an enabler and regulator to assist others in meeting the housing needs of the community. One of the objectives is to provide more clarity on options for affordable housing delivery in the rural areas. Joanne Eley doubted whether affordable housing will be built in Olney and Peter  Geary said that Olney is not a popular location with housing associations due to the limited public transport links with nearby centres of employment. Jeremy Rawlings noted that the size of development requiring affordable housing has been reduced from 15 to 10. The consultation period runs from 19th March to 27th April and it was agreed that Joanne Eley will liaise with MKC on the matter.

Olney Town Football Club
The entire committee of Olney Town Football Club (OTFC) have announced that they will stand down at the end of the current season and unless sufficient volunteers come forward to replace them, the club will fold. Tony Evans said he would be sorry to see the demise of the club, but it is no longer a local club as all players and the manager come from outside the town. He noted that the separately run Olney Town Colts now had a seniors team and said he would like to see the club grow. Joanne Eley said that unlike other local sports teams the players receive a match fee and do not get involved in running the club. Steve Clark was disappointed that OTC had been mentioned in the club’s Facebook announcement, particularly when they had bent over backwards to help them with the barrier around the pitch, in the face of public opposition. The leagues need to recognise that many smaller clubs play on town/parish council owned recreation grounds and will not get permission for stands, turnstiles and the like, he said. Liam Costello said that a 99 year lease for the land on which the club house stands was signed in 1983 so it was important that the contract terms should be obeyed by OTC and OTFC during the winding-up process. The lease does not include automatic use of the pitches he said, which get renegotiated each year.

Olney Town Football Club

Odds and sods
The installation of power bollards on the Market Place has been completed, but to a generally poor standard. Some bollards are in exposed locations and are at risk of being damaged by vehicles. A meeting will take place with the contractors. Kevin Viney reported that most of the illegal structures on Goosey Island had finally been removed. The metal scaffold poles on the bridge had been removed but those on the island remained, as did the rubbish. MKC will be reminded that the owner has not yet been fully compliant with the enforcement order. It was noted that the recent wet weather had resulted in the Long Lane bridleway becoming impassable again. A large pot-hole has appeared at the entrance to the Co-op, probably caused by delivery and construction vehicles. Repairs are in hand and will be completed shortly. Deirdre Bethune was concerned that vehicles are continuing to park in front of dropped kerbs required for disabled access. She also noted that delivery vehicles to the newly opened Cherry Tree pub were blocking the footpath in Spring Lane during deliveries and causing problems to the users of mobility scooters. The old Natwest Bank building has been sold. The ‘Town Clock’ mounted on the wall of the building was provided by public donation for the Silver Jubilee in 1977 and is maintained by OTC. The new owner has agreed to continue with the existing wayleave arrangement.  The Annual Town Meeting will take place on Thursday 17th May at 7:00 pm at the Olney Centre.
Next Meeting - 14th May The next OTC meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 14th May in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate.

Potholes in Stanley Court

·    May 2018

Olney Council report for 14th May 2018

Olney in Bermuda
Olney Bean and her husband Lee had travelled from Bermuda to see the town she was named after. Introducing herself and clearly joyful to be here, she explained that her mother had been given the middle name ‘Olney’ because she’d been delivered, in Bermuda, by a midwife from Olney UK. Wanting to continue the line, her mother then named her Olney, a favour she conferred on the next generation by giving it to one of her daughters as her middle name. She exchanged gifts with Jeremy Rawlings, she giving him various books and cards, and he reciprocating with the Olney Hymns book.

Olney Bean and her husband Lee had travelled from Bermuda to see the town she was named after

Public Participation
David Coles David Coles, the only person to speak in this section, explained that David Coles Architects has bought the old NatWest Bank building to become its business premises. He has applied for permission to build a single storey rear extension to contain a toilet, and to change the class of use from A2, financial and professional services, to B1, business. He plans to maintain a shop-front-like exterior, so people can look in to see what services the firm offers. The clock, which currently falls under a wayleave agreement between Olney Town Council (OTC) and NatWest, will now fall under a similar agreement between the Council and David Coles Architects.

The old NatWest building, purchased by David Coles Architects

Elections
Jeremy Rawlings was elected Mayor and Sally Pezaro appointed Deputy Mayor, both unopposed.

Peter Evans
Peter Evans, former caretaker of the Olney Centre, recently passed away. Jeremy Rawlings led all present in standing for a minute’s silence.

Admin
This being the first meeting of the new Council year, various administrative matters were discussed and taken care of. Deidre Bethune asked Councillors to consider whether, for confidential discussions in the Human Resources Committee, Councillors outside that Committee should be excluded, along with the press and public as now. Peter Geary felt this would be a misstep, noting that each Councillor has a responsibility and that taking away their right to attend any meeting they wish would be a dangerous step. After further discussion, Deidre withdrew the request. The Council voted to adopt the General power of Competence, a new power available to local authorities in England to do “anything that individuals generally may do”. Brought into force for local authorities in 2012, it was provided for in the Localism Act 2011 and replaces the well-being powers in the Local Government Act 2000.

Bits’n’bobs
The Human Resources Committee is considering outsourcing some of its work as the area it covers becomes more regulated and complex. The Council agreed to give the Rugby Club permission to use the Nursery Field as parking for Rugby 7’s day on Saturday 23rd June, subject to reasonable weather. It will also inform the Club of the requirements for proper marshalling and signage, along with the potential for a Park and Ride service to help alleviate the overall parking problem. The Council is considering upgrading its website and perhaps also its email system. The recent repair to the large pothole at the entrance to the Co-op car park, paid for by one of the smaller nearby businesses and acknowledged temporary, will be completed more permanently, funded by a group of the larger affected businesses including the Co-op and the Bull.

