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Mercury's reports that were available in 2021

  • Mercury's reports for December 2020 (as printed in our January 2021 edition)

    Mercury's reports for December 2020 (as printed in our January 2021edition)

    January 2021 edition (December 2020 report)

    COVID Crisis Meetings
    For the duration of the COVID crisis meetings of Olney Town Council will be held as online audio meetings using Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can listen to the proceedings and view the presentations by clicking on a link on the OTC web page www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk Click on the ‘Meetings’ tab and scroll down to the announcement about the next meeting where you will find a link to the agenda and another to join the meeting. A recording will also be available for a few days following the meeting.

    Public participation
    In the absence of the opportunity to speak at public meetings, the public may submit written items to the clerk to be read out. Mercury would normally name those who speak at an open meeting unless they specifically ask not to be identified. Under the new regime the clerk redacts the names from any correspondence and official minutes, although the authors can request that their names are published in the Mercury report. Only one such request has been received this month, so Mercury assumes that all other correspondents prefer to remain anonymous. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings said there were six emails to be read.

    The first email was missed from last month’s meeting for which Jeremy apologised. The email was requesting that OTC produce a Town Plan which would have a wider scope than the existing Neighbourhood Plan. Jeremy explained that this would be discussed as an agenda item later in the meeting.

    The next email was regarding rubbish bags being put out on the High Street as early as Thursday evening. The correspondent thought this unhygienic and liable to encourage vermin and stated that bags should be put out no earlier than 5 pm on Sunday evening. Ward Councillor Peter Geary said that the issue had been reported to Milton Keynes Council (MKC) and Clerk Andrea Vincent said that any resident with similar concerns could report them via the MKC portal. The email also expressed concern about vehicles speeding on the High Street and said that traffic calming would be most welcome.

    The third email was concerning the use of the OTC land east of the allotments where, according to the correspondent, OTC is considering granting permission for a football training pitch. The Allotment Association are in the process of submitting a proposal for an orchard to the west of the field and hope that the rest of the field can be left as an eco-friendly wildflower meadow. This would be better for the environment and would help reduce Olney’s carbon footprint as it would not require mechanised mowing, bearing in mind the council’s declared Climate Emergency. Considerable justification for this proposal was listed and the correspondent concluded by saying that in time the area could become an attractive and tranquil area. Later in the meeting, Desmond Eley said that there had been no council resolution to change the use of the field from wild meadow whilst there was no other demand for its use but as the town develops there is a greater demand for sports pitches. Any such change would be discussed by the Development Group he said. Creating wild meadows is expensive in itself because it needs to be cut by heavy machinery and the mowings removed twice a year to stop them rotting down and fertilising the land. This, plus the loss of rental from the sports pitch would be a great expense to the council. The majority of OTC-owned land, consisting of Barnfield and The Goosey, is already wild meadow he said. The cutting is necessary because the land has been found to be very high in nutrients, having been over-fertilised. It will take at least five years of cutting and mowing to make it suitable as wild meadow. Peter Geary said in his expert opinion it would be decades before the land could become wild meadow as the nutrient level is well above that of even agricultural land. Such nutrients do not leach away and can only be removed by continual growing and cutting, he said, and all that would grow in the meantime are pernicious weeds such as thistles and nettles.

    The fourth email appeared to be from the Allotment Association stating that the lock on the eco toilets had been damaged and hoped that this “wasn’t the work of the person who quoted the allotment toilets at the previous meeting” in an email regarding access to the toilets by allotment holders that are not members of the association. The toilets had been erected by a lottery grant and fundraising by the association, not OTC, the correspondent said and were maintained solely by the association. To change the management to OTC control would set a precedent to other organisations in the town. Jeremy said that there were no plans to do this as the facility was for allotment ‘users’ only although there seemed some confusion as the original debate had been around access to the toilets by non-members of the association.

    The fifth email related to the discussion at last month’s meeting re plots of land that have recently been identified as belonging to OTC and the possibility of creating a Community Land Trust for local housing. The correspondent requested confirmation that the land would be gifted without charge or any element of retained council ownership and asked why OTC would require council representation on the trust when such a trust’s activities are legally defined. Jeremy explained that this would be discussed later in the meeting.
    The last email, also relating to the plots of land asked that OTC draw up a map of all of them and displayed in the Olney Centre so that residents could use it as a reference source, since there is a great deal of interest in the matter. David Pibworth has contacted The Phonebox and asked to be identified as the originator of this email.

    Planning matters
    An application has been made for an extension to a house in Stonepit Close and a neighbour has raised an objection. The extension will extend up to the boundary of a shared driveway which Steve Clark agreed with the objector’s opinion that it might make access to other properties difficult for larger vehicles and will reduce the amount of car parking space available from four to two, due to relocation of the parking space to the front of the property. Steve also agreed with the objector that the extension would also have an impact on the nature of the cul-de-sac. Chris Tennant expressed concern that this might be a breach of MKC’s off-street parking standards and could lead to additional roadway parking. Peter Geary agreed and recommended that the MKC Planning officer was made aware of this concern and it was agreed to write to MKC accordingly.
    Chris Tennant gave an update on five detailed planning applications concerning the mixed commercial development on Wellingborough Road, being marketed as Olney Park by Angle Properties. The plans include a 66-bed care home, a hotel, car showroom, office space, industrial units and a nursery. The applications dealt with infrastructure and access, drainage, phasing, and relocation of elements from outline planning permission. Colin Rodden reminded councillors that the council had had previous dealing with Angle Properties on the ‘Sainsbury’s’ site which had resulted in the company gaining planning permission for residential development on the site in contravention of the Neighbourhood plan (NP). Could they do the same thing on this site, he asked? Chris replied that the plans being considered were compliant with the NP and there was nothing to indicate otherwise. Peter Geary said that now the principle of development on the site had been determined there is nothing to stop Angle Properties coming back at a later date with a different application. A much-guarded discussion followed and there seemed to be deep suspicion that this might happen so Chris Tennant suggested that the applicant be asked the question.
    The next application was regarding the 250-home development on Yardley Road by Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes. The applicants had originally requested permission for a temporary off-site construction compound to the north of the site, but OTC had objected because it was outside of the agreed settlement boundary of the town in a farmer’s field. This had been withdrawn and replaced by a request for split compounds within the planning application boundary (but closer to existing homes, noted Mercury). The original construction access was to be along the farmer’s track to the rear of properties in Woodpits Lane, which OTC had objected to, and that has now been amended to move further away from those properties.

    Parking outside Olney Infant Academy
    As a school governor, Jeremy Rawlings introduced this item to note complaints from residents of Spinney Hill Road about inconsiderate parking by some parents dropping off and collecting children from school. He said he had been contacted by two residents, one of them an on-call emergency worker, who had suffered verbal abuse when challenging motorists who had parked across their driveway. Jeremy said the school had regularly sent out letters to parents asking them not to block driveways, which usually worked for a while but then the problem reoccurred. He said he had asked the PCSOs to visit the area and encouraged residents to report any instances of abuse to the police. Steve Clark, as an ex-governor, said in the past parents had been asked to use the old car park on the other side of Spinney Hill Road. It would probably be worth the school including a map to show the location of the old car park in any letters, he thought.
    Andrea Vincent reported that emergency repairs are required to two walls at the Olney Centre, which have become very dilapidated, partly because previous repairs had not been performed correctly. It appears that cement had been used, so quotes were being obtained for a ‘dry stone wall’ repair. There is considerable variation in the quotes and a rather confused conversation followed so Desmond Eley suggested that the quotes be documented in a clear and concise way and revisited at the January meeting, which was agreed.

