Page 32 - Phonebox Magazine April 2013

OLNEY
Richard Duffill in the post. Tonight he was attending the Council meeting to discuss various Highways issues in the town.
Parking in Oakdown Crescent is a longstanding and contentious issue. Andrew agreed that there was severe pressure on parking there, as had been made clear to him by Ward Councillors Peter Geary and Debbie Brock and stated that, if there was a simple solution, itʼd be in place by now. Peter Geary outlined three current ideas, each with highly approximate ballpark figures:
decision was made on the night, but one or both systems will be trialled during a real Council meeting.
Fields
MERCURY REPORT
Liam noted that the hedge laying on Crouchʼs Field has been completed. Also, the gate into Crouchʼs Field has been moved to comply with the right of way through to Nichols Field – the field to the East of Crouchʼs Field beside the river.
Claire Wood addressed Councillors about the Church Hall on High Street South. The Church has been considering how the Hall could be better used, and aims to make it meet some of the needs within Olney and be more part of the townʼs community. Itʼs identified some projects to help it meet this aim: a Memory Club for those in the early stages of memory degeneration, a Youth Milkshake Café with two separate strands – to provide a place for secondary school young people to meet after school (initially weekly) and to provide training for them – and New Skill for those who need basic skills training, for example those recently bereaved whose partners had provided for them before. To achieve these projects, some changes to the Church Hall will be starting shortly, including improved access, improved toilet and shower facilities, a new meeting room, a mezzanine floor and a meeting area. Kitchener Centre
• A new road running from Dagnall Road through The Pyghtle to serve the properties which face it, £250,000.
There was a brief discussion about the proposed extension to the East Street Car Park, particularly including how it would adjoin the proposed fencing around the Recreation Ground football pitch. Joe Stacey noted that, while a concrete path is planned to go all the way round the pitch, thatʼs not an FA requirement – the FA requires hard standing on only two sides. He suggested instead that the path at the East Street end could be removed from the proposals, thus creating more space for parking which currently looks pretty tight. Although the Football Club does have planning permission, and OTC as landlord has given its permission, OTC could change its permission if the Council felt that section of the path should not be included. The Council will discuss the issue with the Football Club. Community Asset Transfer and the Olney Centre
Ann Lark and Nick Stacey from Age UK attended the meeting to discuss the Kitchener Centre, a day care centre for vulnerable older people from in and around Olney. Age UK has been managing the Centre under contract to Milton Keynes Council (MKC) since 2000. The contract to manage the Kitchener Centre and another day care centre in Bletchley, currently run by the British Red Cross (BRC), has been out for competitive tender, the bid process having just been completed. Itʼs not yet known who has won the contract, but Ann and Nick provided background information on what might happen next. First, the BRC did not submit a bid for the Bletchley centre, as running day care centres no longer fits with its national agenda. Second, and most important for Olney, the contract value specified by MKC is significantly below that which Age UK believes is required to continue to offer the current level of service at the Kitchener Centre. Age UK has been given notice to leave the Kitchener Centre later this year unless this issue is resolved. Responding to the clear, though not fully articulated, implications for the standard of care being offered, David Rumens, of Senior Voice MK and previously Olney Town Council (OTC), said his organisation would apply as much pressure to MKC as it could, and will also keep in contact with OTC on the subject. Olney Councillors were also clearly concerned about this issue.
As is usual for this issue, a good deal of discussion followed. The main points were that Peter Geary felt OTC should propose a solution, Andrew wanted to understand the problem and have MKC work out the best solution and, when pushed by Ron Bull, Andrew said the issue would be addressed by the end of March 2014. Finally, Debbie Brock noted that the investigative work done so far hadnʼt gone to waste – it would still be useful when choosing the best way forward. The Olney Traffic Management Review in 2008 included the idea of having one-way systems in East Street and West Street. Andrew felt that using a one-way system to calm traffic was an odd idea, since evidence shows that such systems in fact make people drive 5-10 MPH faster. Based on the brief discussion which followed, which saw various Councillors expressing safety concerns regarding East Street, itʼs hard to see the one-way idea progressing further.
Back in February 2012, Alan Richardson stated and Peter Geary confirmed that the Olney Centre was not an asset which would be affected by the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) scheme, as it was not MKCʼs asset to transfer. Now, however, legal opinions about this differ.
In the background, OTCʼs letter to MKC regarding the possibility of an extension has now received a reply, any consideration being put on hold until the end of June when the contract commissioning process should be near completion.
Highways
Andrew Jackman is the new Team Leader for Traffic Management at MKC, having replaced
Mercury thanks Peter Geary and Liam Costello for background information on this topic.
32 Phonebox Magazine
The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 8th 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.
• A car park in the (retained) garden of 102 Weston Road, £85,000.
• A residentsʼ parking scheme in Oakdown Crescent, £5,000.
Regarding potholes, Andrew explained that the Highways Authority has a duty to maintain roads in a safe condition. All roads are inspected regularly at least once a year. Defects, whether spotted during inspections or reported by members of the public, are dealt with in 24 hours if classified as dangerous or 28 days otherwise. The general condition of the roads has been contributed to by bad winters causing water which has penetrated the road to freeze and lift the surface. Insufficient maintenance on a national basis hasnʼt helped either. MKC is developing plans for a pothole month, likely April, during which the Council would deploy many road gangs to blitz the problem.
Fairʼs fair
OTC agreed to requests to hold the annual fair on the Recreation Ground between Wednesday 19th and Saturday 22nd June, and the Cherry Fair on the Glebe on Saturday 29th June.
Olney Centre facilities
Great news for those who attend Council meetings but, by the end, feel like theyʼve missed out on the interesting bits. OTC has received quotes to improve the Olney Centreʼs facilities for the hard of hearing. One quote was for a fixed system, building on the hearing aid induction loop already fitted in the Council Chamber and supplying boundary microphones and an amplifier. The other also provided microphones but, instead of using the existing induction loop, provided earphones and two mini loops which the hard of hearing could wear around their necks. No
The Olney Centre is held in a trust and, until recently, was believed to be owned by that trust and not by MKC, even though the trustees are wholly that Council. Day to day, MKC is responsible for certain aspects of the repair of the building while OTC is responsible for other aspects.
East Street Car Park
The ownership of the Centre has been challenged, with the Queenʼs Counsel (QC) and the Charity Commission having been asked for advice. The QCʼs advice was that the Olney Centre was the property of the trust and hence could not be transferred. However, the Charity Commission believes that, since around £400 was paid on the transfer of the building in 1870, it seems to have been purchased by the predecessor to Buckinghamshire County Council, then reverted to that Council when it formed, and then to MKC in 1996. It is therefore currently thought that the property could be transferred under the CAT programme to a community organisation or group such as OTC.
MKC is to arrange a Public Meeting at the Olney Centre at 6.00pm on Wednesday 22nd May to explain CAT and how it affects the Olney Centre. This may well be a very interesting meeting.