Planning
Chris Tenant reported that the mixed retail and residential application for the site to the North East of the Whirly Pit roundabout had been discussed at a Milton Keynes Council (MKC) Development Control meeting. He and Peter Geary had spoken on behalf of OTC to object, inviting the applicant to withdraw the residential aspect. Rather than risk the application being refused, the applicant took the highly unusual step of withdrawing the whole application. The applicant has since requested a meeting with representatives from OTC to explain what it proposes to do next, the expectation being that it will submit an application for retail only. Peter Geary suggested that Councillors listen to its proposal and restate OTC’s policy that, as the Neighbourhood Plan designates, the site is for retail only. Chris noted that Councillors should also encourage the applicant to engage with the Public, for example sending a newsletter to local residents then holding a public meeting to discuss the application. Finally, Colin Rodden noted that the Council must do all it can to avoid a part residential plan from being granted permission. It was “the elephant in the room”, he said. Peter agreed: If MKC rejected the new application, the applicant could appeal and, if at that point MKC was having difficulty meeting its five year land supply, the applicant’s chances of successful appeal and subsequent grant of retail and residential permission would be increased. OTC would need to remain vigilant.

Cobbs Garden Surgery
As noted in the Olney Neighbourhood Plan, the Surgery is around half the size it should be, with long term population and care projections suggesting that a larger site will certainly be required. The Plan identified the site adjacent to Austen Avenue alongside the Youth Club as being suitable. Chris Tenant reported that Councillors had met with representatives from Cobbs Garden Surgery, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in which it operates and those responsible for finance. The Surgery is keen to expand the range of services it offers as well as increasing the number of patients it serves, but is highly constrained physically. Doctors from the Surgery have visited the new site and are very impressed with its potential. Department of Health (DoH) funding for a new site may be available and it was felt that it’d be great to see this Neighbourhood Plan proposal become a reality. Peter Geary noted that a crucial element was what MKC, the new site’s owner, would be prepared to sell it for versus what the DoH would be prepared to pay. He explained that MKC has a duty to maximise revenue from such sales but that, given the associated benefits, that may not be its only consideration when setting the price.

Market Place electrics
As reported before, the installation of power bollards on the Market Place has been completed but to a generally poor standard. The contractor has submitted an interim bill, but the Council is not intending to pay it, partly because no interim payment was agreed and mainly because the Council is not yet satisfied that the work has been completed to a sufficiently high standard. Tony Evans concluded the discussion, noting that “not a penny should go out of OTC” until the work is properly completed.

Oakdown Crescent
Peter Geary gave an update on the situation of parking in Oakdown Crescent. He said that Sue Warren had made a complaint to the MKC Standards Committee, which investigates complaints that Councillors are in breach of their Code of Conduct. The first stage of handling such a complaint is an assessment by an independent person to decide whether it should be referred on for a formal investigation or dismissed. Sue’s complaint was dismissed. As reported before, Sue had said at previous meetings that she’d lodged a complaint against OTC with the Local Government Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman doesn’t investigate complaints about Town and Parish Councils. It does investigate complaints against Borough Councils, but OTC is not aware of any such complaint against MKC. Colin Rodden raised the idea, discussed before, of converting the Crescent’s garage block area to parking. Peter agreed that, in general, more parking was needed. He described the issue with parking as being like a balloon – you squeeze it in one area and it pops out in another. Sue had also said that she intended to re-apply for a Residents Parking Scheme in December. Peter noted that MKC had been asked whether, should such an application happen, Weston Road residents would be consulted as before. The answer was that they would be. He stressed that, to obtain a solution, it would be necessary to work with the people affected. OTC has submitted an application for money from the Community Parking Fund, and does not plan to take any further action regarding Oakdown Crescent until a decision has been made on that. Thank you to Liam Costello for providing assistance with the background and content of what was an important but fast moving part of the meeting.

Bobs’n’bits
The hanging baskets on the High Street and nearby roads will have been erected by Olney Events and friends before this article is published. Deidre Bethune thanked the Council for organising the baskets’ sponsorship, and for watering them throughout the season. Colin Rodden reported that a section of fencing in Kitchener Close had been damaged in order to provide an unofficial route into the recreation fields. The fence is believed to be owned by a housing association, so it will need to replace it, perhaps with one of a more substantial design. Graham Harrison noted that the potholes on the driveway to the allotments were becoming deep. Tony Evans explained that the groundsmen have material to fill them but, due to high workload, it would not happen soon. Next Meeting - 4th June The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 4th June in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

·    June 2018

Olney Council report for 4th June 2018

Public Participation
Ashley Pankhurst Ashley Pankhurst was first to speak in this slot, concerning a project to fund and locate a 24/7 accessible defibrillator in the town centre. He suggested that a suitable position for the unit would be on the Market Place bus shelter or public toilet. He’d already secured funding from The Olney Group (TOG), Big Olney Food Festival (BOFF) and the Newport Pagnell and Olney Lions, and asked if the Council would feel able to purchase the unit and claim back the VAT. Sue Warren Sue Warren spoke next, on the topic of parking in Oakdown Crescent. Referring to Peter Geary’s comments in last month’s meeting, she reminded him that it wasn’t her who’d made the complaint – it was the residents of Oakdown Crescent. She expected an apology for this error, she said. She felt the Councillors who attended the site meeting in the Crescent on 7th December 2017 to see the problem first hand had no respect for the elderly people who’d met them there. She also showed a picture of an ambulance in the Crescent which could not, due to parked cars, park outside the house it needed to attend. She finished by claiming the Council didn’t care about the electorate, even the elderly, but that she would do whatever it took to make Oakdown Crescent a nice place to live with space for visitors to park. Teresa Riley Teresa Riley spoke about a parking issue affecting certain houses in Silver End, asking the Council to support their residents’ application to Milton Keynes Council (MKC) to lease parking spaces in the Old Cattle Market car park, including one 24 hour disabled space. She noted that the residents of nos. 2, 4 and 8 currently park there but that it’s becoming harder due to the success of Olney, for example with the expanded evening dining provided by the various new pubs and restaurants attracting visitors from out of town. Stuart Dorrill Next up was Stuart Dorrill, founder of local health, fitness and wellbeing company Bodyforce, which would like to take on the lease for the recently vacated Olney Town Football Club building. Founded in 2010, Bodyforce has grown to a team of seven qualified professionals providing group and individual training, as well as local outreach programmes. Noting that Bodyforce had trained 150 people on the day of this meeting, Stuart outlined its philosophy to inspire and empower people to take control of their health, fitness and wellbeing while having fun with people they might not otherwise meet. Bodyforce already uses part of the building for fitness sessions, but would like to extend the facilities it offers by taking on the lease and thus being able to control the whole space. Noting that Bodyforce has a stable, proven business model with finance in place to ensure maintenance and development of the building, he said it’d engaged an architect for initial design ideas and aimed to have a more detailed, costed plan in the near future. Paul Collins Paul Collins asked Stuart to outline Bodyforce’s commercial relationship with the Football Club. Stuart explained that it hires a room in the Club and also pays Olney Town Council (OTC) to hold sessions outside on the Recreation Ground.