    The Olney Centre heating is in need of some urgent maintenance. A leak occurred under the floor of the pre-school and when it was fixed the heating for much of the rest of the building was found to be ‘unserviceable’. The work will require the re-routing of some of pipework to now be exposed above the floor and there was concern that they would need some sort of protection for safety reasons. Andrea said that they would be lagged rather than boxed in because the number of bends meant that there would need to be several access points. Colin Rodden was concerned that this would look rather ‘industrial’ bearing in mind that the centre is used for weddings and other events. Again, there is a huge variation in the quotations. The cheapest was considerably cheaper than the rest but was from a reputable company with several testimonials. Paul Collins suspected that heating companies in general were busy at present and inflated quotes might have been provided. It was agreed to accept the cheapest quote subject to detailed investigation.

    Covid Marshall plan
    Andrea Vincent presented a plan to use funding from central government, via MKC, to deploy COVID Marshals in the town whose role would be to chiefly serve as a friendly and reassuring face in public places, providing advice and guidance to the public. Some would be deployed on weekend evenings when footfall to hospitality venues is at its busiest. They will be tasked with visiting pubs and other hospitality establishments to check that COVID-19 Secure measures are in place. Actions would include checking whether pubs have door staff to manage entry and exit, checking whether social distancing measures were in place in businesses, ensuring that track and trace customer information collection was taking place, and noting any large gatherings. The role would be strictly one of observation and advice, and marshals would be not authorised to intervene in issues of enforcement. The intention was to use existing OTC groundsmen plus public volunteers, including OTC councillors. Joanne Eley observed that the marshals would be powerless, and many police forces were baffled by the role. It could give rise to confrontational situations and no amount of guidance would modify the behaviour of those who did not want to comply. Is Olney in need of this, she asked? Having consulted local retailers, they felt the money would be better spent proving masks and hand sanitisers she said. A long discussion took place and no member expressed support for the scheme, although Colin Rodden thanked Andrea and Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy for their work in producing plan. Paul Collins observed that the Olney Covid Support Group had 300 volunteers so surely they could provide 10 for this, if required? He would not want to use the already overstretched council ground staff as marshals, he said. Eventually, it was decided that OTC would invite volunteers from other organisations to fulfil the role but would not be providing resource itself. The funding would be used to obtain items such as high viz vests, masks and hand sanitiser which would be passed to the volunteers to use and distribute.

    OTC Strategic Plan
    Jeremy Rawlings introduced the draft plan, saying that it is a plan to provide a medium to long term vision of where the council want to be in three to six years’ time and how they want to engage with the public. Desmond Eley thought it ‘a good starter for ten’ and suggested that councillors take time to read and review it and then bring back to a future meeting. Mercury observed that this document was more of a plan for the council, rather than a plan for the town which had been requested in the email from the resident discussed in Public Participation.
    Town Clerk’s report
    Andrea presented the report, noting that the ground staff are fully employed at present. Colin Rodden enquired if there is any intention to employ more staff as he was concerned that they might be overloaded. As chair of Recs and Services Desmond Eley said he regularly spoke to the staff who were happy with the workload and any additional seasonal work would be covered by contractors.
    The recreation ground toilets have been vandalised for the third time in as many weeks at apparently the same time of day each time. Repairs are costing around £200 each time and it is unlikely that the council’s insurers will continue to cover the repair costs without a hike in premiums so Andrea suggested that the toilets should be closed at lunch time. A discussion took place as to how the vandalism could be prevented, including use of CCTV, but eventually it was agreed that they should be closed at lunchtime.

    Freedom of Information Act 2000 request
    Joanne Eley thanked the staff for being ‘fantastic’ in supporting the town and councillors during the pandemic. In her HR report she said that social media and ‘local press’ comment regarding the lack of response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request was a misrepresentation of the situation. The council office has replied and complied, she said and the ICO have been consulted and the matter is now closed. The complainant had been advised and had the right to appeal but did not appear to have done so, she said.
    If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk:
    townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk
    If you would like to be identified as the originator of any correspondence to that meeting in the Mercury report please contact The Phonebox at:
    editor@phoneboxmagazine.com.

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  • February 2021 edition (January 2021 Meeting)

    Mercury report for the Council Meeting of January 2021 as printed in our February edition

    January 2021 Meeting

    Public access to meetings
    For the duration of the COVID-19 restrictions, meetings of Olney Town Council (OTC) will be held online as audio meetings using Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can listen to the proceedings by surfing to the OTC web page, www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk, clicking on the ‘Meetings’ tab and scrolling down to the announcement about the next meeting, where there’ll be one link to the agenda and another to join the meeting listen-only.
    If you would like to be identified in the Mercury report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact Phonebox Magazine
    at editor@phoneboxmagazine.com.

    Public participation
    The first communication was entitled “Amazing Olney Heritage Trail”. Organised by the Archaeological Society, Cowper and Newton Museum, Olney Circular Walk, and Olney and District History Society, this is a project to make Olney’s history more accessible to the community. It may also encourage visitors to spend more time in the town, exploring local shops and businesses. The proposed project aims to make a trail around the town, signed by informative interpretation panels, accompanied by a downloadable map of the trail and, hopefully, also QR-code driven facilities. The groups involved would part-fund the project and offer their time and expertise, and it was hoped the Council would fund the approx. £15,000 cost. Recognising that money was tight at the moment, the letter noted that the time feels right for the town to come together around a project which would “shine a light” and look to the future.
    The second item read “Dear Mr. Mayor, I would like to ask again why your Council has not met their obligation under the Local Government Transparency Code. There is a requirement to publish, on a quarterly basis, details of all tenders and contracts exceeding £5,000 and all items of expenditure exceeding £500. I should like to be identified as the author of this request. My understanding is that NALC guidance states that members of the public speaking at meetings should be named in the minutes. Finally, I would welcome details of your response to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ruling IC-52639-C8L9, as referenced in the January Phonebox Mercury report, as I don’t see it on the agenda for the January meeting.”

    Jeremy commented on the main three points this raised:

    • Re the obligations under the Local Government Transparency Code, OTC does publish on a quarterly basis all tenders and contracts exceeding £5,000, but there hadn’t been one for some considerable time. However, one had been awarded in December, for heating repairs in the Olney Centre, and that would appear on the website in due course. Re items of expenditure, the Council was a little behind with publishing these, but they will become available on the website. Remote working and resulting lack of access are presenting additional challenges currently.

    • Re the contributor being named in the minutes, Jeremy said he couldn’t find anything in the NALC guidance stating members of the public should be named in the minutes. OTC had also taken advice from other Councils, none of whom name public speakers in their minutes. If the meetings were taking place physically, the contributor would obviously be able to identify themselves but, again, their identity would not be included in the minutes. OTC believes this is the correct and proper way to handle this, compliant with GDPR regulations.

    • Finally, OTC believes it has fully responded to the ICO ruling. The information on the Information Commissioner’s website is not complete and OTC would be taking the matter up, citing additional emails and exchanges it’d since had with the ICO, which conclude this ruling. Again, he said, the ruling is not complete on the website. This would be dealt with over the next week or so.

    Declarations of interest
    Desmond Eley declared an interest in a later item on wall repairs, one of those who’d submitted a tender being a personal friend. Graham Harrison declared an interest in the Community Orchard item, his wife having an allotment in the town.

