Page 40 - Phonebox Magazine September 2012

Mercury Report – Olney
Council Meeting of Monday 6th August 2012
There were more members of the public than councillors present at the start of this monthʼs meeting, so Mercury was looking forward to an evening of lively debate.
3_MiddletonMKInqdoc1OlneyBP.pdf
Next to speak was Karen Gilbert, owner of Beans Café in the Market Place, on a subject that was obviously of concern to a number of members of the public present, namely the application by Real Estate Advisors Savills, on behalf of Caffé Nero, to open a branch in the building previously occupied by Derby House Saddlery. Karen said hers is a small, independent business which would struggle to compete against a large, national chain. The rates in Olney were the highest of the four locations where she had branches and while Caffé Nero could absorb high business rates, she could not.
Elaine Baxendale also spoke against the application. She has been an Olney resident for nine years, she said, and one of the attractions of the town is its small ʻquirkyʼ establishments. Local businesses would be certain to suffer, she felt, and questioned whether Olney needed another big concern. There was a need to consider the environment, she said. The planning application was discussed as an agenda item later in the meeting.
Next to speak was Bryan Rice on the continued problems of parking in Oakdown Crescent.
Richard Stone, Bar Manager of The Carlton
drinks with them, which would be against the terms of the license. As a previous licensee of The Bull he knew what problems a bench outside would attract, he said. Added to that he and his family lived above the club with bedrooms facing out on to the High Street and they would be bound to suffer disturbed nights, he said.
Public participation
Five members of the public spoke at this monthʼs meeting. First to speak was Jim Middleton on the subject of the Olney bypass. Jim read from a statement he had submitted to the Milton Keynes Core Strategy examination hearing. Jim said as a resident of Olney he attended the MK South Midlands Panel but was not allowed to say anything at the examination. The point he had made in the written submission was that all the development of urban areas north, south, east and west of Olney was having a hugely detrimental effect on Olney with traffic getting ever worse. Jim said he was ignored, and the panel in fact allowed no transport schemes, other than those in the then governmentʼs short term plans. This was a pathetic response from so called professionals to a long term planning exercise, he said, and in his opinion there can be no stronger case for a bypass anywhere in the country than Olney. Jimʼs full submission can be downloaded from http://www.milton- keynes.gov.uk/planning-policy/documents/RE P-269971-
George Horncastle, Secretary of the club spoke next and said whist he accepted that the bench was for the benefit of elderly members of the community it would be bound to attract other people and the club would be blamed for disorderly behaviour of customers leaving adjacent licensed premises.
House Club (formally Olney Working Menʼs Club) spoke about the proposal to position a bench outside of the club. For information, this has been the subject of discussions by the council for many years. Many elderly people have complained that there is no where to sit and rest whist making the long walk along the High Street and the council have been looking to find a suitable location for a bench. Richard said that one of the license conditions of the club was that members should leave the club in a quiet and orderly manner. Although the club has a smoking area within the grounds he was concerned that a bench at the front would encourage members who wished to smoke to sit on the bench and also take
For information, this building has been empty since the Derby House Saddlery vacated the premises a year ago. It is a building of significant local importance and history, having been the site of J.W. and E. Sowman which was established as an ironmongers in 1888 and went on to become a large emporium, finally being sold to Burgessʼ in 1962. Burgessʼ left the town in 1984. Real Estate Advisors Savills have lodged two planning applications with respect to the premises. The first is to convert the upper floor into four two bedroom residential apartments. The second is for a change of use from a shop (use Class A1) to a café (mixed A1/A3) for occupation by a branch of Caffé Nero. In the Planning Statement Savills referred back to similar change of use applications which had been granted in Olney over the last 12 years. They also listed a number of national appeal decisions which had established the justification for change to mixed A1/A3, which some councillors found somewhat intimidating. MKC ward councillor Peter Geary reminded the members that objections could only be made on planning grounds rather than the impact it would have on local businesses. However, the council might decide that there are already enough similar businesses nearby and any more would change the character of the town, in which case an objection might be justified. Multi-national companies like Savills and Caffé Nero have huge financial resources to appeal against any rejections he said,
Best Kept Village 2012
Although Olney is a town it is eligible for entry to this competition and this year won the Michaelis Cup for small towns. The competition awards are for Best Kept towns/villages, not beautiful villages, and care, cleanliness, maintenance and community effort were what the judges were looking for when they visited in June. There will be a brief presentation ceremony at the Olney Centre on 8th September. Mercury noted, somewhat ironically, that Savills is one of the sponsors of the competition!
Planning application for Derby House
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40 Phonebox Magazine