Mike Hughes
Mike Hughes spoke first in this slot. Mike represents Olney on the Petsoe End Wind Farm community fund, which provides grants for locally based energy efficiency projects in public buildings or spaces. Examples of grants awarded so far include energy efficient lighting in the Olney Centre and solar panels at Clifton Reynes Church. He said that the fund is looking for new projects to provide grants for, and invited Councillors to consider if there were any projects which would meet its criteria.

Sue Warren
Sue Warren spoke briefly on the subject of Oakdown Crescent, focusing mainly on the poor state of its pathways. This topic is covered in more detail below.

Following on from Sue’s point above, Councillors discussed the state of Oakdown Crescent’s pathways. Some Councillors, particularly Joe Stacey and Deidre Bethune were frustrated with the poor state of the pathways and, likely, the lack of progress on the parking problems. Peter Geary explained that the criteria used by Milton Keynes Council (MKC) to decide when pavement needs replacement are independent of its location and use. For example, the criteria for pavement outside an old people’s home would be just the same as that in a general residential area. He advised Olney Town Council (OTC) to attempt to persuade MKC’s Highways Department that the generic criteria cannot be suitable for every scenario and that, in this case, an exception needs to be made and some of the pavement replaced. Liam Costello will request that Highways Department representatives accompany Councillors on a site visit.
As a side note, Steve Clark noted that he’d seen the parking issue mentioned in minutes from a Tenants’ Association meeting... over 20 years ago.

MKC is conducting a parking consultation for the Borough, and one of its proposals is relevant to Olney: “(To) introduce charges to outer area long stay off street car parks in the older towns, at 40p per hour, capped at £2.40 per day, with the first two hours being free parking for Shop and Go.” It’s believed that such charges would be collected via Pay and Display. If implemented, they could apply to the three Olney car parks run by MKC: Silver End / Cattle Market (33 spaces), Silver End / East Street junction (six spaces) and Fountain Court (38 spaces). Specifically, they would not affect the car parks on the Market Place, at the Rugby Club and beside the Coop. MKC is consulting so it can learn and take into account local views before making any decision.
Peter Geary explained that the idea was not a new one, and was aimed at plugging a gap in MKC’s budget – more of which later. He suggested a possible tie in with the Oakdown Crescent parking problem, for example that OTC could respond saying that, if the Pay and Display measures went ahead, the additional parking near Oakdown Crescent must be provided immediately. There were various discussions on the possible effects on local businesses. As background, Councillors also discussed an issue in Central Milton Keynes, where the increased price of the red premium bays has pushed people into the purple bays, price increases in turn pushing some shop workers into the local estates, in turn requiring the introduction of residents’ parking schemes: Overall, had any money been made by these increases? Steve Clark noted that Pay and Display car parks need policing and enforcement, which cost money. Finally, Peter noted that, if this scheme did not go ahead around the Borough, MKC would need to find a £207,000 saving elsewhere in its budget.
The general, though not unanimous, view appeared to be against the introduction of Pay and Display. Thus, Liam Costello will draft a response in that vein and also talk with Stony Stratford Council, which is strongly against MKC implementing Pay and Display in its town.

OTC had been asked to comment on MKC’s consultation for its 2015/16 budget. This was discussed for some time, and just the main points are covered here.
According to the consultation document, MKC has cut its spending by £68m since 2011 and needs to cut it by a further £70m by 2020, an equivalent of £1,300 per household. Central Government is cutting the funding it gives MKC by over 40% and this year MKC needs to cut its spending by over £22m. While some Councillors picked on certain of the many spending reductions, the overall feeling was that it was not possible for OTC to analyse every line of the very long document. In particular, it was felt difficult to disagree with cut X without proposing a similar cut Y to take its place. Some Councillors felt it may be sensible not to submit a response if it wasn’t possible to perform sufficient analysis of the figures. Peter Geary felt OTC should respond but that the vast majority of the cuts would go through: MKC is running at a deficit now and has no spare money to avoid them. Peter also felt that the internal side of MKC had not been looked at, with middle management, for example, having actually increased.
As an idea of the magnitude of the cuts, regular readers and bus users will be aware of cuts made already to local bus services. Peter noted that MKC had so far cut £207,000 of its bus subsidy. It has another £900,000 of bus subsidy cuts still to make.
Peter, who as a Ward Councillor is more acquainted with the budget detail, will provide further information to Liam, who will then draft a response and work with Councillors to review and submit it.

In recent years, OTC has agreed to underwrite the Big Olney Food Festival (BOFF), but those decisions have been far from unanimous. Until a few years ago, it has also underwritten TOG’s Fireworks Night. In this item, Councillors discussed how OTC would approach underwriting future BOFF events. Peter Geary wanted to generalise the discussion, setting guidelines for what events the Council would underwrite.
John Boardman and Tony Evans felt OTC should not underwrite BOFF because it’s a commercial operation over which OTC has no control. Tony also mentioned that, after claiming once on the Fireworks Night underwriting due to extremely poor weather, TOG had given money back to OTC and had played it very fair. Colin Rodden felt that BOFF was a very positive event for the town and that its organisers should have the opportunity to give a presentation to Councillors. Deidre Bethune, a member of the Chamber of Trade, explained that this year’s BOFF had been run differently and, while some in the Chamber were unhappy with this, it had made a good deal of money. She felt that BOFF was gradually separating from the Chamber, hoped BOFF could hold back enough money to underwrite itself in future, and noted that the Chamber had little money of its own. Peter Geary felt that once an event ‘has legs’ it shouldn’t need OTC underwriting on an ongoing basis.
Councillors voted on a proposal by John Boardman and Tony Evans to consider not underwriting BOFF: Eight voted in favour and one, Peter Geary, against. OTC will write to the BOFF organisers explaining its intention not to underwrite BOFF in the future, and encouraging them to put money aside for a rainy day.

A Planning Application has now been submitted to move the ‘no organised sports’ restriction from Crouch’s Field to the Allotment field immediately to its South, with the aim of bringing organised sports closer to the clubhouses and car parks.
OTC has appointed David Smith Associates to investigate the feasibility of providing additional parking spaces in the car park adjacent to the Rugby Club, on the Club side of Doff’s Field and in the Nursery Field adjacent to East Street.

Tony Evans reported that a gap of two to three inches has again opened up at the bottom of the Swimming Steps. On previous occasions this gap has been filled with concrete but, clearly, that does not appear a viable long term solution. He noted that fixing the problem could be expensive.