    Allotment Field Community Orchard
    The Council had received a proposal from the Olney Allotment Association for the creation of a Community Orchard. Graham Harrison outlined the proposal. The Allotment Association proposed to apply for planning permission to plant a Community Orchard consisting of heritage apple trees on a strip of land, approx. 150m x 12m, adjacent to and East of the allotments, naming the Orchard “Amazing Grace” in support of the 250th anniversary celebrations due in 2023. In addition, it proposed to support the continued management and rewilding of the remaining Allotment Field as a wildflower meadow. It believed the resulting space would be a great asset for the community.
    The Orchard, estimated creation cost around £5,000, would not result in a cost to OTC – the Allotment Association is raising its own funds. The Orchard would be fenced, and have a footpath through it with seating and display boards.
    Graham proposed and Steve Clark seconded that OTC support this proposal. Jeremy Rawlings asked whether that the proposal was effectively asking OTC for the use of the land, which Graham confirmed. Desmond Eley, in favour of the proposal, wanted to check whether this land could in fact be used for an orchard instead of allotments. Chris Tenant and Peter Geary did not think there would be any planning issues, Chris noting that the Orchard did not represent an Eastern limit to the allotments – if the area did expand, it’d simply have a strip of orchard within it.
    Colin Rodden asked if community consultation was required before moving forward. Jeremy felt this was not needed, the strip already being allotment land. Also, as noted by Joanne Eley, the proposal had effectively come from the community, with the community, specifically the Allotment Association, having done all the work. Peter Geary noted that the high level of fertility in the Allotment Field would make it difficult to establish a wildflower meadow for a significant time – a plan to strip nutrient out of the soil would be required. Desmond asked whether, given the history of the site as a football pitch, Milton Keynes Council (MKC) might expect parking to be provided. Peter Geary did not think this would be the case – people would walk to an orchard.
    Councillors voted unanimously in favour of this proposal.

    Town Meeting
    The Town meeting is proposed to be held online, Friday 16th April. The Council is working with its IT provider, hoping to give the public the opportunity to ask questions live during the meeting. The proposed date necessarily falls before that of the next local elections, Thursday 6th May, with the first meeting of the resulting new Council Monday 10th May.

    Wall repairs
    Three walls, one at the Olney Centre and two the Cemetery, required emergency repair and three quotes had been obtained. MKC has a duty to maintain the Cemetery walls, had seen the quotes and said it’d be happy to pay its part of whichever OTC chose. Andrea Vincent, Town Clerk, believed MKC had previously had work done poorly, requiring remedial work, and was thus keen to have this repair done properly.
    Desmond Eley believed that Quote B, the most expensive, was for significantly more work than the others, this difference in scope making it hard to judge value for money. Andrea explained that all three companies had visited site, judged the work required and come to different conclusions. She felt the company which had judged the most work to be required had included work to stabilise the whole wall concerned, rather than addressing only the specific issue requested.
    After some time spent discussing these differences, Desmond noting the quandary over job scope and that he was no expert in wall repair, Andrea felt it was a choice between having the job done completely and lasting a long time, or partially with more work required soon after as a result. Peter Geary noted that most of the variability between the quotes was in fact for the Cemetery walls, which MKC would pay for – the variability for the Olney Centre walls was very much less. Peter also felt that Quote B, while not the cheapest, would be the most economically advantageous over time. Desmond, noting that he’d earlier declared an interest, meaning his hands were tied, felt Quote B gave the best value provided the resulting quality of work was good.
    Jeremy proposed, Peter seconded and Councillors voted unanimously to accept Quote B, Desmond abstaining.

    Returning Exclusive Rights of Burial
    Jeremy explained that this item had arisen because a member of the public had previously purchased an Exclusive Right of Burial (EROB) and now wanted to return it and receive money back. EROBs reserve a physical space in which to be buried, Olney’s issued in perpetuity. The rarity of someone wishing to return one meant there was no existing policy on the issue. Opting not to allow the EROB’s return would lead to a space between graves which could not be used.
    Steve Clark felt the Council should allow return, with the money back allowing for a handling charge to reflect the administrative work involved. Demand for EROBs would be ongoing, so it would not be hard to sell the space. Peter suggested the refund be 80% of the original purchase price. Paul Collins asked whether the administration required was significant, Andrea replying not. Colin felt the handling charge must not result in profit for the Council.
    After further discussion, Peter proposed, Desmond seconded and Councillors voted unanimously in favour of a policy allowing EROBs to be returned, refunding 80% of the price paid at purchase.

    Olney Town Council Strategic Plan
    Jeremy thanked Desmond for his work on the plan, and thoroughly recommended adopting it. Desmond, noting he’d taken the original supplied by Andrea and adapted it, thanked Jeremy for his feedback. Desmond asked if Councillors should vote to accept the plan as a draft, which the newly elected Council could then choose whether to adopt, or to adopt the plan, which the new Council could then decide what to do with. Peter suggested the latter would be the best policy, with a caveat that the six month rule should not apply, meaning the new Council, likely elected in May, could change it immediately if it saw fit. Steve felt the Council should adopt it in principle, with the suggestion it be reviewed annually.
    Desmond proposed, Jeremy seconded and Councillors voted unanimously to adopt the plan in principle, with the suggestion it be reviewed annually. It would be published shortly for all to see.

    Town Clerk’s Report
    A small water heater in the Pre School has leaked onto a hand drier, both having to be replaced. Works to update the Olney Centre heating system have been commissioned and will start Monday 11th January. The Markets continue to take place, each subject to the COVID restrictions in place at the time, although the January Farmers’ Market would not take place due to insufficient traders willing to attend. The ground staff continue to mow the grass – unusually, it had not been cold enough to pause its growth.
    The public toilets remain open, and the vandalism has abated. Graham noted the poor state of the fence between the allotments and the Allotment Field. While Andrea noted the Council was due to look at this, Graham felt it should be regarded in the context of the Community Orchard work, which itself included fencing there. A complaint had been received about a malicious Facebook post. Finally, Andrea concluded by noting a compliment received from a Market trader about how the Council was supporting the markets through the ups and downs of the COVID regulations.
    Joanne asked if it was correct that the Council had received several letters from the complainant associated with the ICO ruling. Andrea confirmed, noting the same complainant had been responsible for more than one ICO request. Joanne noted her concern about this. She then asked if the malicious Facebook post was the one recently discussed on social media. Andrea confirmed it was, noting the Council had posted a Christmas letter, under which a malicious follow-up comment had been posted under the Council’s Facebook account, thus suggesting it formed part of the Council’s Christmas message. It did not. The Council’s IT support is following this up, including tracking the IP address via which the post was made.
    Referring to the ICO request, Peter felt the Council should respond as the law says it should and, if it feels it has done, the Council’s job is completed. If the complainant is not satisfied, it is for them to take it up with the ICO, which may then choose to contact the Council again. He also noted that a person may make as many requests as they want. Re the Facebook post, once the person is identified, he felt they needed to be reported to the authorities, their actions being a clear breach of the law for which they deserved the consequences.

    Statement of Expenditure
    Here, Councillors had the chance to review the Statement of Expenditure. Paul questioned an £825 payment of professional fees to EMW Law, included under Administration / Legal fees. Andrea explained this was for a Human Resources (HR) issue, Paul feeling it should thus be included under HR Support. Paul also noted a couple of oddities in the Staff section, with two Pension charges rather than the expected one, and some maths related to staff salaries not adding up. These were felt due to administrative issues, which will be corrected.
    Desmond queried the £350 charge for Olney Centre / Electricity, given that the Centre was closed, asking if perhaps it was due to drying out costs following the heating leak. Andrea confirmed this, the drying out requiring five large dehumidifiers running continuously, some of the cost also due to portable electric heaters being used in place of the central heating. Paul asked whether the drying out costs were being covered under the insurance payout due to the leak, Andrea saying she’d check.