Silver End parking
This item was to discuss the issues Teresa Riley raised in her Public participation slot. She had contacted MKC about the issue in 2014, and it had responded positively, citing various costs including a £350 per space yearly rental, and some conditions including that each household must be responsible for insuring its space. The residents did not take up MKC on its offer but, with parking becoming more difficult, they’d like to pursue it now. Colin Rodden noted that, if OTC backed these spaces, it may come under pressure to do the same for further spaces in the area. Graham Harrison felt that, with the Old Cattle Market car park having no disabled spaces, it may be sensible to add one. Peter Geary, explaining that he had no problem with the disabled space and did not necessarily disagree with the rest of the request, noted that it was MKC not OTC which controlled that car park. He said that the Council could push for waiting restrictions there to help parking overall. There was further debate, which concluded with Councillors agreeing to ask MKC for a disabled space in the car park and to ask it to propose a solution for the affected residents’ parking.

Silver End Parking

Riverfest parking
Following high attendances at Riverfest 2017 and the notable lack of on-site public parking, TOG had asked if it could use the Nursery Field for this purpose. The Council agreed subject to reasonable weather.

Finance Committee
It recently being the start of a new Council year, committees have been electing their chairs. Jeremy Rawlings noted that the most recent Finance Committee meeting had seen proposals for Deidre Bethune and Paul Collins to be elected chair but, with so few people being present at the meeting, they didn’t feel able to elect a chair. Peter Geary noted that this was bizarre – it was the Committee’s first meeting of the year so it should elect its chair. Paul Collins noted his concern that, while the accounts had been approved, the auditors’ report was not tabled at the meeting in spite of being received before it took place. Liam Costello noted that the report had been received after the agenda had been sent. There did not appear to be an inference that anything hinged on the report not being tabled.

Speeding on Aspreys
Councillors reviewed the data collected by the Speed Indicator Device (SID) which had been placed at various locations along Aspreys over the preceding few weeks. There were many graphs and some difficulties interpreting the data, but the average speed at the faster locations looked to be around 34 MPH, with 85% of drivers at or below 39 MPH with a few peaks of above 50 MPH generally late at night. It being a 30 MPH limit, the Council saw this to be a significant problem and will pass the data to the relevant authorities. Regular mobile speed camera checks and enforcement seem likely.

Olney Town Colts FC pitch request
Olney Town Colts requested, and OTC acceded, that it formally take over the rental of the Nursery and Charity Field pitches, allowing it to bring back two teams which currently play on the sports fields at Emberton.

Olney Town Football Club building

Plan:MK examination
OTC has the opportunity to present further comments on Plan:MK. For tonight, discussions centred on whether Olney, currently designated a Key Settlement, should instead be designated a Selected Village. Des Ealey was concerned that some aspects of Plan:MK are unclear about how development will happen in Key Settlements and had thus been talking with MKC. The key relevant question from the weighty information pack is: “Is the role of Key Settlements sufficiently clear? Does the policy comply with paragraph 154 of the National Planning Policy Framework which requires that policies should provide a clear indication of how a decision maker should react to a development proposal?” There was much debate on this, with there being clear concern that, should Plan:MK be rejected, Olney would have much to worry about: By then, it would be more than two years since approval of its Neighbourhood Plan and thus, with that much time having passed, it would carry less weight. So, Olney had no interest in risking that rejection by pushing too hard for the designation change. But, there was also a feeling that it would be advantageous to at least ask the question. Councillors voted unanimously to submit that OTC supports change in designation from Key Settlement to Selected Village at the next appropriate moment, and to seek advice on its effects. It’s worth noting at this point that OTC is commendably free of party politics, issues instead being discussed on an apolitical basis. Perhaps uniquely in Mercury’s experience, the matter of political allegiance was raised during this topic: Colin Rodden, while noting that, with the Neighbourhood Plan vote being so close, the Council needed to listen to local people, stated that he was an independent and Peter Geary a Conservative. Peter responded to this by saying that the usual Conservative position is to back rural areas to the hilt, but that Councils couldn’t make up policies on the hoof.

War Memorial
Historic England had informed OTC that it would like to list the Olney War Memorial due to its special architectural and historic interest, with the aim of affording it additional protection. It asked the Council for its views. Councillors were concerned that listing would bring with it unnecessary bureaucracy, with Peter Geary noting that, for small Councils particularly, the additional cost could yield an effect opposite that intended. Feeling that OTC has, is and will continue to maintain the structure to a high standard, Councillors agreed to recommend against listing.

Market Place electrics
As reported before, the installation of power bollards on the Market Place has been completed but to a generally poor standard. Due to holidays and other unavailability, the situation has not progressed since last month. One significant problem appears to be that, while the manufacturer of the electrical outlets specifies that the holes in which they’re mounted must be connected to a drain or have drainage holes drilled into the subsoil, EON had not included either action in its subcontractor’s specification

East Street footpath
John Boardman asked for the issue of there being no footpath on East Street between the Nursery Field and Fountain Court car park to be added to the list of ongoing actions tracked at each Council meeting. Plans for this path were drawn up by MKC 10 years ago but not progressed. The Section 106 agreement for the nearby 14 home development off East Street makes a contribution of £35,000 towards its provision.