Next Meeting - 2nd February

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 2nd 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.

Stan Wicks spoke first in this slot about the problems of congestion at the Coneygere and Church Street junction. He said that cars were regularly parked on both sides of the junction meaning that lorries very often had to back up. He asked that the council consider requesting double yellow lines to be provided on the junction. Milton Keynes Council (MKC) will be informed of the situation.
Next to speak was Donna Derby, Director of Transformation and Delivery for Milton Keynes NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), on the subject of the MK Healthcare review. Although Donna was subject to the strict three minute rule which Olney Town Council (OTC) imposes for public participation she managed to impart a huge amount of information and did not read a pre-written statement, so Mercury hopes that the information has been captured correctly. Donna explained that the review had been set up nine months ago to address the clinical and financial sustainability of Bedford Hospital and Milton Keynes Hospital and generate options for delivering high quality, sustainable health services for the residents of Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes does not have the same growth profile as other towns, she said. The population is growing (+15% by 2021) and ageing (+45% over 65s in MK from 2012 to 2020). The incidence of long-term conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, dementia, coronary heart disease is increasing as the existing population ages, but increasingly elderly people are moving in to the area to be closer to their families. Without change, Milton Keynes Commissioning Care Group and hospital could have a combined deficit of £56m by 2018. The next phase of the review will:

• 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.

The review of hospital services had generated two options, she said.

• 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.

Joe Stacey said that the Neighbourhood Plan had already identified the need for expanded medical facilities in Olney and this made it more pressing. Donna agreed, saying that a way forward would probably be the multi-purpose health campus providing long term care for conditions such as dementia and diabetes. Steve Clark asked why chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continued to be such a drain on services. Was it because of historic smoking, he wondered? Donna agreed, but said it was also down to a high immigrant population in Milton Keynes.
For further information on the review go to www.shapingmkhealth.co.uk/about/

Town Clerk Liam Costello reported that Olney Town Council’s (OTC) bid for funding from the MKC 2015/16 Capital Programme for improved parking in the area had been approved and a scheme would be produced for consultation. Rosemary Osbourne hoped that it would include repairs to the pathways as well. Deidre Bethune agreed, reminding members that MKC had already stated that the pathways met their generic safety standards, but OTC did not believe that this was sufficient for an area housing elderly residents.

Mike Hughes was present to discuss with the council any projects of a sustainable nature that might be appropriate to be paid for out of this fund. Tony Evans reported that the Recreation and Services Committee had suggested that a suitable use might be to replace some of the existing Christmas lights with energy efficient LED lights at a cost of about £5,000. There appeared to be no other suggestions and Mike was of the opinion that it would probably qualify, so OTC will make an application to the fund committee for funding.

As reported previously, Mayor Steve Clark had attended the awards ceremony at Ousedale School and had been very impressed with the attainment of the students and the range of awards made. He had been in discussion with Mike Barry, the mayor of Newport Pagnell, regarding the award of a Mayor’s Prize for students at the campus within their respective parishes. Colin Rodden supported the idea, saying that anything that forged links with the school must be a good thing. Jeremy Rawlings suggested that the award should take the form of a trophy and a cash prize. Ex-Ousedale teacher Ron Bull expressed the opinion that the awarding of prizes did not actually encourage students to work any harder and Steve Clark agreed, but thought that it might be the ‘icing on the cake’. Steve said he would consult with Mike Barry and the Ousedale Head and report back.

Do you care if Olney library closes? Well it probably will do, unless you do something about it. A review of Community and Cultural Services is currently being undertaken by MKC in the light of unprecedented pressures on its budget. The review aims to save £2.75m by the end of March 2016 and will cover services such as libraries, services for young people and children’s centres. It will look at how the public and stakeholders can engage with MKC to explore ‘innovative and alternative approaches to service delivery’. This might include transferring assets such as buildings to community groups or parishes and joining with other local groups to pool resources. No services will be closed immediately as £1.5m has been set aside to fund them while the review takes place and MKC Ward Councillor Peter Geary explained that in previous years a clear pledge had been given that no libraries would close. However, that was no longer the case and unless OTC ‘does something’ then there is a real possibility that the Olney library could close. He suggested a consultation with a sub-group to find out if the residents of Olney really want to keep their library. This was only the first of many similar requests that are likely to come from MKC, he said. Ward Councillor David Hosking was also present and he emphasised that the base budget was being replaced by the temporary transition funding, meaning that the library could close in 12-18 months if OTC does not assist.
The OTC purchase of the Olney Centre from MKC under the community asset transfer scheme is progressing and OTC would like completion by the end of this financial year, but OTC solicitors have some concerns which they have raised with the MKC solicitors.

OTC is intending to increase the fees it charges in line with the Retail Price Index for the next financial year. Mercury assumes that this is to avoid accusations of unreasonable hikes when fees have remained the same for several years, as happened this year. This proposal was agreed on a majority vote with no declared abstentions but a few apparent ‘no votes’. The Council Tax Precept (i.e. the amount from the Council Tax allocated to OTC by MKC) will rise from £166,000 to £170,150, an increase of 2.5%. This will equate to an increase in the Band D Council Tax (commonly used as the benchmark) of 1.76%. This was again passed by a majority with one vote against.

As reported last month OTC has appointed David Smith Associates to investigate the feasibility of providing additional parking spaces in the car park adjacent to the Rugby Club, on the Club side of Doff’s Field and in the Nursery Field adjacent to East Street. Initial plans have now been received and it was clear that there is much disagreement between members on the various options. Ron Bull was of the opinion that the entire thing was money badly spent, when for 95% of the week the existing car park is empty. Why spend so much for 5%, he asked. Colin Rodden thought that OTC should be encouraging people to park in the existing car park and walk to the shops. Tony Evans disputed these arguments, saying that the improved parking would benefit everyone and not just the sports clubs. The plans had the potential to provide over 100 additional spaces, he said, and proposed that the next step should be to draw up a proper specification and get competitive quotes for the work. Peter Geary supported the proposed layouts and said that OTC should consult with residents once proper plans are available.