    Development Group update
    Chris Tenant reported that Angle Properties had given a useful presentation of their emerging proposals for the site off Warrington Road. Angle is looking to implement the outline planning permission granted in 2017, bringing this forward on a phased basis: infrastructure, employment, then a care home.
    Peter Geary explained that a stakeholder group had been set up by MKC to solve issues between OTC and a number of nearby residents, and the developer of the Aspreys site. The pre-Christmas flooding issue which affected, amongst other places, the Aspreys - Yardley Road - Driftway roundabout, and a section of Driftway to its North East, was discussed. As a result, on Christmas Eve, the developer dug a number of ponds on site, improving the situation should that much rain occur again in such short order. Peter explained that roads, gardens and garages had been flooded, but no homes. There was also a ditch between the old and newer parts of the Aspreys development, the drainage of which had never been properly finished. This must be resolved, he said, and that should happen in the next few weeks. Work on the development site had caused the flooding problem, and been admitted by the developer who was working to repair any damage caused. Chris thanked Councillors for the swift action taken when the flooding occurred. However, he noted that the flood mitigation measures taken on the site were temporary, the final works not being due for completion until April. Winter still has some way to run.
    Peter also discussed the Community Centre on the Aspreys development, recommending the Council appoint its own Quantity Surveyor, paid out of Section 106 monies, to ensure the proposed building offered good value for money. Desmond and Chris agreed.


    The next meeting will be held online on Monday 1st February, at 7.00pm. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk,
    townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

  • March 2021 edition (February 2021 meeting)

    Mercury report for the Council Meeting of February 2021 as printed in our March edition

    February 2021 meeting

    Public access to meetings
    For the duration of the COVID crisis, meetings of Olney Town Council (OTC) will be held as online audio meetings using Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can listen to the proceedings and view the presentations by clicking on a link on the OTC web page www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk. Click on the ‘Meetings’ tab and scroll down to the announcement about the next meeting where you will find a link to the agenda and another to join the meeting on view/listen only.

    Public Participation
    In the absence of the opportunity to speak at public meetings the public may submit written items to the clerk to be read out. Mercury would normally name those who speak at an open meeting unless they specifically ask not to be identified. Under the new regime the clerk redacts the names from any correspondence and official minutes, although the authors can request that their names are published in the Mercury report.
    The first communication came from the organisers of the Cherry Fair requesting permission to hold the event on the Glebe Field on 26th June 2021, recognising that it may not be possible for it to take place. Permission was granted, in principle, and it was agreed that Town Clerk Andrea Vincent would progress.
    The second item was regarding a previous request for a Town Plan to compliment the Neighbourhood Plan. The correspondent noted that his request had seemingly been hijacked and re-presented as a Strategic Plan for OTC. It is the facilities and provisions for residents of a fast expanding town which should be under discussion and not some memoranda for councillors, he thought. This letter was also published in the February edition of The Phonebox where the author identified himself as William Parlor. Mayor Jeremy Rawlings said the request would be dealt with by the Development Committee, rather than full council.

    Milton Keynes Council (MKC) New Councillor Code Of Conduct
    Jeremy Rawlings introduced this item, explaining that OTC would need to consider a revision of their Code of Conduct as a consequence. There were a number of changes, he said, particularly around the use of social media. MKC Ward Councillor Peter Geary said that MKC was currently scrutinising the document and felt it better for that to take its course and see what recommendations came forth and then adopt them for OTC. Jeremy proposed that it should then be discussed at next month’s OTC meeting.

    To Agree The Budget For 2021/2022 And The Precept
    For information, the precept is the sum collected from residents by MKC via the Council Tax which is returned to OTC to provide local services. As Chair of Finance Paul Collins presented the budget document, explaining that it had initially been formulated by himself and Town Clerk Andrea Vincent, followed by reviews with the Chairs of budget holding committees and then a final review to full council and finance committee. He said OTC was still recovering from the effects of poor historic financial management. The council does not have significant reserves on which to fall back but progress has been made over the past two years. Notwithstanding that the level of reserves is still below the level he though prudent for an authority of OTC’s size. It was essential to set a balanced and not a deficit budget and to rebuild reserves.
    Regarding income and expenditure, there was the issue of the Market Place refurbishment, long term decline in income from the Sunday and Thursday markets, plus the need for OTC to pay rates on the Market Place which had previously been paid by MKC. The Olney Centre is underused, which calls into question the need for a further Community Centre on the Yardley Road development. The ‘precept base’ would show growth in the future as the current pipeline of new housing is delivered. Open space income should be ‘relatively stable’, he said, as clubs have received government support.
    Provision has been made for anticipated legal costs, IT support, and the community newsletter. The cemetery costs now properly reflect the cost of cemetery maintenance, he said. £5000 per annum for the next three years has been granted to the museum for the Amazing Grace 250 year anniversary in 2022/23, the purpose of which is to encourage community groups to come forward with small-scale projects as part of those celebrations. Provision has been made for OTC by-elections, although the costs of the full-council elections in May will be paid for by MKC. Although it is difficult to budget in current circumstances Paul said that in the event of overprovision the net result would be to build up reserves so that the incoming council inherit financial stability and are able to look ahead rather than dealing with ‘legacy issues’ as had been necessary over the past two to three years.
    The precept will be set at £285k which on a tax base of 2580 households equates to £110.47 per Band D household, an increase of £9.58 per annum. This equates to approximately four cups of coffee over the year which he felt residents would not begrudge. Peter Geary thanked Paul saying that OTC was very nearly bankrupt, having run a deficit for six out of seven years and used up its reserves. Desmond Eley noted that there is a considerable list of outstanding work required on the renewals and maintenance of the Olney Centre and the modest amount already earmarked plus that in the budget would not cover the full extent of the work so more would be required in future years. The budget and increase in precept were passed unanimously.

    Documents previously suppressed by the Council
    Jeremy Rawlings introduced this section saying that certain documents were originally discussed under confidential items (when press and public were excluded) and subsequent information received indicated that most should be made available to the public. Peter Geary said that OTC regularly vote to exclude press and public for reasons such as HR and other things, but it would be sensible to review to see if they are still relevant at a later date. No one could be in any doubt that problems and angst had existed within OTC over the past year or so and people had been listening to and speaking of things that only told half the story. Everyone ‘from The Phonebox down’ should be able to see as much as possible, he thought. Many documents will be straight forward and can be released immediately, but others will need some thought and advice. As part of his initial local government training he had been told that anything that would have to be provided as part of a Freedom of Information Act request should be provided straight away and not kept confidential. Some matters, such as tenders or financial information, could justifiably be kept confidential at the time but should eventually be made public he said. There are other issues that might provide residents with a wider knowledge of what has gone on, rather than ‘people’s memories, hints and talking’ he said. He proposed that the clerk review all confidential documents going back five years and any obvious one be released immediately. Any that need further discussion should be discussed in closed session prior to the public session of next month’s meeting and then the decision to release would be made in the public section with the documents being made available shortly after. It would be necessary for some documents to be redacted to remove words and names. Jeremy Rawlings supported the plan, saying that there had been ‘issues’ with the council going back ten years or more and releasing the documents would show that they were moving towards a well-run council that has proper governance and makes correct and proper decisions. This would put them in a good position to hand the reigns over to new councillors come May, he said. The proposal was seconded by Chair of HR Joanne Eley and passed unanimously.