Market Place Power Bollards

Planning
As reported previously, the mixed retail and residential application for the site to the North East of the Whirly Pit roundabout was withdrawn by the applicant due to OTC and others objecting to it on the basis that the Neighbourhood Plan designates the site retail only. Angle Property has since requested a meeting with the Council to discuss what, given the new, smaller retail only application, will happen to the rest of the site. Councillors agreed to stick with the view that the site was for retail only. Steve Clark concluded the topic by noting that the original all-retail Sainsbury’s application included facilities to deal with the effects of flooding, an aspect missing from the current one.

Swimming Steps
Colin Rodden reported that a young girl had cut her foot on a submerged broken bottle at the Swimming Steps. There was some debate about how to stop such problems, perhaps through signage asking people to take their litter home or the provision of a glass and plastic recycling bin near the existing general waste bin. There was also clear frustration with a feeling that, against someone leaving a broken bottle in such a location, what good was either measure?
Next Meeting - 2nd July The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 2nd July in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

·    July 2018

Olney Council report for 2nd July 2018

Public Participation
Sue Warren Sue Warren spoke first, on the topic of parking in Oakdown Crescent. She said since the last meeting two ambulances had failed to be able to park to take residents to hospital and said if the same situation arose with her mother it would be all over the local press. She said that before the council discussed the £7k cost of a ground survey (a later agenda item) they should consider using some of the money which they would shortly be receiving from the Grace Park development on East Street. She thought £7k was nothing in the grand scheme of things, compared to expenditure she had observed from the previous months Olney Town Council (OTC) accounts, and noted that the members were sitting on newly purchased chairs. If the survey decreed that the planned work was not viable the only solution would be parking permits. She finished by asking the council to consider the elderly residents, and their relatives who save money by caring for them. Bethan Courtman Bethan Courtman briefly spoke next about the now vacant Olney Town FC club house. Following the statement last month from Stuart Dorrill, founder of local health, fitness and wellbeing company Bodyforce, she reiterated that the company would still like to take over the lease of the building and had sought initial costing from an architect for changes to the infrastructure. She issued an open invitation to the Bodyforce summer fundraising event on 18th August 9.30 to 13.00 on the recreation ground. Ian Stokes Ian Stokes from Olney Town Colts FC spoke next, on a similar subject. The council had agreed that the colts could rent the Nursery Field pitch from next season, but there were unresolved issues around the lights, fencing and clubhouse, he said. To date he had been unable to make much progress due the absence of any proof of ownership or asset values of these items. Before any progress could be made he needed to know if the fence would be remaining, he said. If the fence was removed, then the pitch would not be safe to play on due to the associated concrete path. Would the colts have access to the clubhouse and the floodlight power at the back of the building, he asked? The Football Club situation was a later agenda item in the confidential section of the meeting from which press and public were excluded. Julie Lane Last to speak was Julie Lane about the possibility of the council purchasing land either side of the Goosey Bridge which has been the subject of unauthorised construction and depositing of rubbish. Julie said she was excited about the prospect as it would be a wonderful asset to the town with it’s views of the Church and where historically wildlife has had a chance to live alongside us in relative peace. Goosey Island is especially important as it provides a complete sanctuary for wildlife free from disturbance by people and dogs etc, presently being home to otters, goosanders, kingfishers and many more species. She said purchase of the land and subsequent good management would safeguard the wonderful views and landscape, secure a future for the wildlife and provide an opportunity for residents to get out into the countryside, thus improving mental and physical wellbeing.  This was another item that was later discussed under confidential matters.

Olney Town Football Club

War Memorial
As reported last month Historic England had informed OTC that it would like to list the Olney War Memorial due to its special architectural and historic interest, with the aim of affording it additional protection. The council have now received the initial assessment report, which is a factual report which Historic England will use as the basis for its recommendation to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The view around the table was that OTC are quite capable of maintaining the structure to a high standard and do not want it listed.

Olney War Memorial

Swimming Steps
Colin Rodden reported that a young girl had cut her foot on a submerged broken bottle at the Swimming Steps. There was some debate about how to stop such problems, perhaps through signage asking people to take their litter home or the provision of a glass and plastic recycling bin near the existing general waste bin. There was also clear frustration with a feeling that, against someone leaving a broken bottle in such a location, what good was either measure?

Oakdown Crescent parking
Milton Keynes Council (MKC) has informed OTC that in order to provide a detailed design and quotation for any proposed works it would need to undertake some surveys of the existing ground conditions. This would involve some slip trenches and coring and the maximum cost would be £7k. This would identify what services existed and where, as well as the depths of pavement layers which would be required if the area is to be turned into parking. The cost would form part of the Community Parking Scheme and OTC would only have to pay 50%. Desmond Eley was of the opinion that this was ‘putting the cart before the horse’ since OTC and MKC’s preferred scheme had already been rejected by the residents. Paul Collins agreed, saying without a scheme that is supported by residents there was no point in carrying out a survey. Steve Clark suggested that the council go back to MKC to confirm what their financial obligation would be and ask if they had confidence to carry out a survey without an agreed scheme. MKC should have received the original plans for the development when Newport Pagnell RDC was disbanded, he said, making a survey unnecessary. Chris Tenant suggested that the survey might be required in order to decide what is possible. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings proposed that OTC do not proceed with the survey ‘at the present time’ and seek further information from MKC, which was passed by a majority vote.

Deputy Mayor’s chain of office
As well as the Mayors chain of office, to be worn at official functions, a second chain exists and there has been some confusion recently as to whether it is intended for the Mayor’s consort when accompanying the Mayor, or the Deputy when representing him/her. Dierdre Bethune clarified the matter, saying it was intended to serve as both. When representing the mayor at short notice it is not always possible for the deputy to obtain the chain as it is locked in the safe at the council offices. It was not considered an urgent or particularly important issue, but Steve Clark wondered if a local person or business might like to sponsor another chain.