Although not part of the agenda, this was raised by Deidre Bethune under the item of Member’s Matters. Deidre said she was concerned that the school was intending to introduce a new admissions policy that would give priority to students attaining grade 2 in music for 10% of the places. The Neighbourhood Plan had already identified concern that the school was reaching capacity and local children might not get places and this latest proposal increased that possibility. David Hosking said the criteria seemed to be based on ‘aptitude’ rather than ability but because Ousedale is now an academy it is outside of MKC control. Peter Geary said he was not against the proposals so long as Ousedale intends to expand by 10% to cope with it, as local children will be disadvantaged. Colin Rodden expressed disappointment that the school had not consulted with OTC before publishing the proposals. Steve Clark noted that the consultation period ends on 24th February and proposed that a holding letter be sent requesting that the proposal is not implemented. A member of the governing body and a member of staff will be invited to the March OTC meeting to discuss the proposed changes

A request from Newport and Olney Lions to hold Motorama on the Market Place on 14th June was approved.
A request from John Scarrott and Sons to hold the annual fun fair on the recreation ground from 17th to the 20th of June was initially approved, until it was pointed out that the council had already given permission to Olney Town Colts to hold their annual BOTO on the same weekend. Liam Costello said he would discuss with the various parties involved to reach agreement.
The owner of 15 Kippell Hill has applied to MKC to purchase a plot of land to the front and side of his property. OTC agreed to support the request with the proviso that it is not used for building.
Three members of staff have now received Speed Indicator Device training. This includes correct ladder climbing techniques so they will be able to install the Speed Indicating Devices discussed last month.


Next Meeting - 2nd March

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 2nd 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.

As reported in last month’s Phonebox, the original admissions proposal will be amended to give priority to children within the catchment area, with only those from outside and applying for one of the limited number of musical aptitude places needing to sit a separate test. This change was announced in a meeting held at Ousedale’s Newport Pagnell Campus on 24th February. The change and the way the consultation was conducted raised a few issues which Councillors now discussed.
During the meeting at the School, Sue Carbert, head teacher, appeared to say that Olney’s Ward Councillors had made ‘illegal’ comments in relation to the issue. Having taken legal advice and believing they’d done nothing wrong, the three Ward Councillors followed this up with a letter to Sue asking her to clarify her comments. Since this Council meeting took place, the School has replied saying that the Councillors had not done anything illegal.
In terms of the proposal itself, Councillors appeared relieved that it’d been amended, although there was frustration at what they saw as the poor quality of the consultation, and concern that the School perhaps did not appreciate the scale of expansion planned within its catchment area over the next 10 years and the effect this would have on pupil numbers.
Finally, David Hosking explained that the musical test would specifically measure aptitude as opposed to ability, measurement of the latter for admissions purposes being illegal under that Schools’ Admission Code. So, for example, the test may involve questions about and appreciation of music, but will not take into account grade exams.

As reported in an earlier Mercury, Westlands, on the A509 opposite the Market Place, has been sold. There’s been a good deal of rumour concerning its future use, much centring on it becoming a ‘half-way house’. The building is now owned by the Marks Trust who, as well as assuring OTC that it was not responsible for the rumours, wishes to convert the building into apartments. MKC was apparently not supportive of the idea, citing the lack of nearby residential parking. The Trust had asked OTC for its view and, after a brief discussion, the Council decided to defer expressing an opinion until a Planning Application was received.

John Scarrot had asked OTC if he could bring the fair to the Recreation Ground for the long weekend of Friday 19th to Sunday 21st June. This period coincides with Booze on the Ouse (BOTO) and concerns were expressed about the clash, mainly that the sound of the fair would affect BOTO’s Friday Comedy Night. Due to these concerns, OTC will respond that the fair can be held on the Recreation Ground but on a different weekend or, subject to later consultation, on the same weekend but on Johnson’s Field or, scaled down, the Pyghtle.

As reported before, the Olney Centre is being transferred to OTC under the Community Asset Transfer scheme. This is taking a while, mainly due to legal wrangling between solicitors, but the aim is to complete the transfer in March. As such, and in order to avoid a further delay until the next full OTC meeting, Councillors agreed that a small group of Councillors would have authority to make the final decision then report back to full Council.

Joe Stacey reported that the returned questionnaires, containing over 5,200 comments on 27 different subjects, were now being analysed and that, for each subject, a summary will be written.
He then explained that the number of new houses planned for Olney was based on the town’s share of the total number planned for rural areas by the MK Core Strategy. It now appears that Newport Pagnell may take considerably more than its planned number of new houses and, as such, there may be some flexibility in the number of such houses required in Olney.
Finally, he noted that the Bedfordshire Railways and Transport Association (BRTA) has, over the years, kept an eye on the original track bed of the long closed Northampton-Olney-Bedford line, objecting to developments which could prevent it from being reopened. Joe explained that, as both the Government and Northampton County Council had contacted BRTA, rejecting its proposals to reinstate the line, there was no point in referring to the matter in the Neighbourhood Plan.

As reported before, OTC is investigating the provision of additional car parking spaces, primarily to reduce the parking problems which arise at times during weekend sports events. Detailed drawings have now been received for the proposed changes to East Street car park, adjacent to the Rugby Club.
In summary, the drawings show that 161 marked spaces could be provided in five rows running East to West, 49 more spaces than currently. The changes required to achieve this include removing the row of trees along the North side of the car park (33 spaces), removing the row of trees along the West side (11 spaces) and removing the central raised area. Joe Stacey questioned whether further spaces could be accommodated if the car park was made one way.
Residents living immediately to the West of the car park have already expressed concern about the trees on that side being removed. Also, another nearby resident has requested that MKC widely publish its proposals for both the East Street car park and the additional car park on the West side of the Recreation Ground.

As previously reported, MKC has granted Outline Planning Permission for the small parcel of land, immediately North West of the Warrington Road office development and South East of the sewage works, to be changed from employment use (category B1, office) to residential (C3). OTC was, as usual, asked for its views on the Application, and gave various reasons it thought it should be rejected.
Anglian Water runs the sewage works and was thus consulted on the Application. It responded thus: “Our initial odour risk assessment indicates that there is potential for loss of amenity at sensitive property within the proposed development due to odour emissions from the operation of the Water Recycling Centre (WRC). This WRC is operated in compliance with the appropriate regulatory standards and in accordance with established best practice; however, the process is inherently prone to short periods of relatively strong odorous emissions, against which there is little practical mitigation.”
However, the MKC Officers’ report on the application, in its Consultations and Representations section, stated simply that Anglian Water had cited “No objection”. Joe Stacey felt this was a misrepresentation of their response.
Peter Geary stated that the Planning Permission could not be overturned because it has been more than twelve weeks since the decision was made, that being the limit before which any Judicial Review to challenge it must start. He suggested instead that OTC make a formal complaint to MKC. What would happen then is unclear, though post meeting questions suggested that MKC does have powers to overturn the decision if it felt that there was something significantly wrong in the way it had been taken, but that may expose them to paying compensation to the applicant.