    Town Clerk’s Report
    Andrea Vincent reported that Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy had been working through the many council contracts and had identified some duplicates that had already been cancelled and others that were no longer required, such as the franking machine, which would be cancelled when they came up for renewal.
    The year 2019/20 Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) was submitted on time and the figures approved by the external auditor. The supporting papers were submitted to the internal auditor but not to the external auditor because of an administrative oversight. The public right to view was properly publicized and exercised by the public.
    Andrea reported that the Olney Centre is ‘showing her age’. The works to future-proof the heating system have started, although a second leak had been found. A buddleia tree has been removed from the centre chimney and the roofing contractor is looking for a leak in the roof which is causing water ingress to the centre. Work has begun on the wall at the Olney Centre. All external public toilets remain open and vandalism seems to have abated.
    There have been two complaints to the monitoring officer about two individual Councillors.
    Yardley Road development
    Chris Tennant reported on the monthly liaison meeting between Taylor Wimpey, Bovis Homes, OTC/MKC and local residents. The problems of deliveries to site and the temporary traffic lights on Yardley Road were amongst the matters discussed. On-site wheel washing facilities are being provided to resolve the mud being deposited on the roads. A new website has been set up to assist in communication with the local community and to enable them to have a single point of contact. A link will be provided on the OTC webpage and Facebook page, along with the Olney Noticeboard. Temporary drainage measures had been put in place following the ‘surface water drainage incident’ i.e. flooding, which occurred on Christmas Eve. The permanent drainage will not be completed until at least April. Peter Geary said that an online public meeting is due to be held to discuss the planning applications for the temporary access roads and impacted residents will be notified by post. Desmond Eley noted that one of the proposed access roads would be on Aspreys opposite the Foxhill junction. A proposal for a permanent access road on the original design had been rejected, he said, so how could a temporary access in the same place be justified? Peter replied that it was in the position of the proposed permanent footpath/cycleway/bollarded emergency access and just because a planning application had been made it did not necessarily mean it would be granted.

    Odds And Sods - Correction
    Joanne Eley reported that a Teams Meeting had been held with several shopkeepers regarding the 'Opening up the High Street’ initiative and the funding available. The shop keepers have been invited to apply for funding from OTC.
    The printed Mercury report for February, printed in the March edition, had the Odds and Sods section of the previous meeting (January 2020 meeting) inserted in its place. A cut and paste error which we have corrected on this on-line edition.

    Town Meeting
    The Town meeting is proposed to be held online, Friday 16th April. The Council is working with its IT provider, hoping to give the public the opportunity to ask questions live during the meeting. The proposed date necessarily falls before that of the next local elections, Thursday 6th May, with the first meeting of the resulting new Council Monday 10th May.

    Next Meeting
    The next meeting will be held online on Monday 1st March. The start time may be later than usual, due to the pre-meeting discussion on release of confidential documents. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk: townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.
    If you would like to be identified in the Mercury report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact Phonebox Magazine at editor@phoneboxmagazine.com

  • April 2021 edition (March 2021 meeting)

    Mercury report for the Olney Town Council meeting of March 2021 as printed in our April edition

    This month’s Olney Town Council meeting was too long to report in full, so we have listed here a summary of the highlights. As the full Town Council report is available on-line those wishing to listen to the full details should go to www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk

    A full written report by our Mercury reporter can be found on our webpage: phoneboxmagazine.com.

    The printed magazine report has been assessed by the editor to give an overview of the meeting, describing the most important aspects, without listing every single point made.

    In this way readers can decide for themselves how much they want to read and in how much detail – and can draw their own conclusions on the decisions made by the Council.

    Public access to meetings
    For the duration of the COVID-19 restrictions, meetings of Olney Town Council (OTC) will be held online as audio meetings using the conferencing platform Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can listen to proceedings by clicking on a link within the OTC web page: www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk. Click on the ‘Meetings’ tab and scroll down to the announcement about the next meeting, where you’ll find one link to the agenda and another to join the meeting on view/listen only.

    Public participation
    The first letter reported the dumping of rubbish on the small island of the Goosey river stretch, noting that with recent flooding this had been an environmental disaster. OTC is in contact with the owner’s solicitors and will keep the correspondent informed of progress.
    The second letter, sent anonymously, expressed concern at the treatment of the Council on social media. The correspondent requested that the Council replies to the questions publicly on social media and in the local press.
    Note: The Council’s reply to the above letter, posted Wednesday 3rd March, and other posts going back to at Wednesday 3rd February, provide some background to recent changes at the Council. These can be found at: facebook.com/pg/OlneyTownCouncil/posts, and can be viewed with or without a Facebook account.

    Public Art
    Louise Izod, Public Art Officer at Milton Keynes Council (MKC), gave a brief presentation on Public Art, and specifically how OTC could utilise its Section 106 monies for Public Art purposes.
    Looking at Olney, her investigations suggested that around £27,000 was available to spend now, with potential for a further £233,000 in the near future. She recommended OTC seek public involvement to produce a plan.
    Chris Tenant explained that OTC maintains a tracker of Section 106 monies, so he would be able to help tie down what was available. He calculated the total pot of Public Art money to be about £345,000.

    MKC Councillor Code of Conduct
    This item was to review the MKC Councillor Code of Conduct and consider its adoption in place of the current OTC Code of Conduct. Jeremy Rawlings noted that MKC was yet to approve it.

    Demand-Responsive Transport proposals
    Jennifer Wilson-Marklew, an MKC Cabinet member with areas of responsibility including public transport, had been invited to speak concerning significant up-coming changes to bus services.
    A new demand-responsive, all-electric transport service called MK Connect, a mix of shared taxi and bus, will be introduced on Wednesday 31st March prior to the withdrawal of various subsidised services. The to-be-withdrawn services affecting Olney and its surrounds are no. 37, and the no. 21 Olney–Lavendon stretch. The new service may be used up to 11pm, seven days a week, where no fixed service exists or none is running at the time.
    The service will cost £3.50 during peak hours (7am–9am, 4.30pm–6.30pm), and £2.50 at all other times. Concessions are available, costing £1 for All in 1 MK cardholders for example, with Older Person’s and Disabled Person’s bus pass holders travelling free after 9.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends. The service will arrive within 30 minutes in urban areas, 45 minutes in rural locations, and pick-up and drop-off within 400 metres of locations requested. Once booked, users will be guaranteed a seat, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles will be available on request.
    Further information is available here: https://ridewithvia.com/mk-connect/, and the booking line is 01908 252526. The changes will be publicised, including posters in bus stops, leaflets posted to homes in affected areas and by Parish Councils, including Olney’s.

    Amendments to OTC Standing Orders
    Jeremy Rawlings put forward two proposals: all elected chairmen of committees must have attended chair training within six months before or after their appointment; and all members of the Finance, Human Resources and Planning Committees must attend subject-specific training within six months of appointment and then at regular intervals afterwards.
    Chris Tenant asked that “regular intervals” be defined, Peter Geary replied that it meant yearly, with additional training when underlying changes to the subject matter demanded it. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of these amendments.

    Rugby 7s tournament
    Olney Rugby Club has requested use of the Recreation Ground for the Rugby 7s tournament on Saturday 17th July. Permission was granted subject to COVID restrictions in place at the time, and similar conditions to those imposed in 2018.

    Tenders to repaint the Olney Centre interior
    Two quotations had been received, other companies declining to quote due to the size of the job. Of those two, only the first had quoted for all the work required, the second planning to do so in the next few days. The Council is keen to complete the decoration before the Centre reopens so, once the full second quote is received or seven days have passed, the Council will accept one of them.