MK East Local Stakeholder Group
The Milton Keynes East Strategic Urban Extension (MKE SUE) will see largescale development to the East of the M1 as part of Plan:MK and MKC is currently pursuing funding from Government to enable development on the site to begin before 2031. MKC is engaging with the community by creating a Local Stakeholder Group (LSG) made up of representatives from parish and town councils. It was agreed that OTC will provide reps into this form to reflect any issues and concerns raised by residents. This initiated a discussion about the impacts on Olney of MKE SUE and one of the inevitable impacts will be an increase in traffic. Kevin Viney said that improved pollution monitoring would be essential as the existing equipment is obsolete and only just held together ‘by wax and string’. Chris Tennant stated that the development would take the A509 beyond critical capacity so some of the funding should be used for an Olney bypass. Desmond Eley noted that the currently favoured route had been decided many years ago and wondered if the electorate should be asked to decide if it was still appropriate.

OTC Website
Jeremy Rawlings reported that the current website is ‘looking a bit jaded’ and does not meet current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), having had no money spent on it for several years apart from content updates. The provider had little interest in upgrading or supporting it, consequently it is getting very difficult to maintain. The council have approached local company Nuwave Design who have put together a proposal and they will be invited to present them in more detail prior to a decision being made.

A jaded website

Market Place electrics
As reported before, the installation of power bollards on the Market Place has been completed but to a generally poor standard and the drainage does not meet requirements. There has been no progress since last month, so Colin Rodden said it was now essential to impose dates and deadlines. Desmond Eley pointed out that the new bollards cannot be used until certified and tested. Deidre Bethune said it was important that the matter is resolved before the Big Olney Food Festival (BOFF) on the weekend of 8th and 9th September.

Odds and Sods
MKC has agreed to pay for repairs to the Speed Indicating Device (SID). Colin Rodden said the footpath between Olney and Weston Underwood is getting narrow and overgrown. He asked if any reply had been received to OTC’s letter about the poor state of the boarding at Bennett’s butchers. Town Clerk Liam Costello confirmed that there hadn’t. Kevin Viney expressed his concern about traffic on the bend in Yardley Road at the site of the old railway bridge as it is a blind corner and an accident waiting to happen in his opinion. The new housing close to the bend will exacerbate the situation, he thought. Steve Clark reported that the English Regional Transport Association who are committed to reopening the Bedford to Northampton railway line recently held a meeting in The Bull. The currently proposed route was designed in 2001 and notes that the office park to the north of the town ‘may have to be demolished’ in order to facilitate this! Next Meeting - No August meeting - 3rd September There will be no August meeting, so the next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 3rd September in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

Stop Press - There will be a meeting in August
In an unusual move Olney Town Council have decided to hold a full meeting in August, as there some matters to resolve

·    August 2018

Olney Council report for August 2018

Public Participation
Mike Totton First to speak was Mike Totton on behalf of the Allotment Holders’ Association. Mike explained that the current system of allocating each plot a number was confusing and unpopular and the association would like to give each row a street name and display a map at the entrance. A list would be drawn up and agreed with OTC to ensure that it did not contain anything that could cause offence. It was noted that Milton Keynes Council (MKC) policy prohibited roads being named after a living person, but Ward Councillor Peter Geary said that this only applied to public thoroughfares. Normally the council would not make decisions on matters raised during the public participation part of the meeting but in this case made an exception and agreed to support the proposal. Howard Tanner Next to speak was Howard Tanner. He and Ashley Pankhurst had previously attended the Recreations and Services Committee meeting to discuss their proposal to provide two Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) in Olney with funds raised locally. It was agreed in principle at that meeting, but the actual locations would need to be decided by the full council and was therefore an item on the formal agenda. Howard was concerned that the existing PAD in the Olney Centre was only available during opening hours and suggested that it should be relocated to an outside cabinet to give 24-hour access. This could be done at a cost of approximately £300 which he suggested could be raised with the support of local businesses. 

Public Access Defibrillators
Following on from Howard Tanner’s presentation the location for the PADS was discussed. Mike had been in discussion with the General Manager of St John Ambulance about placing a unit there, who was supportive but said it would have to go through the central organisation Estates and Facilities to decide. Dierdre Bethune reminded members that the local St John was no longer active and the unit might need to be relocated if the building was sold. It was agreed to look at a different location and eventually it was decided to investigate the possibility of using one of the bus shelters along Aspreys. A suggested location for the second unit was the now redundant BT phone box on the Market Place. BT has offered to sell it to OTC for £1 but Peter Geary was concerned that the sale would be delayed by bureaucracy. It was decided to locate the second unit in the Market Place bus shelter and to progress with locating the existing unit at the Olney Centre to an outside wall.

OTC Website
As reported last month the current OTC website is difficult to maintain and does not meet current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), having had no money spent on it for several years apart from content updates. The council has approached local company Nuwave Design who has put together a proposal and Matt McAuliffe was present to discuss his proposal. Matt explained that he provides website design and support for several international, national and local companies as well as developing the OlneyApp to help local businesses get online. He explained how he could work with OTC to create a site that would be WCAG compliant so that it would be accessible to visually impaired residents. Text and background colours need to be chosen carefully to enable viewing by people with colour-blindness and links and pictures need to have full descriptions behind them so that they can be converted to meaningful audio by content readers. Paul Collins said he thought that the guidelines were only advisory, not mandatory, but Sally Pezaro believed OTC should want to be compliant. Matt said his interpretation was that any site published before 23rd September this year would need to be compliant within two years. A vote was taken as to whether to stay with the existing supplier or employ Nuwave to develop a new site. Nuwave was agreed by a majority.