Martin Ward, Head Groundsman, has retired and OTC is recruiting for his replacement.
MKC has withdrawn its proposal to impose charges for using its car parks in the outlying areas of Milton Keynes Borough, and is developing a parking strategy. Peter Geary believed that, while this proposal was unlikely to reappear in next year’s budget, there was no guarantee that it would not re-emerge after that.
The Police Office closed for the last time on Monday 16th March, and there’ll now be a mobile Police Office visiting Olney on Mondays and Fridays, 10.30am - 12.30pm starting on Friday 20th March.
Steve Clark reported that plans for the Sainsbury’s store are still moving forward.
Peter Geary gave a brief outline of some of the anticipated MKC budget cuts. A review of Libraries and Children’s Centres will start in April, and although there’s been no pledge on Library opening hours, there is a pledge that no Library will close. The bus service cuts, initially a very significant £900,000, will now be £150,000. Council tax is expected to increase by around £1.95%, and black bin bags will no longer be provided.

Steve Clark explained that Mick Rogers, from Burton Latimer, has just started the 5,500 mile walk from Kettering to Kilimanjaro. He’s aiming to average around 25 miles per day, then climb up Mount Kilimanjaro itself. He expects this to take around five and a half months and is hoping to gain the record for a person of his age, 50 years, for the climb. He’s doing the walk with the aim of raising £55,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Steve had met him in Olney on his first overnight stop.


Next Meeting - 13th April

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 13th 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.

The Annual Town Meeting will take place on Thursday 14th May at 7:00 in the Olney Centre and all registered electors of the Parish are invited to attend. It is your chance to meet your councillors and quiz them on any local matters of concern you may have.

OTC has a vacancy for which four candidates had applied. Of these, one had withdrawn and the remaining three each gave a brief talk to explain why they should be co-opted onto the Council.
The first, Malcolm Messenger, had been a Policeman in Olney and then Alderney and, having served on OTC before, was keen to do so again. Sally Pezaro, with background as a midwife, was young and felt she could help OTC serve that demographic better. Catherine Rose, a local musician, business owner and Green Party member, focussed on education and the arts, and had fundraised for Cobbs Garden Surgery.
Councillors voted and, of the 12 present, eight voted for Sally Pezaro who, being the clear winner, signed up and took her seat alongside the other Councillors.

Although, unusually, none of the interested parties was in the Public area to hear it, Liam Costello updated Councillors on progress towards alleviating the parking issues in Oakdown Crescent. Liam had spoken with Rob Ward, Milton Keynes Council (MKC), and confirmed that approval to spend the money had been given. A scheme is now being designed, which will then need to be consulted on before any work was done.
Along with Deidre Bethune, Joe Stacey was frustrated with the slow progress, and pushed Councillors to ask for firm dates. Peter Geary explained that Rachel Kingsley, Head of Highways Services at MKC, was now on long term sick leave and that her role had been taken over by David Hall, who was now trying to get a grip of various capital projects which appeared to be ‘going nowhere’. He suggested OTC contact him to arrange a meeting and get firm dates for the preliminary design to be completed and the consultation to start, and an anticipated date for the construction to start.

As reported before, the informal right of way, from Austen Avenue alongside Doff’s Field to the river bank then South to the Clifton Reynes bridge, will likely become a Public footpath. The Order to make this change has been submitted to the Secretary of State for consideration. Anyone who wishes to make any comment or objection, even one they’ve made before, needs to submit it by 21st July, in writing to Jean McEntee, The Planning Inspectorate, Rights of Way Section, Room 3/25 Hawk Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN.
Ron Bull asked if the Fishing Club, which currently maintains some footbridges on which the path relies, would receive any financial recompense for this work. Peter Geary replied that, when the footpath was agreed, the Club should contact MKC to see what it proposed. Apparently a typical arrangement is that the Council provides the materials while the landowner, or in this case the Fishing Club, provides the labour.

Steve Clark was re-elected Mayor and Jeremy Rawlings his deputy, both unopposed. Elections complete, the main part of the meeting could get underway.

Deidre Bethune reported that the Community Asset Transfer of the Olney Centre was now complete and, thus, it was now Olney Town Council’s. She, along with other Councillors, noted how sad it was that Alan Richardson, who’d done much of the work to reach this point, didn’t live quite long enough to see the result.

A gap has been opening up in the Swimming Steps, between the bottom and next step, due to the flow of the water past them. It’s now reached around four inches and, as reported before, the Council has been investigating how to repair it. The option being discussed is sheet piling, where a group of piles is driven into the ground close together to resist the pressure of the water.

Susan Hughes has been awarded a Local Policing Area Commander’s Commendation for her role and work in connection with the Olney Neighbourhood Action Group and MK Safer Neighbourhoods Delivery Group, both of which have made a significant contribution to the residential and business communities of Olney. The award ceremony will take place on 11th June at Milton Keynes Police Station.

As reported late last year, OTC hopes that improvements can be made to the Recreation Ground play area. The approx. £100,000 of improvements originally planned relied on MKC receiving half the amount as matched funding. This was expected to come from a Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN) Grant but, as there are no applicable, for example landfill, sites close enough to Olney, that source is unavailable. Instead, and after some delay, MKC has recently applied to Biffa Waste Services for the matched funding. This application may or may not be successful and, if not, it’s possible that Section 106 money could be used instead, but there remains some risk that no funding can be found.
Councillors were acutely aware of the delay in making the improvements, and explored the idea of consulting the Public for its view on how the play area could be improved, in parallel with the funding being obtained. Given that the funding is not guaranteed, this approach carries some risk. After some discussion, Councillors agreed by majority to push ahead with the consultation, being open about the fact that the associated funding is not guaranteed.

Steve Clark thanked The Olney Group for its help with the VE Day beacon lighting event, for which it provided lighting and marshals, while Tony Evans provided the fire. He noted that, as well as the event being planned rather at the last minute, the publicity was restricted deliberately in order that the number of people attending would not overwhelm the limited marshalling and facilities in place.
Continuing from the VE Day publicity discussion, OTC is considering whether to have a Facebook page.
Peter Geary noted that he’d read of some cowslips on Driftway being destroyed before they’d flowered which, them being a protected plant, should not have happened. Liam explained that, due to the gradient of the grass mounds on Driftway, OTC employs a contractor to cut the grass. Peter explained that OTC must make sure its contractor was aware of the cowslip’s protected status. Tony Evans felt that, while a few cowslips may have been cut, the majority were still there. Finally, he noted that, if anyone wished to see cowslips, they should head up to Barn Field and take a look at the sea of yellow. As a postscript to this topic, OTC contacted Mercury shortly before publication to say that, according to their post meeting research, cowslips are not a protected species under any legislation.
The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 1st 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.