    Town Clerk’s report
    The request for the up-coming year’s precept has been submitted, and documents for the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) are being prepared. Annual staff appraisals have been put back to early in the new financial year, bar the Town Clerk’s already completed one. The Council will be testing technology to allow the annual Town Meeting, planned Friday 16th April, to be online. The Olney Centre heating works are almost complete. Work on external walls has been finished, as has that near the Church.
    All the Markets are taking place, the numbers of stalls being increased gradually in line with emerging COVID regulations. The Cemetery continues to function under COVID guidelines.

    Clerk’s report: Complaints about individual Councillors
    Two complaints had been looked at by Monitoring Officers, each concerning an individual Councillor and on separate matters. Both were dismissed as having no case to answer. Jeremy Rawlings concluded by explaining that, for members of the public listening to proceedings and considering standing for Council, there is a complete set of rules and regulations, a Code of Conduct, and also the OTC Standing Orders, to which Councillors are bound by law. He noted that there is a route for both public and Councillors to complain and raise issues about Councillors’ conduct, as exercised here.

    Clerk’s report: Complaints about the Council as a whole
    Andrea Vincent explained that other complaints, more general to the Council as a whole, had been received in the past year. All of these had been found to have no foundation, she said, but had caused great cost to the public purse.
    Another complaint was from a former member of staff who was concerned that their personal information had not been handled properly. They had become aware that OTC had disclosed information from their personal record on its website and also published the same information on its Facebook account.
    The Council thanked the correspondent for the letter, adding that it understood the concerns raised and said that the complainant was “within your rights to contact the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office)”.

    Human Resources Committee report
    Joanne Eley said that an allegation – reported in the Phonebox Magazine – that HR documents had been shredded, was untrue and urged anyone with factual evidence that this had taken place to come forward to the Council, MK Council or the police, as it could be a criminal matter.

    Finance Committee report
    Paul Collins reported that the Council has allocated £5,000 per annum over three years to support the Amazing Grace 250 celebrations which, it is hoped, will take place in 2022–2023, but added that a report in the Phonebox Magazine that the money had been allocated to the town’s Museum was not accurate.

    Recreations and Services Committee report
    Desmond Eley explained that the Town and Deputy Town Clerk have completed specific cemetery training, and are getting the records in line with current legislation. The grounds staff continued with all maintenance on open spaces except the watering of hanging baskets.
    The sports pitches soil has been tested, with scientists recommending no more general fertiliser be applied for at least another five years.
    Public toilets have been kept open throughout most of 2020. The failure of the old Victorian underground pipe-work in the Olney Centre has been remedied and future-proofed.

    Planning Committee report
    Steve Clark reported a Planning Application related to the ‘apple store’ at the top of the lane down to the orchard in East Street. Members of the Planning Committee had been given an informal presentation by the family concerned and their developers regarding the potential development of a small part of the orchard site. This would require access from East Street – that currently existing is too narrow due to the presence of this property. A Planning Application has been lodged with MKC to remove the property, due to its poor state of repair, allowing access to any subsequent development on the orchard.

    Development Group report
    Chris Tenant first declared an interest, living near the Aspreys / Yardley Road development. There has been concern about surface water run-off from that site, though there has been no further incident, temporary measures having been put in place by the developers. The full drainage scheme is slated for completion by April. Construction traffic routing has now been tightened. It appeared some vehicles had not followed the procedures in place: that Yardley Road and Driftway must be used to access the A509. Also, there will be further closures of Yardley Road due to associated works by Thames Water, noted on the Council’s website.

    Library and Museum reports
    Colin Rodden noted that, while Olney library is currently closed due to COVID, a click-and-collect service is available. Books can be ordered from milton-keynes.gov.uk/libraries and collected from Olney Library at times available via that page. Paul Collins noted that the Cowper and Newton Museum now has an online booking system and an online shop. It is hoped that the shop and gardens will open mid-April, and the Museum mid-to-late May, subject to the lifting of COVID restrictions.

    The next meeting will be held online on Monday 12th April, at 7.00pm. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk: townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.
    If you would like to be identified in the Mercury Report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact Phonebox Magazine at: editor@phoneboxmagazine.com

  • April 2021 on-line web meetings

    Mercury report for the Olney Town Council meeting of April 2021 - taken from the on-line meetings on the web

    Ron Hall Editor of Phonebox Magazine

    Olney Town Council Reports for April 2021

    Phonebox Magazine's reporter, known as Mercury, listens intently to the reports of the Olney Town Council meetings each month.
    The reports are printed in Phonebox. Below we have the recorded minutes of the latest Town Meeting and the Council Meeting for April.

    OLNEY TOWN COUNCILLORS (as at April 1st 2021):
    Chris Tennant
    Desmond Eley
    Graham Harrison
    Jeremy Rawlings
    Joanne Eley
    Malcolm Messenger
    Paul Collins
    Peter Geary
    Stephen Clark

    Audio Report for The Olney Town Meeting of Friday 16th April 2021

    The Mayor

    The Mayor, Jeremy Rawlings, welcomes residents to the meeting and informing of the ability to ask live questions during the meeting. The meeting is to consist of a factual appraisal of the council to the town by the chairs of the various committees, followed by the mayor's statement.

    Chris Tennant

    Chris Tennant, Chair of the Olney Town Council Development Group, kicked things off with his review of development around the town and the Olney Neighbourhood Plan.

    Paul Collins

    Paul Collins, Chair of the Finance Committee, informed residents of the state of the town's finances, with regard to loss of revenue due to the Covid crisis, steps taken to reduce costs and the 9.5% rise in the precept

    Joanne Eley

    Joanne Eley, Chair of Human Resources, told of the disarray, serious breaches in HR, paperwork not up to date and written contracts not being held by the council that had now been rectified.

    Stephen Clark

    Stephen Clark, Chair of Planning, gave a review of the work of planning especially since the covid virus started.

    Desmond Eley

    Desmond Eley, Chair of the Recs and Services Committee, reported on the issues facing the committee, which covered the cemetery, fields, toilets and flower displays to name but a few.

    Jeremy Rawlings

    Jeremy Rawlings gave the Mayor's report, consisting of his concern over "keyboard warriors", downright lies on social media, and warned that new councillors do not have superpowers and must be aware of the principles of the Nolan Report

    Emails and questions received from the public

    The council had received two emailed questions. One regarding development regarding traffic in the town and medical services. The other was a concern about councillors declaring freemasonry. The IT failures were questioned as was concern over the number of councillors who had resigned.

    2021 April

    Audio Report of the whole Olney Town Council Meeting April 2021

    Audio Report for Agenda Items for the Olney Council Meeting of April 2021

    The Start - A Minutes Silence for Prince Philip

    A minutes silence for Prince Philip. The Book of Condolences that is Covid Secure can be signed at the Council Offices

    Email from a citizen

    One email read out regarding the Public Arts Fund money that is available

    Apologies for Absence

    1: No Apologies for Absence - 003

    Declarations of Interests

    2: No Declarations of Interest declared on Agenda items - 004

    3. Approve the Minutes of 1st March

    3: Minutes approved after two corrections to the Minutes were offered up - 005

    4. The new CAB Advice Service Offer

    4. Information regarding the new CAB Advice Service offer agreed subject to Chris Tennant's amendment - 006

    5. To receive a report about the Allotment field from interested residents

    5. The report, being comprehensive, was passed to the Recreations and Services Committee to report on - 007

    6. To review the MKC new Councillor Code of Conduct

    6. It was said that a vote could not be taken on something the council had not seen. But it turned out the Code of Conduct had been on the agenda last month, and if no changes had been made to it, it would be voted as acceptable - 008

