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24 Phonebox Magazine | March 2025While February is the shortest and dullest month for many, it is one of the busiest months in local politics, as it is when councils set their budgets. This is where the priorities of the Council are set out, where they decide how much tax they need to take from us all to fund their services and their priorities. The current fi nancial year in Milton Keynes has been very diffi cult, with the Council overspending by %u00a310 million; there had to be signifi cant cuts and increases in charges. During the year, Milton Keynes City Council implemented many in-year cuts, including stopping tea and coff ee for the staff of the Council, but they still had enough money to change the signs in the civic offi ces to a diff erent colour. The cuts agreed this year include over 100 members of the staff being made redundant, several effi ciency measures including using Artifi cial Intelligence technology to write minutes of meetings.Keith and Peter represent the Conservative Party, which is in opposition to the Labour Party, which runs the Council. As councillors we all get the chance to infl uence the budget and to make suggestions of changes that will help our areas and the wider city. Changes that the Conservative Group proposed this year include:Delaying for one year the increased charges proposed for people in Council sheltered accommodation, as the Council tries to cut employment costs. This would mean an increase of between %u00a311 and %u00a324 per week for residents. Our aim was to get this reviewed to fi nd other ways this could be funded or costs mitigated.The budget proposes cutting almost all the youth workers the Council provides with no idea of how this would impact young people across the city.Everyone who has more than one green bin will now have to pay extra for every extra bin. We asked that churches should be exempt from this. This would have cost no more than %u00a32,000, money which could be better spent in the communities. They refused even to do this.As councillors for this area, Keith and Peter also used the budget to try to get extra funding for Lavendon to prevent fl ooding by tabling two amendments, fi rstly asking for %u00a31.5 million to fund the building of fl ood attenuation bunds around the village. We proposed this should be paid for by borrowing money and paying the interest from a fund used to put on events in central Milton Keynes. The Administration refused. The approach the Council is taking, which is unfortunately backed by Debbie Whitworth, is to ask the Environment Agency (EA) to pay for the bunds to be built. On the face of it, this is reasonable. However we were advised by Council offi cers it will take at least eight years to progress through the EA bureaucracy, and due to its relatively small size, the scheme is unlikely to be approved.Keith and Peter believe that this needs to be funded now. It should have been built nine years ago; funding had been allocated from Council resources, but these %u2018disappeared%u2019. We cannot wait another eight years with no certainty it will be granted then. How many more times does the village have to fl ood before we get things built? Debbie%u2019s backing of her political leadership in the Council, rather than local residents, is highly regrettable.The second amendment was to ask for %u00a35,000 to provide gel bags to help protect properties in any future fl oods before the bunds are built; this was also refused. The Leader of the Council suggested that the precept for Lavendon be raised to fund this %u2013 this would not be necessary if the scheme had been delivered in 2016 as originally approved.Further news on fl ooding in Lavendon. The EA has granted %u00a3150,000 to Lavendon for fl ood prevention scheme works; this is the same amount that was secured in 2022 by former MP Ben Everitt. We are working to fi nd out what the status is of the money that was granted in 2022, whether this is more money or if it is just a repeat of the announcement, as the Council has not drawn down the original allocation, let alone spent it. Olney Ward Councillor Corner CONTACT DEBBIE:Tel: 07494 681907 / debbie.whitworth@miltonkeynes.gov.ukMy ward surgeries are every Tuesday, 10am-12pm at the Olney Centre. No need to book, just pop along.Cllr Debbie WhitworthOlney Ward Councillor CornerCllr Keith McLean Cllr Peter GearyCONTACT US: Keith: 07983 456081 keith.mclean@milton-keynes.gov.uk :: Peter: 07774 939404 peter.geary@milton-keynes.gov.ukRecyclingCurrently, MKCC are looking at ways to improve our reuse and recycling services in the city.%u00a0Our three current waste sites at Newport Pagnell, Bleak Hall and New Bradwell are all very outdated now and were built between 1975 and 1982. These three sites cannot be expanded to increase capacity as needed for a growing city, and they also cannot be adapted to the level needed to meet current and future health and safety regulations.Because of these reasons, MKCC is proposing two new super sites, which will be brand new, larger and cleaner, reuse and recycling centres suitable for a modern city %u2013 one in Wolverton, the other in Snelshall.%u00a0It is important to note that before any new sites are built, this will have to go through the planning process. Because of the public interest in these sites, it is likely that it will go to a full planning committee. Residents and parish councils will have the opportunity to register objections and speak in advance and at this meeting.As your ward councillor, I note the concerns raised around whether this decision will cause a rise in fl y-tipping, but I need to emphasise that this concern is raised every and anytime we change anything to do with the HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre) and the way they operate and there has never been any evidence to indicate fl ytipping will rise as a result.%u00a0In relation to distance to the new sites, we are making sure that the council is following best practice guidance where possible, which proposes that a reasonable journey time for a residential property to a HWRC is 20 minutes or under in urban areas, and for a rural property this is 30 minutes or under. From Olney High Street to the Colts Holm Road, which is where the new site is proposed to be located in Wolverton, I have confi rmed that this journey is currently an 18-minute drive.%u00a0Lavendon fl oodingIt is fantastic news that by working properly with our partners we have been able to secure %u00a3150,000 for Lavendon to help fund fl ood prevention measures. I have written to the parish council asking them to work with our offi cers to establish a Flood Resilience Forum to access the funding and for swift action as quickly as possible to ensure plans are in place if a fl ooding incident happens again. I%u2019ll also carry on working with MKCC offi cers and the Environment Agency as they assess the case of any larger fl ood defence schemes.%u00a0This is just a pinch of the money that we need to solve the problem, but it is really key that we can establish a group which will help open the opportunities for funding up, and to be able to use the grants that we have been given. I really hope that we can all work together, residents, councillors and the Parish, to get the ball moving.%u00a0Sheltered Housing wardens in MKTo allay fears, I%u2019d like to reassure residents that there are no plans to axe the service.%u00a0 Currently there is a large variation between schemes on the level of service a warden provides.%u00a0There is already a charge for the service, but they vary across sites and can%u2019t be claimed back through the benefi ts system.%u00a0The results of the service redesign will see a standardised warden service across all sites. Some will see hours go down; others will see hours go up.