Neighbourhood Plan (NP) – the next stage
The full council meeting closed at this stage and the members of the Neighbourhood Plan Development Committee remained for their inaugural meeting. The first task was to elect a chairman and Chris Tennant was elected unopposed. The Terms of Reference for the committee were reviewed and it was decided to name it the Olney Development Group. The group can comprise a number of OTC councillors and up to five external or ‘lay’ members, but Mayor Jeremy Rawlings thought that it was unlikely five volunteers would come forward. Tony Evans pointed out that if the group contained non-elected members then it could not ‘spend’ any of the Section 106 (planning gain) money, only recommend projects for funding to the full council. Concern was also expressed that external members would not be able to vote and would not be accountable to anyone but themselves. After some discussion it was agreed to create a ‘person spec’ of areas of expertise required to take the plan forward. The group will look at three or four projects at a time and engage the appropriately skilled resource as and when required. In the 12 months since the Olney NP was written and adopted by a local referendum the government has revised the National Planning Policy Framework and MKC has issued Plan:MK for public consultation. Chris Tennant was of the opinion that nothing in either would require a revision of the NP but said the group should be mindful of any changes that might. Major changes would require another referendum. He proposed that an update be issued to the public explaining the progress of the plan and the status of each proposed development. For information, Site D/E ‘Land West of Yardley Road and West of Aspreys Outline permission (with all matters reserved except access) for the residential development of 250 dwelling houses and associated public open space, car parking and community facilities including a multi-use community building’ was approved by MKC on 31/07/2018. The council successfully objected to the inclusion of housing on Site R ‘Land at Corner of Lavendon Road and Warrington Road’ as it contravened the NP which states that site should be used for retail only. Jeremy Rawlings said he hoped that this latter decision will have persuaded some of those that were against adoption of the plan that it has proved its worth.

Premises License application – Sainbury’s
Sainsbury’s have submitted an application to sell alcohol Monday to Sunday 06:00 to 24:00 and provide Late Night Refreshments Monday to Sunday 23:00 to 24:00. The council had no comment to make on the application.

Next Meeting 3rd September The next full council meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 3rd September in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

• September 2018

Barclays Bank Robbed

Electric vehicle parking space
The Council voted to support a proposal to have an electric vehicle space and charging point in the small parking area where Midland Road meets the A509. Access to the bay will be restricted to electric vehicles currently being charged.

Cherry Fair
The next Cherry Fair will be held on the Glebe on 15th June 2019.

Tennis court track resurfacing
The Recreations and Services Committee had recommended to full Council that the track between the tennis courts and the toilet and workshop block be resurfaced to improve drainage. There were questions as to whether it was worth spending around £16,000 on this work, but Tony Evans noted a related issue – that the new tennis courts’ surface would deteriorate faster if players tramped in mud from the nearby track. This was, in part, why the Multi Use Games Area’s surface degraded, he said. The Council voted on whether this work should be done, subject to Section 106 funding, and the vote was carried by majority, six to five, with two abstentions.

Speeding on Driftway
Following further measurement of vehicle speed on Driftway, it’s clear that speeding is commonplace, with around 90% exceeding the 30MPH limit. Kevin Viney raised an interesting point: Given that no houses front on to the road, should it in fact be a 40MPH limit? Peter Geary suggested initiating an open dialogue with MKC Highways Department to discuss road design, speed, etc. Malcolm Messenger asked if data was available on road traffic collisions on that road. A dialogue will be opened with MKC.

Milton Keynes expansion
Des Eley had attended a meeting of the Milton Keynes East Strategic Urban Extension Stakeholder Group. The East Strategic Urban Extension area is that immediately to the North East of the M1, South of Newport Pagnell and roughly bisected by the A509 section North of M1 Junction 14 (see map). MKC wants to promote Milton Keynes expansion and has government quotas to work to, but is having trouble funding the required infrastructure, Section 106 monies proving insufficient. This is one reason why development is proceeding more slowly than desired. MKC has now applied for £75 million of government funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund towards the Eastern expansion. This Fund contains £2.3bn to help deliver new homes in England by funding delivery of infrastructure ahead of development – a worthy attempt to address a common ongoing problem. The Eastern expansion, which could comprise up to 8,000 homes, had been timed for after 2031 but, to attract this funding, the monies would have to be spent by 2022. This being considerably sooner, brainstorming sessions were being run to work out how to achieve it. Des noted that this money included funding for an additional M1 crossing, though not an Olney bypass. The final decision on funding will be made early to mid 2019. Peter Geary noted that a Planning Inspector had concluded a public examination of Plan:MK over the Summer and, subject to minor changes, passed it for MKC to adopt. The Eastern site is included in Plan:MK but only as a reserve site. So, the plan effectively gives the green light for this area being developed. But, he felt it would be a huge mistake to push ahead with the funding and earlier build. It was ‘scandalous’ that ‘back of a fag packet estimates’ had been made in order to apply for the funding. They would not pass the normal spending criteria, he said. A major concern was that if MKC had underestimated the funding required, it would either have to pick up the tab or live with the resulting terrible infrastructure. Steve Clark noted that the body language of those in the meeting suggested they felt the works could not be accomplished in the required time.
 

Strategic Urban Extension: Milton Keynes East

Trees and hedges
Colin Rodden noted that various residents’ hedges were protruding onto pavements making it hard for pedestrians, particularly the elderly or disabled, to get around. Householders are responsible for trees and hedges which overhang from their property, while MKC is responsible for ensuring that footpaths are kept clear for pedestrians to use. Next Meeting - 1st October The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 1st October in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

• October 2018

Dropped Kerb outside the old Nat West Bank

MKC Community Infrastructure Fund
This item was brought forward on the agenda as it was thought that it might assist with some of the parking issues discussed in the public participation section. Steve Clark explained that the fund was part of a scheme to replace three previous Parish Grants. Bids need to be in place by the end of October, but these can be in the form of a Statement of Interest, rather than a fully worked up application. The fund enables a variety of different Public Realm schemes that have a positive impact upon a community to be implemented that would otherwise not meet funding criteria for council funded schemes. These can include highways, transport, environment, landscaping, play area or outdoor leisure schemes. Ward Councillor Peter Geary said the scheme would partly replace the Parish Parking Fund, so could be used to address some of the town’s parking problems. He thought that the situation outside the old Nat West could be improved if the kerb was ‘squared off’ making it more difficult for cars to just nip in to park. Colin Rodden suggested that area on the market place in front of the BT Broadband cabinet could be used for motorbike parking. It was agreed to apply for a grant from the fund to improve the dropped kerbs in the Market Place. 