    7. Request to use the Recreation ground for a scaled down Riverfest

    7. Nearly 16 minutes of twists and turns resulted in a simple agreement that if the charity field were ok with it, and Covid was not a problem, it would go ahead - the "Swingometer" was really going some at this discussion - 009

    8. To agree to hold the May OTC meeting on 17th May rather than the 10th

    8. With virtual meetings not being extended the council has to decide when to have the next meeting: 24th May decided, with a fallback (sic) [fallforward] to 17th May if it's not possible on the 24th - 010

    9. To consider redesignating sub committees

    9. Sub committees have been designated advisory to allow virtual meetings to take place onliine - 011

    10. To consider a quote for the re-painting of the Library area in the Olney Centre

    10. The quote has been passed. The council are responsible for decoration, not the Library. Their is £6,000 in the Library Support fund which will be used to pay for it - 012

    11. To agree the appointment of a Quantity Surveyor to review development plans

    11. Peter stepped out of the room. The Quantity Surveyor was appointed. Payment to be claimed from Section 106 money, not from the Precept - 013

    12. To review the proposal for purchase of land at Dinglederry and consider if an independent valuation is required.

    12. This item was deferred and "kicked down the road to the new council". - 014

    13. To receive the Town Clerk's Report

    13. Precept accepted, Staffing levels busy, Shredder especially useful, Applicant for zero hours contract received. As far as the Goosey goes it's their land and they will do with it as they choose" and other general news - 015

    14. To receive an expenditure report

    14. The expenditure report covering routine stuff including a Finance Refresher Course - 016

    15. To receive reports from Chairs or Committees and Councillors who represent OTC at external meetings

    15. The Chairs or Committees and Councillors who represent OTC at external meetings Report - 017

    16. To Exclude Everyone

    16. Exclude the public and the press. Everyone was happy to do so, therefore the formal part of the public meeting ended - 019
  • May 2021 edition (April Council Elections page)

    Olney Town Council Elections

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  • May 2021 Edition (April 2021 Meeting)

    Mercury report for the Olney Town Council meeting in the May 2021 edition (April Meeting)

    April Meeting

    Mayor Jeremy Rawlings opened this month’s meeting with a minute’s silence in memory of Prince Philip, and also ex-councillor Rosemary Osbourne MBE who has recently passed away.

    Public access to meetings
    For the duration of the COVID-19 restrictions, meetings of Olney Town Council (OTC) will be held online as audio meetings using Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can listen to the proceedings by navigating to the OTC web page, www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk, clicking on the ‘Meetings’ tab, then scrolling down to the announcement about the next meeting, where there will be one link to the agenda and another to join the meeting listen-only. If you would like to be identified in the Mercury report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact The Phonebox at editor@phoneboxmagazine.com.

    Public participation
    One letter had been received regarding last month’s Mercury report stating that OTC would be eligible to apply for £345,000 of Section 106 money for public art. The correspondent thought it ’morally irresponsible to contemplate syphoning off S106 monies for wasteful projects such as public arts’ in the current economic crisis. Jeremy Rawlings noted the comments but said producing art puts money back into the economy and believed that it had a good effect on public wellbeing. It was also a legal agreement between the developers and Milton Keynes Council (MKC) and could not easily be diverted elsewhere. Ward Councillor Peter Geary said that if the money was not spent it would remain in the developer’s pocket, so it was far better that it was spent in Olney rather that being paid to their shareholders.

    Citizens Advice Service
    A document has been received from MK Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) stating how they propose to provide service in the post-Covid environment. Town Clerk Andrea Vincent reminded councillors that prior to lockdown OTC paid CAB to provide a fortnightly face to face presence in Olney. The new offer has resulted in a price increase of around £2000 per annum. In general, 80% of their support and advice service had been face to face with the remaining 20% being phone, email and webchat. During lockdown this had fallen to 5% face to face with 95% being phone, email, webchat and video calls. Post Covid it was expected that 20 to 25% would be face to face with the remainder being phone, email, webchat and video calls. Paul Collins observed that the new proposal, with increased cost, was based on a weekly service which was not currently budgeted for and felt that more clarification was required before a decision could be made. Chris Tennant said that he felt it a small price to pay to provide a professional service for people of need in the town and recommended approval so that there is no interruption in the service. Joanne Eley observed that during lockdown there had been no face to face service provided so it would be difficult to argue for an interrupted service when there had been none. Andrea said that OTC had not been charged during this period. Jeremy Rawlings questioned the need for an increased face to face presence with increased cost when the proposal was for the majority of the service to be provided remotely, which should cut their costs significantly. It was agreed to ask for the service to continue but to go back to CAB and ask them to quote for a fortnightly service, as previously agreed. This would then be discussed by the new council at their first meeting in May.

    Allotment Field
    A very detailed and comprehensive report had been received from interested residents regarding the current and future use of the field. Due to the nature and complexity of the report Jeremy Rawlings felt that it would need to go through the council process of having a sponsor/seconder and should be dealt with by the Recs and Services Committee who would make a recommendation to full council. Peter Geary agreed saying that the council needed to develop and implement a plan, bearing in mind all of the calls on the land.

    MKC Councillor Code of Conduct
    Peter Geary confirmed that the Councillor Code of Conduct had now been adopted by MKC. Previously OTC had considered its adoption in place of the current OTC Code of Conduct, pending adoption by MKC. It was agreed to accept it in full as of 1st May so that it would be in place for the first meeting of the new council.

    Application for scaled-down Riverfest
    An email had been received from local volunteers The Olney Group (TOG) requesting permission in principle to hold a scaled down Riverfest, minus the raft race, over the weekend of 3rd & 4th July Covid restrictions permitting. Roger Mann is happy to be identified as the author of the email and this month’s Mercury reporter. Clerk Andrea Vincent said that the requested location of the Charity Field was leased to OTC by the Ann Hopkins Smith Trust and OTC as tenants will have to ask the charity if they want a commercial venture to take place. Jeremy Rawlings declared an interest as a member of the trustees. Steve Clark observed that the event had taken place for a number of years, with OTC having a presence and suggested if it went ahead this year then OTC should consider having a presence so that the public can meet and chat with councillors. Members of the trustees have regularly attended in the past and no objection had been raised so a precedent had been set, and assuming the lockdown roadmap proceeds as planned he proposed that permission in principle should be given.
    Andrea Vincent said OTC had failed to request permission in the past so it was not a question of the trustees having tacitly agreed but an error on the part of the council. Desmond Eley said the lease required OTC to consider the effect of noise on nearby residents and also thought that an event where alcohol would be available was at odds with the council’s own ban on alcohol on the recreation ground, which would require the police to ‘turn a blind eye’. (For information, a Temporary Event Notice permits entertainment and alcohol sales at a location where it is not usually permitted). Jeremy Rawlings said there is a difference between ad-hoc random drinking and a properly organised event. Chris Tennant said that it is an event from the community for the benefit of the community and assuming Covid restrictions were lifted he wished to support Steve’s proposal. The town needs something to look forward to and having a cold beer down by the river at an organised event is something to look forward to, he thought. Andrea Vincent replied that OTC had no information about any rules or restrictions that TOG would set up and no information about their finances, so councillors needed to consider that they are granting a financial asset for a period of time to a group that has given no indication of how they intend to manage the event, what their finances are and what they intend to do with the money raised. Malcolm Messenger asked if ‘the company’ running the event had provided any Risk Assessment and insurance documentation. Peter Geary said that he saw no reason for the landlords to object but felt it important to check with them. Steve Clark said that TOG had confirmed that Insurance and Risk Assessments would be in place and would be reviewed and updated if the Covid situation changed. TOG usually provide a report on their activities and finances to the town at the Annual Town Meeting, he said. Malcolm Messenger asked if updated Risk Assessments could be requested should Covid still be an issue, so that the public are kept safe, but Steve Clark expressed the opinion that there was not much point since TOG had stated that the event would not take place if Covid was still an issue. It was agreed to grant the request, subject to permission from The Ann Hopkins Smith Trust being granted at their next meeting on 12th May and also to Covid restrictions being lifted. Jeremy Rawlings concluded by saying that he, for one, was quite looking forward to the event.