Sue Warren and Ron Mihill
Sue Warren and Ron Mihill were present to speak in the public participation section of the meeting. Sue spoke about the parking issue in Oakdown Crescent which, being a meeting agenda item, will be reported later.

Ron Mihill
Ron said he was chairman of the Pegasus Residents’ Association but was also speaking on behalf of Clifton Court residents and was concerned about the ability of elderly and disabled people to cross the roads around the Market Place, particularly by Silver End where the traffic comes from three directions. Traffic is getting faster, he said, and requested a facility to enable safer crossing. Ideally that would be a pedestrian crossing but he thought that Milton Keynes Council (MKC) would say that it would cost too much. In that case, how much did it cost to provide the electric vehicle charging point, he wondered? Mayor Steve Clark said that the matter would be put on the agenda of a future meeting of Olney Town Council (OTC) so that it could be fully discussed.

PC Andy Perry was present, along with Susan Hughes from the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) to present the proposals for a CCTV scheme. Andy explained that they had looked at other schemes in and around Milton Keynes to see what is most suitable for Olney. Milton Keynes had cameras connected to the Command Suite at Central MK Police Station by dedicated fibre links and Newport Pagnell had the same but provided over a microwave link. Because of its location Olney would need a repeater at the top of the hill between Olney and Newport Pagnell, which would add to the cost. He thought that the best option would be via a broadband link to Newport Pagnell police station which would not be permanently operated and monitored in real-time, although it could be when resources allowed. The main use would be for historic monitoring and review up to twenty eight days after incidents had occurred, he said. Andy then showed a number of clips of video to demonstrate a number of high and low definition options, including some footage from the recent CCTV trial in Olney. Ward Councillor Peter Geary asked why it wasn’t possible to provide a broadband link back to CMK Police Station and Andy thought that although it was probably technically possible there may be capacity and resourcing issues. A few councillors asked if some dummy cameras could be installed, since the current proposal was for a single camera. Andy said he was not convinced of the effectiveness of dummy cameras and because the single camera would be mounted in a darkened glass dome it was not possible to tell which way it was pointing. Steve Clark thanked Andy and Susan for the presentation and said the decision whether to progress with the scheme would be an agenda item on next month’s meeting. Colin Rodden wondered if the intervening month could be used for a public consultation. Steve closed the item by wishing Andy a long and happy retirement.

At last month’s meeting Town Clerk Liam Costello reported that progress was being made towards alleviating the parking problems in Oakdown Crescent. Liam had spoken with Rob Ward of MKC who confirmed that approval to spend the money had been given. A scheme was being designed, which would then need to be consulted on before any work was done. None of the interested members of the public were present at last month’s meeting to hear this news. Sue Warren used the public participation section of this month’s meeting to express her annoyance that she and the other interested parties were not at last month’s meeting and launched an attack on Liam, saying that he had let down the tenants and his reply to her was an insult. The council should have chased MKC on the financial situation and just because the relevant person at MKC was on long term sick this was no excuse for lack of progress, she felt. Liam replied that he had arranged a meeting with MKC on 8th June. Deidre Bethune said the council do care about the residents’ plight and had been working to move things forward. It was unfair of Sue to attack Liam, she said, and was supported by Steve Clark.

As reported previously, the Olney Town Colts FC had originally planned to build their changing facility on to the end of the toilet block and tractor shed compound and had obtained support from OTC to do so. Then, the Colts had proposed an alternative scheme to build on to Olney Town FC’s existing Club building. But, after around six months of planning and associated expense OFC advised the Colts that it could no longer afford to continue with its part of the project. The associated delay means that the Colts are facing the potential loss of the associated grants and sponsorship, and are thus keen to move quickly while the funding is still available. Tony Evans, as chair of Recs and Services Committee explained that he didn’t speak when this was raised in the public participation section last month because it was not a formal agenda item. He expressed his bitter disappointment that the combined scheme had progressed so far before stalling. All sports clubs in the town embrace youth, with the exception of OTFC, he said. Since agreeing to support the original plan to build on the council compound, the council’s own position had changed, he said, and they had realised that they needed the space to store new equipment. Peter Geary was of the opinion that OTC should sit down with all parties and try and find a way forward and to ensure that the promised funding is protected. Ian Stokes, representing the Colts, said he was not convinced that OTFC will commit to the project and believed that the Colts were now bound to lose some of their sponsorship. He emphasised that the Colts comprised 320 local children of all ages who would directly benefit from the scheme, as opposed to some of the senior sports clubs where a large number of players came from outside of the town.

MKC needs to make significant savings over the next three years and the library service is one area which initially appeared to be under threat. MKC are looking for ideas from community groups, businesses, parish and town councils and local people who both use and do not use the service. Colin Rodden wondered what the footfall was for users of the Olney Library and wondered if residents really wanted it. A session was due to be held at Olney library on 25th June for MKC to present some current proposals and also for residents to put forward any ideas of their own. Peter Geary replied that figures have not been provided and thought it important to know the proportion of users that are Olney residents or come from the surrounding villages, and also the demographic of those users. Keith McLean said that he had recently been to a meeting in Stony Stratford where a group called the Friends Of Stony Stratford Library Service, known as FOSSLS had been formed. Mercury wondered if was now time to mobilise the Friends Of Olney Library Society.

Steve Clark said there had been a complaint made at the recent town meeting regarding OTC’s Co-option process for new members. For information, when a vacancy occurs it must be advertised and if ten members of the electorate request it an election will be held. If no request is made then the council will co-opt from eligible applicants. Steve said the same system had been in use by OTC for many years and that if people were really interested in the workings of OTC then they would read the Mercury report in The Phonebox and get to know what was going on, an opinion echoed by Jeremy Rawlings. The fact that four candidates had put themselves forward for the latest vacancy was very good, he thought. Deidre Bethune wondered if vacancies should be advertised more widely. Ron Bull suggested using a strong visual impact on noticeboards where people are likely to see them, such as shops in the town. Joe Stacey suggested that there should be a formal procedure in the council’s standing orders for publicity and candidates’ statements. Sally Pezaro informed members that there was now an OTC Facebook page to counter criticism that the Olney Noticeboard had been used to publicise the recent vacancy. Anything on there would be considered ‘official’ she said, pointing out that the profanity filter had been set to ‘high’!