Litter on Lavendon Road
A letter had been received from Robert Marchant saying that he and Mike Price had recently spent a Sunday afternoon picking up litter along the highway between the Wellingborough Road roundabout and Uncle Jack’s corner. Robert said he understood that there are many calls upon budgets but asked if it was possible for proper formal endeavours to be made by those responsible to keep the town and its approaches looking nice, particularly as the town is now receiving more visitors due to the opening of new establishments. He wondered if it might be possible for retailers, businesses and residents to contribute to a general fund to keep the place looking smart. Peter Geary said that litter picking along a highway is the responsibility of MKC, which used to provide a regular service, but each road was now only done once a year. It might be appropriate to ask MKC’s contractors Serco to quote for additional litter picks, he thought. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings said that because it was a dangerous and fast road with no footpath it would not be appropriate for voluntary groups to be asked to do it. If Serco were asked to quote then it should include the other approaches to the town from the parish boundary, he thought.

Overhanging trees in High Street
Jeremy Rawlings explained that when the new LED street lighting was installed in the High Street, MKC carried out a survey of the trees and the requirement to trim, as appropriate. This was not only because they were already overgrown, but because the horizontal stems of the new lampposts were shorter than the originals, thereby exacerbating an existing problem. No trimming had taken place and the problem had got worse. Declaring an interest as a resident of the High Street, Deirdre Bethune said that an upper story room in her house was in almost perpetual darkness, due to the problem. Peter Geary said that the required work would take 60% of the total MKC tree budget. Most of this budget is held in reserve for storm damage he said, and even if the trees could be crowned by the required 30% they would need doing again in five to six years’ time. OTC will write to MKC requesting that the work is carried out.

MK East – Sustainable Urban Extension
For a detailed description of this project see last month’s Mercury report. Newport Pagnell Town Council has commented on the proposals with particular reference to the impact of queuing traffic and impact on its shops. Peter Geary said that in order to avoid a massive increase in traffic over the existing and proposed M1 crossings to get to Kingston a new eastern District Centre would need to be built and this could have a detrimental impact on the shops in Newport Pagnell. Although government funding has been sought for an additional M1 crossing, no provision has been made for an Olney bypass, the cost of which would be around £100m. Steve Clark said a series of workshops are being held, which OTC members should be encouraged to attend.

Civil Ceremonies at the Olney Centre
The licence to hold civil ceremonies at the Olney Centre expires in March 2019 and will cost £2.5k to renew for a further three years. This is an increase of £1k from when it was last renewed in 2016 and whilst it was agreed that this service brings in hire revenue for the centre, some questioned the justification for such a large increase in the fee. The council will write to MKC requesting a breakdown of the fee, since it is supposed to just cover costs to MKC and not make a profit.

Civil Ceremonies at the Olney Centre

Odds and Sods
The new electrical installation in the market place has been completed by EON. Colin Rodden said he thought it had been done to a very shoddy standard and OTC should be looking for a discount. It was also agreed that new Risk Assessments need to be carried out based on market stall holders’ routing of cables from the new pillars. Colin Rodden reported that the Johnsons Field play equipment is in a bad state of repair, with the zip wire and basketball hoops both broken and the ramp defaced by graffiti. It was time to revive the proposed skate park, he said. Deirdre Bethune noted that when MKC had disposed of 102 Weston Road it had held back part of the garden to provide parking for residents who were currently parking in Oakdown Crescent. What was the current situation, she asked? Steve Clark said there was also a gravel area behind the houses on Weston Road that had come about by taking some land from the existing houses. This area was sufficient to park 11 cars, but a recent check indicated that it wasn’t being used he said. Peter Geary reminded members that if any of this land was turned into formal car parking then MKC would require OTC to provide 50% of the funding. Colin Rodden reported that the spotlights on the zebra crossing by One Stop have been removed making it difficult for approaching cars to see pedestrian after dark. Deirdre Bethune noted that the overgrown trees were adding to the problem.

Confidential matters
Very often the final item on the agenda is ‘to consider exclusion of Public and Press Representatives pursuant to the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 on the basis that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by the confidential nature of the business to be transacted’. A vote is taken as to whether members of the press and public should be asked to leave (they always are) and the rest of the meeting takes place behind closed doors, details of which are not recorded in the minutes made available to the public. In this case the matter being discussed was the ongoing issue of the now dissolved Olney Town Football Club and its assets.  Next Meeting - 5th November The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th November in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

• November 2018

• December 2018

Goosey Fireworks

Chipper
Tony Evans explained that their current chipper was old and incapable of dealing with thin, bushy material, which therefore had to be burned on his farm – not ideal. A replacement chipper had been chosen, the Recreations and Services Committee proposing the Council purchase it for £9,950. This would be part paid for by the part exchange of a, now almost unused, triple gang Hayter mower for £4,000, plus £500 for the old chipper. Paul Collins noted that the Hayter mower, purchased in 2014 for £17,000 was now to be exchanged for very much less. Tony noted that the mower was bought when Olney took on more landscaping work and, while some found it useful, others did not and, with the Council’s rotary mower more manoeuvrable and able to do everything required, was now rarely used. Peter Geary noted that machinery tended to depreciate quickly after purchase and, as the ground staff’s method of working had moved on, there was no point in leaving it idle in the shed. Des Eley asked why the cost of the Hayter hadn’t been depreciated in the accounts, Liam Costello replying that Council account guidelines are not to depreciate. John Boardman, noted that, with Tony and Peter best qualified to take the decision and in favour, would it not be sensible to vote on Tony’s proposal? After a surprisingly long discussion, Councillors voted in favour of the proposal, eight for, none against with six abstentions. Paul Collins explained that he’d never normally dream of abstaining, but wanted the Council to learn the lesson not to incur big losses due to short term thinking.

