Page 30 - Phonebox Magazine November 2015

Mercury Report
Prior to the meeting the members assembled for the annual Olney Town Council (OTC) official photograph so they were in their
best bib and tucker and posh frocks. Some were even wearing clean jeans and t-shirt!
Public participation
There were no residents wishing to speak at this month’s meeting but Peter Gage was present to check up on progress of the school minibus parking issue.
Oakdown Crescent
It would appear that 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). Deirdre Bethune said that Sue Warren had been trying to speak to David Hall of MKC on behalf of the residents but had been unable to make contact. Ward Councillor Peter Geary said he would investigate and report back.
School minibus parking
As reported last month in Public Participation, Peter Gage drives a school minibus for Brocks and spoke of his safety concerns regarding parking around Olney Middle School at the end of the day when he cannot park close to the school to pick up his passengers. This month a discussion took place as to what could be done to resolve the problem. Town Clerk Liam Costello wondered if a parking space could be found away from the school and a ‘walking bus’ implemented so that the students walk to it in a single group. Deirdre Bethune noted that this was what happened in the past when busses parked in Moores Hill and staff would escort the students to them and wondered why it had stopped. It was noted that parents very often park in the space reserved for the larger buses so there was no guarantee that the same thing would not happen in any space reserved for the minibus. Colin Rodden said that nationally some schools are training staff to give out parking violation tickets and wondered if MKC might consider implementing this. Peter Geary felt that it was unlikely that OMS staff would want to do this and also thought it unlikely that MKC would be able to get existing traffic wardens to attend regularly enough to make 30 Phonebox Magazine
any difference. He suggested that the school should be encouraged to adopt a Walk to School scheme in order to change the culture of parents driving their children to school. Eventually it was agreed that the school Head was best placed to appeal to parents to obey the existing parking restrictions.
Youth Centre Community Asset Transfer
AS reported last month OTC is considering applying to acquire the Youth Centre under the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) scheme, the idea being that OTC would own the building and rent it to the Youth Club and other groups as a community building, rather than just a Youth Centre. Jeremy Rawlings was actioned to put together a Business Case so that OTC is fully aware of the financial implications and any liabilities. As a precursor to this Jeremy presented the Income and Expenditure Account for last Financial Year, together with a list of regular club users and hirers. The main point to note, he said, was that currently the centre receives a grant from MKC of £13.7k which would be lost if the transfer goes ahead. He also noted that during the summer many hirers preferred to use the large playing field but also hired the building in case of inclement
weather. Joe Stacey pointed out that the draft Neighbourhood Plan had earmarked land in this area for health and community use, which could include a new GP surgery. This started something of a heated discussion with some members saying that this was by no means a done deal and Jeremy said that Joe was the only person who seemed to think that it was. Joe reiterated the point that the Neighbourhood Plan had identified the need for additional surgery space and that the land in question would appear to fit the bill as a possible site as it was proposed to be for health and community use. Peter Geary observed that if the transfer of the building took place it would be on the basis of use solely as a youth centre and if OTC chose to use it for anything else then MKC might decide to ‘claw back’ some of its contribution to the transfer. In the end it was agreed to start the transfer process and, if it was later decided that it wasn’t financially viable, pull out of the process.
Planning gain from Sainsbury’s development
Although the planning application process has not yet been completed OTC has been in discussion with MKC about how the Section 106 Developer Contribution might be spent.
A Wonderful Open Weekend!
S
and Sunday, a jazz band playing throughout the weekend, guided tours, craft activities and games on tablet computers for young people and children, and many displays and videos about the work of church based organisations both locally and across the world.
The extension which has taken nearly a year to be completed features a welcoming open area which has tables and chairs, and doors opening onto a patio area which is ideal for refreshments and mingling. This leads to an enlarged hall and kitchen, there are also improved toilet facilities. Upstairs there are rooms which will be used for our children and youth work, as well as other activities. On Sunday morning we had a thanksgiving and
utcliff Baptist Church celebrated the opening of it’s new extension by having an open weekend, there were tea,
coffee and cakes throughout Saturday