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.

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

There’s been almost no progress since the last report, with Deidre Bethune reporting that Milton Keynes Council (MKC) had reassigned the person who was dealing with the issue and not informed OTC of who, if anyone, was dealing with it now. Peter Geary, a Ward Councillor for Olney, recommended OTC send a letter to MKC asking who was dealing with the issue now and that it be kept in the loop in future. He, along with other Councillors, was keen to see progress and to get a proposed scheme out for consultation.

The bus fare issue raised earlier by Lesley Weston was now discussed at length and, in summary, Peter Geary will take up any incorrect fare charging with MKC. He explained that the #1 bus service had been changed due to budget cuts, which had been fought over strongly, that being a major reason why the budget was not passed first time. Even with all that, £150,000 had still been cut from bus services, and this was one of the ramifications: Budgets had to balance. Finally, OTC will post details of how to complain about incorrect charging on its Facebook page.

Ron Mihill presented a proposal to make it easier for people to get to the Market Place on foot, regardless of which direction they’re coming from. It was for two new pedestrian crossings, one across each road at the Eastern end of the Market Place just West of where the roads join. Most Councillors seemed keen on this proposal, and Peter Geary suggested OTC nominate it for a small capital scheme – a way to find funding for the work. A few Councillors, for example Deidre Bethune, were not convinced there was a problem to solve.

Liz Gifford gave a brief talk on MKC’s Libraries and Cultural Services Review. She felt libraries were part of the fabric of an area, a good place to meet and learn, and she was keen to see more community involvement with running them. The question was how to sustain them in the long term. While MKC was committed to keeping them open, what did that actually mean? For example, how many hours, at what times and run by how many staff?
Peter Geary was concerned about MKC’s ‘end game’ in terms of Olney Library, particularly because they’d previously had a plan to close it and he believed that may still be lurking in the background. Noting that the shared back office costs dominated Olney Library’s overall costs, he and Jeremy Rawlings felt that these costs were unusually high for Milton Keynes’ back office and that, as a result and given its location, Olney Library could likely get these shared services cheaper from Bedfordshire or Northamptonshire Councils. As background, it appeared that the reason for these costs being high was that, while shared Library services are usually provided on a County wide basis, here they are provided for Milton Keynes Borough which is a comparatively small geographical area and, thus, similar economies of scale are not achieved.

After a long debate, Councillors voted by majority to install a permanent CCTV camera on the Market Place, as recommended by the Olney Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) and Thames Valley Police (TVP). This will cost around £6,000 up front then £600 per year. It will be recorded continuously and monitored as required by TVP.

The Council gave its unanimous approval for Olney Town Colts FC to build its clubhouse on to the Northern end of the Olney Football Club building.

Joe Stacey had met with Sue Carbet of Ousedale School. OTC is being contacted by Ousedale’s planning consultants to discuss the possibility of expansion to cope with the expected additional housing in Olney. He noted that, clearly, this expansion was based on a long term look at capacity requirements because, currently, children were being bussed in from Bletchley to fill a surplus in the existing capacity.

The lighting in the Pre School area of the Olney Centre needs replacing, and the Olney Centre Management Committee had recommended this be done with LED lighting, providing a yearly saving of around 35% (£126) compared with running the current lights. The choice of LED lighting was uncontroversial, but the fact that only one rather than the usual three quotes had been obtained for the work was less so. Peter Geary noted that OTC, as well as doing the right thing, must be seen to be doing the right thing and, as this view appeared to be shared more generally, the lights were approved along with a note of the need to obtain three quotes in future.

Ron Bull reported that the Fishing Club maintains a track for vehicles across the Goosey by periodically laying down hardcore and, as that soaks into the ground, laying more. This time round, as well as restoring the track, the start of an additional parking area had been laid also. After some discussion with Tony Evans about exactly whether this addition was or was not allowed, Steve Clark asked that Tony and Ron resolve the issue outside the meeting.

Colin Rodden felt that the litter problem in Olney was getting worse. This was discussed, with ideas including a possible repeat of the community litter pick, which has worked well before, and posting on OTC’s Facebook page.

Tony Evans explained that the Recreations and Services Committee had recommended that the area on Nursery Field between East Street and the football pitch be used as a car park. The area would have gates at both ends, and would be opened for busy days only. Councillors approved this, paving the way for a full specification to be drawn up and the job to be put out to tender.

As reported before, the bottom Swimming Step is gradually subsiding, with a gap opening between it and the next step. The plan is to provide a long term fix for the problem by installing contiguous steel piling with timber capping, then pump out the water and fill the area behind the piling with concrete. This will be specified in detail and put out to tender.

The Market Place currently has all its electrical outlets near the toilet block. The Council is investigating the provision of multiple points around the area, thus reducing the amount of cabling required on Market days and, in particular, improving safety due to fewer overhead cable runs being required on those days. Councillors voted to obtain quotes for this work.

Colin Rodden reported that the Duck Race had been fantastic, and Sally Pezaro that the Raft Race had been excellent. Regarding the Raft Race, she explained that people had been mentioning Floral Fiesta and how great it used to be. She felt there was potential to do more at this event and was keen to talk with the organisers.

By the time you read this, the Weston Road play area will have reopened. Also, Tony Evans reported that the most recent Farmers’ Market had attracted a record 32 stalls.

As publicised on Facebook, and unrelated to Olney Duck and Raft Races, the Olney River Palooza is planned for 12:00 on Sunday 26th July. Councillors, not convinced that this would be a planned and safe event, were concerned about it. The Council planned to inform other interested parties, such as MKC, the Environment Agency and the Police, but otherwise felt powerless to act.


Next Meeting - 7th September

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 7th 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.

The Tennis Club wishes to build an extension, effectively a pergola, to the side of its clubhouse over the paved area to provide an undercover viewing area for the courts. Councillors appeared in favour of this, and the next step will be for the Club to see if planning permission is required.