Football Clubhouse
Olney Town Football Club had agreed to hand back the clubhouse building to the Council, and planned to sign the deed of surrender in the few days after this meeting. Later in the meeting, having voted on whether to exclude press and public, Council was to discuss who the building would then be passed to.

Standing Orders
Standing Orders are normally agreed annually during the May Council meeting when the Council re-forms. For various reasons, the Standing Orders due to be agreed in May still haven’t been, with drawing up of ones on which Council could agree having been delegated to a working group – Paul Collins, Des Eley and Peter Geary. The agenda item for this part of the meeting was ‘Standing Orders – To agree a process for reviewing changes, and request that a schedule of proposed changes and reasons be supplied by the working group.’ Liam introduced this item, explaining that the planned agenda item, essentially to adopt the Standing Orders produced by the working group, had been changed to give more time to consider them. Des Eley explained that the Council was meant to adopt the Standing Orders in the May meeting but, with a hard copy of the Orders provided to Council only three days earlier and with no detail of the changes made, there were various queries and they were not adopted – so there were currently no adopted Standing Orders. Jeremy Rawlings interrupted to say that the previously adopted Orders remained in force, Des Eley noting this was ‘possibly’ the case, the minutes not noting a Council decision to adopt the previous ones. Des continued that the last few meetings’ minutes noted the working group would draft the Standing Orders, which were then supplied for review in this meeting. He felt slightly disappointed that they’d not been adopted today, and asked Councillors to put forward their views on the proposed Standing Orders. Jeremy replied that the Council would have the chance to adopt them in the January meeting. Peter Geary felt the way this had worked fell outside the Council’s constitution – the agenda item should have remained unchanged with Councillors able to vote to defer consideration until the next meeting if needed. Liam disagreed noting that, having consulted with Jeremy (the meeting’s chair), he had the right to change the agenda under certain circumstances. Specifically, he felt that some of the changes were not legally sound and noted ‘other concerns’. Following up with Liam after the meeting for clarification, he felt that other changes were not consistent with recent Council decisions, and that the information the working group provided initially did not make clear what the changes were (later rectified). He also cited two of the previously adopted standing orders, 4(d) and 4(e), reproduced below: ● 4(d). If the wording or nature of a proposed motion is considered unlawful or improper, the Proper Officer shall consult with the Mayor or, as the case may be, the Councillors who have convened the meeting, to consider whether the motion shall be included or rejected in the agenda. ● 4(e). Having consulted the Mayor or councillors pursuant to standing order 4(d) above, the decision of the Proper Officer as to whether or not to include the motion in the agenda shall be final. Back to the meeting, Paul Collins stated that, given views had been expressed re certain changes lacking legality, he wanted to see a paper detailing why. Des Eley noted that he wanted the working group to take on the feedback and provide a revised set of Standing Orders. Peter Geary said that Council needed to see the revised Standing Orders. Jeremy concluded the item, stating that the Standing Orders will be available, with tracked changes, to be discussed and voted on in the January meeting. There was clearly a range of views expressed in this part of the meeting and, in the usual way, it is the Town Clerk, Liam, who Mercury calls on with post-meeting questions, requests for context, etc. This is part convention and, reading the Standing Orders relevant to relations with the press/media, presumably also the Council’s intent: ● 28(b). In accordance with the Council’s policy in respect to dealing with the press and/or other media, councillors shall not, in their official capacity, provide oral or written statements or written articles to the press or other media.

Dickens of a Christmas
This was part of an agenda item where the Council receives minutes from various subcommittees such as Planning and HR. Again, it’s normally pretty dry but at times more interesting. Joanne Eley reported that the draft minutes of the Dickens of a Christmas meeting did not reflect the meeting accurately. Liam asked her to submit her concerns, which she said she’d do in writing.

Children’s play areas
Colin Rodden was frustrated that, while he regularly raised issues related to broken play equipment, such as zip wires and basketball hoops, it needed to become an agenda item in order to ensure ongoing focus and action to resolve the problems. Liam replied that he appreciated this, but the responsibility was with MKC. Peter Geary suggested Liam contact Phil Snell at MKC. If it turned out that equipment was not being repaired because MKC couldn’t afford it, Liam should ask what OTC was meant to do. Either way, it would require OTC to keep raising the issue.

Children's Play Area

Milton Keynes Eastern expansion
Peter Geary explained that Milton Keynes Council is looking to apply for £75 million of Government funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) towards the Eastern expansion. They’d originally planned to do this in December but now plan to do so in March. Noting that, back in October, he and David Hosking had called in the decision to apply for the HIF bid, he felt that had resulted in the detail behind that bid becoming available for inspection. No decisions will be taken on the design of the development itself until it’s known whether the HIF bid has been accepted – infrastructure must come first. If and when the HIF bid is accepted, and Plan MK insists on the development being required, only then will an implementation plan be drawn up. The bid has been delayed because it’s become clear that Government are scrutinising the value from such bids very carefully, so MKC is working to make a good case. Peter had put forward a motion asking for the HIF bid to be put on hold, but didn’t receive MKC support. Peter concluded by noting that, in parallel with the HIF bid issues above, Mark Lancaster and Iain Stewart had been concerned by the housing deal, which MKC was planning to sign without any corresponding firm Council decision to approximately double the size of Milton Keynes. They’d noted that this could not happen without proper Council agreement, which has resulted in a pause while MKC worked out how to proceed.

High Street trees
A High Street resident has contacted the Council because a tree has pierced their sewer and, while Anglian Water has agreed to fix the issue, presumably by lining the pipe, they felt the Council should be aware. Following up with Liam after the meeting, he explained that the Council has for some time been raising issues with MKC about trees on the High Street affecting adjacent properties. MKC hasn’t taken remedial action due to budgetary constraints, but their latest stance is they’ll survey all the trees along the High Street, prioritising the worst for remedial action.