Steve Clark introduced this item explaining that, having seen Sam Jacobs’ post and Sally Pezaro’s response to it on Olney Noticeboard, Sam and Sally had been interviewed on air by BBC Three Counties Radio presenter Jonathan Vernon Smith. Sally asked why the skateboard ramp kept being covered in graffiti, for example whether it was because people disliked it. She also explained that, with land in Olney being expensive, it would be hard to get a building for music practice. In summary, she felt that a group of like-minded teenagers needed to get together to put forward their collective views, so all their views would be heard.
Jeremy Rawlings provided some context. Around 15 years ago, there was a project to build a skate park in Olney. A piece of land around the same size as a tennis court was required and, at that time, the expected cost was around £18,000. The park was never built. An issue which would need to be considered for any new attempt is its location: It needs to be close to homes to allow ease of access, provide a safe environment and discourage vandalism, yet be far enough away not to upset people living nearby. He also explained that the Youth Centre is geared up to host music practice sessions, but that legalities mean that adults have to be present. That means, really, that parents need to get involved and that’s not always proved easy to achieve. He concluded by noting that, if the possible Community Asset Transfer (CAT) of the Youth Club to OTC does go ahead, the Council would have more influence over the services it provided.
Steve Clark proposed that a working group of Councillors and children be set up. Sam thought this was a good idea.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

No progress has been made on solutions to alleviate the parking problems since the site visit in July by officers of Milton Keynes Council (MKC) but Rob Ward, Highways and Planning and Transport Business and Liaison Manager at MKC had suggested that Olney Town Council (OTC) put in a bid to the Community Parking Scheme when funding opens next year. A number of councillors expressed their frustration at this, with John Sharp asking how long it was going to take. Mayor Steve Clark replied that it had been 35 years already! Ward Councillor Peter Geary expressed the view that although Rob Ward’s approach was unacceptable, berating MKC officers would not help as OTC would need to work closely with them. That particular department is understaffed as many experienced people have left and OTC already has a number of ongoing issues, some of which could be considered ‘failures of service’. He said that the ward councillors would be meeting with the newly appointed Head of Department and suggested that other members of OTC should attend.

Following recent OTC discussions about the parking problems at the Olney Middle School, Headteacher Glenn Young was present to introduce himself to the council and to give an update. He explained that his role does not end at the gate and is all about working with the community of which the school is part. The school is popular and oversubscribed and the parking problem is a consequence of this, since many parents need to drive their children to school from out of the town. He emphasised, however, that safety is his number one priority and he wanted to work with OTC to resolve the problem. Glenn agreed that there needed to be a dedicated area for school bus parking but did not see his staff becoming parking enforcers, rather they should be concentrating on teaching. He said there were currently no parking restrictions on the prow of the hill, but expressed concern that doing so might move the problem elsewhere. Deirdre Bethune reminded members that when Driftway had been opened there was a proposal to close off the top end of Yardley Road by the school. Could that be resurrected, she asked? Jeremy Rawlings said he had been against the original closure plan but was now reconsidering. He was concerned that it might make the parking problem worse and vehicles would then need to turn in the road to exit. In conclusion Glenn said he would try to find the percentage of children who currently walk to school and suggested a joint school and OTC letter to parents to impress the need for sensible parking.

Tim Haskell, Senior Warden at St Peter and St Paul’s church, was present to request that OTC grant permission for the Cherry fair to be held on The Glebe on 18th June 2016. Tim explained that traditionally the Cherry Fair had been held on the last weekend in June. In recent years attendances had been falling, partly due to clashes with other events in the town. These clashes, particularly BOTO, also had the effect of reducing the pool of volunteers who were able to help with the setting up and running of the event. Last year it had been necessary to move the date due to a longstanding wedding booking in the church. Even though the weather had been inclement the result had been that more helpers had been available and more people attended on the day. The council agreed to the request to hold the Cherry Fair on June 18th 2016.

This is the proposal to provide additional match-day parking spaces behind the goal posts at the East Street end of the football pitch. As reported last month the scheme has received a setback because the MKC planning department has asked for a hedge to limit the visual impact from East Street. This would limit the parking spaces to a single row. They have now carried out a tree survey and identified a ‘no dig’ area to prevent root damage which would reduce the length of the bays to 4.4m from the standard size of 4.8m. It was pointed out that the particular trees do not have a Tree Preservation Order so OTC would be within their rights to simply remove the trees to solve the problem. Tony Evans was disappointed that MKC are not being supportive of OTC’s attempts to provide additional parking spaces and seemed to be putting obstacles in the way. Steve Clark pointed out that since the land belongs to OTC they could just lay some plastic paving grid and open the gate, if they were so minded, but they were being penalised for trying to do it properly. Peter Geary was of the opinion that the planning officers were just following policy by commenting on the proposals, which is what they are paid to do. He suggested continuing with the existing planning process as money had already been spent on drawing up the plans. It would not commit OTC to implementing them, he said.

For details of the four options put forward in the plan see pages 26 and 27 of the November edition of The Phonebox. The option which would have a major impact on Olney is Option 3: One or more Satellite Settlements in the rural areas. Also impacted would be Sherington, North Crawley, Moulsoe, Hanslope and Castlethorpe. Some or all of these sites could be developed with between 5,000 and 10,000 new homes. Peter Geary opened the discussion by saying that he had been accused of being both pro and anti the plan, which was the most serious issue impacting the area for a generation. He said that the proposals had come out of a series of workshops held earlier in the year and very little feasibility had been carried out into any of them. Any such development would require a number of new bridges over the M1 and River Ouse, for which there was no government funding. He thought the proposals ‘do not stack up’ and wondered why the ‘impossible’ options had even been put forward instead of being dismissed. An additional 10,000 house for Olney was ‘crazy’. He suggested working with the other impacted villages to gain a collective view and provide a unified response. Steve Clark said that Olney has grown organically for 30 – 40 years so that newcomers had integrated into and felt part of the community. Jeremy Rawlings pointed out that there are times when it is almost impossible to get to Central MK and without major infrastructure improvement things could only get worse. Tony Evans asked where this left the emerging Olney Neighbourhood Plan?
The three month consultation period was due to commence on 9th November when the Planning Cabinet was expected to approve the publication of the options document. Mercury has since learnt that the cabinet did, indeed, approve the publication but that decision was subsequently ‘called in’ so will now be considered by the Executive Scrutiny Committee meaning a delay to the start of the consultation.

As reported last month, planning permission has been granted for Olney Town Colts FC to build their new club house. OTC has posted notice of their intention to dispose of the land by way of a long term lease and the notice period has now expired with no comments being received.


Next Meeting - 7th December

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 7th 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.

Councillors had met with the Milton Keynes Council’s (MKC) Corporate Director for Place to discuss the lack of progress on the issue of parking in Oakdown Crescent. He’d promised an update on the situation but, the meeting having taken place only recently, this has not yet been forthcoming.

Colin Rodden, who along with Carl Clennett had been assisting Francis and friends with the proposal, introduced this topic. Four possible sites for the Park had been investigated – Barn Field, Johnson’s Field, the Recreation Ground and the Youth Club – and graded in terms of distance from where people live, distance from existing sports facilities, and ease and suitability for installation. Based on these criteria, the Recreation Ground had come out on top with around 50% more points than Johnson’s Field, its nearest competitor. Thus, the Recreation Ground is the only location being pursued for this proposal, the currently chosen position there being immediately South of the All Weather Surface – covering around half the often muddy area where BOTO places its marquee and Fireworks Night its fair and stalls.
Resurfacing the existing All Weather Surface may also be included alongside the proposal. The cost of a new tarmac surface had been estimated at £18,000, allowing the usual mix of sports, for example football and basketball, to still be played there. Alternatively, Olney Football Club had expressed an interest in laying an artificial grass surface and feels it could likely raise the significant funding required to do so. However, if that option was chosen, use of the area would be for football only and it would likely be kept locked when not in use in order to protect the surface.
The Sports Clubs have been asked for their views and, based on the subset of responses received so far, the results are positive with some questions about noise levels. Also, the topic has been posted on the Olney Noticeboard Facebook page and received positive responses. Not all parties contacted have yet responded, and further views will be sought.
Peter Geary was very positive about the proposal, his only concern being that Council Planning guidelines for the minimum allowed distance from the nearest residential property be followed. Tony Evans felt that any All Weather Surface resurfacing work should be separated from the Skate Park and, that being said, noted he’d prefer to continue with a tarmac surface as that was the most likely to keep the area well used. Steve Clark was also keen to split the projects, noting that he didn’t want to see both put at risk due to the larger amount of money that would have to be raised to complete them as a pair. Ron Bull noted that the Skate Park proposal would stand and fall by how much money the proposers could raise themselves – for example, from local businesses and individuals – which would need to be significant else the project would be a non starter. In summary, Councillors were broadly in favour of the proposal.

After a delay caused primarily by personnel changes at Thames Valley Police, Olney Town Council (OTC) approved the purchase of the CCTV camera system for £5,500, with an annual running cost of £590, subject to confirmation that the system has the best available specification for the price.

Summarising what was quite a long discussion, Councillors voted by majority to support having two signs, likely coloured brown as per regular Tourist Information signs, one at each entrance to Olney on the A509, carrying the wording ‘Welcome to Olney Home of Amazing Grace’. The notable abstention was from Peter Geary, who, while agreeing with the need for the signs and their wording, felt strongly that brown was an inappropriate colour.

Plan:MK, one of whose options involves very significant housing development in Olney, is due to be consulted on shortly. As the plan has been reported extensively in the local press, it’s not covered in detail here. OTC, along with various other Parish Councils and individuals, had called in the decision to consult on the development options document. The reasons for this were that:
• The consultation document was flawed because there was no check on the feasibility of the development options before it was proposed to go out for public consultation, a feasibility check being an essential part of the consultation process;
• The process to produce the document was flawed in various ways, including that the workshops were poorly run and that the views of developers attending were over represented;
• While the Local Plan, Plan:MK, follows a process for estimating housing demand over the next 10-15 years which is both rigorous and evidence based, the MK Futures 2050 Commission’s forecasts are neither, yet will, over time, override those in Plan:MK. Combining Plan:MK with the MK Futures 2050 Commission is a flawed use of the Local Plan process.
The call-in was debated by the Executive Scrutiny Committee on 2nd December which, voting along party lines, decided to proceed with the consultation but with some changes. Principally, they will remove all references to specific rural areas and instead have a general option along the lines of ‘development in the rural area’. They also agreed that certain aspects of the initial consultation were flawed, specifically the communication of the process and the lack of representation at the vision workshops. Finally, they agreed there would be more engagement with rural Parishes and neighbouring Planning Authorities (e.g. Central Bedfordshire Council). But, the consultation will proceed.
OTC and other nearby Parish Councils are considering clubbing together to take legal action as a group against MKC. Colin Rodden felt it was a sad day to see two public bodies suing each other, but that it was justified since MKC had not properly consulted with the Parish Councils. Chris Shaw asked what OTC’s mandate was to reject the plan – for example, should the Council poll local residents for their opinions? The resulting view, with which there was broad agreement, was that the option to add 10,000 houses to each of Olney, Sherington and Castlethorpe by 2050 was too obviously ludicrous to justify the expense of a public consultation.
Overall, Councillors’ views were broadly summed up by Peter Geary, who noted that the Parish Councils had to let MKC know they were watching it on this issue, and that it should not be over-influenced by the developers. He felt this issue would take a lot of people’s time over the next few years.
The Council voted unanimously to authorise £3K expenditure for legal services against MKC, and to hold funds and provide administrative support for these services on behalf of Olney and other smaller nearby Parish Councils, for example Castlethorpe and Sherington.

The Council has received a water bill for £5,500, substantially more than the usual £500 per year. This appears to be caused by a substantial leak which occurred during the Summer in the pipe supplying the Tennis Club where it passes under one of the tennis courts. The leak has been addressed by running an alternative pipe from the tractor shed around the tennis courts to the Club house and, unlike the previous supply,
this one is metered albeit at the Club house end. Councillors will meet with the Tennis Club to decide how to meet the cost of the additional bill.

The regular sessions run by the National Blood Service at the Youth Club for people to give blood have been stopped, apparently due to the team which organised them losing a member. Councillors decided to write to the Service asking it to reconsider, and to ask if Mark Lancaster, our local MP, would table a written question on the topic in Parliament.

The Pancake race will take place on Tuesday 9th February, the Barn Field beacon will be lit for the Queen’s 90th birthday on Thursday 21st April, John Scarrott’s Fair will be in Olney from Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th June, TOG has asked to hold Raft Race on Sunday 3rd July, BOTO will be held from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th July, and there’ll be a Retro Car Tour visiting the town on Wednesday 7th September. That lot should keep you busy.

Dickens of a Christmas was thought to have been a very successful event. The Council may publish an article explaining who runs which parts of this pretty substantial undertaking and how it’s paid for.
Ron Bull noted that, while the letter from Richard Pill in last month’s Phonebox Magazine implied that the Sainsbury’s planning application had been delayed indefinitely, this was not in fact the case and it was simply waiting on additional information being provided. He asked if OTC could refute the view, as some people had taken it seriously.


Next Meeting - 4th January

The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 4th 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.