    Apologies and declarations
    No apologies for absence had been received, all Councillors being present. No declarations of interest were made.

    Library redecoration
    The library will be repainted by the company engaged to redecorate the rest of the Olney Centre at a cost of £6904. Malcolm Messenger asked why only one quote was being considered and Andrea Vincent said it had been missed from the original tender for the rest of the Olney Centre since although MKC lease the rooms from OTC, OTC as landlord is obliged to maintain them. Joanne Eley thought it unfortunate timing, just as the service was reopening, but Andrea said the librarian was very happy for the work to progress.

    Engagement of a Quantity Surveyor
    Jeremy Rawlings explained that this had come about due to the soaring costs of the proposed community centre on the Aspreys development and the duty of care that OTC have to get value for money. Desmond Eley said that the hall is to be funded from the developer’s S106 funding agreement with MKC but the building is not as big as OTC would like. A plan for a larger hall has been presented by the developers but they have said that it will cost twice the original amount so the suggestion has been made to transfer other funds from S106. The actual cost of the original design was not determined as an amount of money (rather an indicative cost per square metre, said Jeremy), so OTC are effectively blind. OTC need to ensure complete transparency and proper financial management with independent financial advice. Chris Tennent said that his original advice to OTC to engage a quantity surveyor was based on a need to fully understand the costs and any additional funding requirement that could be met from S106 funds transfer and other sources, such as Sport England. Speaking as the OTC rep on the Steering Group he said the developers would need to submit a reserved matters planning application for the detailed design of the new facility. Feedback had been obtained from sports clubs in the town, via the Joint User Group he said, and it was important to continue to engage the community. Andrea Vincent said that although the quote to engage the quantity surveyor was quite significant, due to the amount of work involved, she thought it could be reclaimed from the S106 funding rather than be OTC funded, which Chris Tennant confirmed.

    Town Clerk’s report
    A suitably qualified applicant has come forward for the temporary zero hours groundsman post and will be employed subject to references. The owner of a large part of the Goosey is looking to provide an alternative route for access to their land and their representative has met with the Rights of Way officer of MKC and the Town Clerk. There has been a long-standing attempt by OTC to ensure that the existing traditional footpath, which is considered far more suitable, is registered as a public right of way. The owner’s legal representative has indicated that they are keen to sell the land but as yet no proposal has been put forward. Thanks is due to the Clerk for subsequent information and clarification on this matter. A large allotment has been returned to the council and is in the process of being divided into smaller plots and allocated to those on the waiting list. Market stalls continue to increase with more non-essential traders attending. The potholes on the Market Place will be repaired by MKC with hot tar, but unfortunately the expected completion date of 12th April will not be met. Two former councillors have raised separate Standards complaints about two existing councillors. A number of compliments have been received, including for the Clerk in helping a resident with landscaping issues and supporting an A Level student with a project. Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy was thanked for helping a young person with a DofE award and for her flexibility in supporting those arranging weddings at the Olney Centre. The ground staff have been thanked for how well the town is looking.

    Agree the date for next meeting
    Jeremy Rawlings explained that currently the government roadmap for exiting lockdown allows indoor meetings to take place from 17th May, the preferred date for the first meeting of the new council, known as the Annual Meeting. However, as pointed out by Joanne Eley, the announcement would probably be made at 5:00pm on that date which would be insufficient time to organise a meeting. Additionally, the dispensation that allows council meetings to take place virtually will have expired on 1st May so meetings must take place face to face. However, regulations dictate that the first meeting of a new council must take place within two weeks of the election on 6th May, so the next preferred date of 24th May would fall outside of that statutory period. The Clerk said she was awaiting information from The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) as to whether an extension would be possible under the circumstances. A discussion followed around how a face to face meeting with public attendance could be achieved with a number of options put forward. It is likely that the council will meet in the council chamber with the meeting streamed both online and to members of the public in a separate room in the Olney Centre. It was agreed to hold the meeting on 24th May pending advice from NALC and if that is not possible to fall back to 17th May. Note: The Clerk has subsequently been advised that the two week period commences when the current council retires, which is four days after the election, so that date of 24th May is confirmed. Details of the format of the meeting and public attendance will follow.

    Opening the High Street
    Joanne Eley reported on a meeting between OTC and a sub-group of MKC who are leading the economic recovery plan, plus two reps of the local shopkeepers’ forum. Government restart grants are available, she said, which had been added to by MKC making grants available for independent retailers and a further pot for those businesses that have received no support because they fell outside of the original criteria. There is a ‘Rediscover Local’ social media campaign and MKFM will be providing free promotion for a small number of local businesses and an Olney independent shopkeeper has been invited to submit their story for a free citywide advertising feature. MKC are inviting proposals from local councils as to how they can help open their own high streets and Olney will be looking to apply for a grant to support a Unique Selling Point restart project.

    The next meeting will be held on Monday 24th May, at 7.00pm, further details to follow. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk: townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

  • Two April meeting reports, one in Phonebox and one from our reporter
    This was in the Phonebox April edition
    Mercury Report
    This month’s Olney Town Council meeting was too long to report in full, so we have listed here a summary of the highlights. As the full Town Council report is available on-line those wishing to see full details from it should go to www.olneytowncouncil.co.uk

    Public transport, had been invited to speak concerning significant up-coming changes to bus services.

    A new demand-responsive, all-electric transport service called MK Connect, a mix of shared taxi and bus, will be introduced on Wednesday 31st March prior to the withdrawal of various subsidised services. The to-be-withdrawn services affecting Olney and its surroundings are no. 37, and the no. 21 Olney–Lavendon stretch. The new service may be used up to 11pm, seven days a week, where no fixed service exists or none is running at the time.

    The service will cost £3.50 during peak hours (7am–9am, 4.30pm–6.30pm), and £2.50 at all other times. Concessions are available, costing £1 for All in 1 MK cardholders for example, with Older Person’s and Disabled Person’s bus pass holders travelling free after 9.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends. The service will arrive within 30 minutes in urban areas, 45 minutes in rural locations, and pick-up and drop-off within 400 metres of locations requested. Once booked, users will be guaranteed a seat, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles will be available on request.

    Further information is available here: https:// ridewithvia.com/mk-connect/, and the booking line is 01908 252526. The changes will be publicised, including posters in bus stops, leaflets posted to homes in affected areas and by Parish Councils, including Olneys.

    Rugby 7s tournament
    Olney Rugby Club has requested use of the Recreation Ground for the Rugby 7s tournament on Saturday 17th July. Permission was granted subject to COVID restrictions in place at the time, and similar conditions to those imposed in 2018.

    Tenders to repaint the Olney Centre interior
    Two quotations had been received, other companies declining to quote due to the size of the job. Of those two, only the first had quoted for all the work required, the second planning to do so in the next few days. The Council is keen to complete the decoration before the Centre reopens so, once the full second quote is received or seven days have passed, the Council will accept one of them. Town Clerk’s report.

    The request for the up-coming year’s precept has been submitted, and documents for the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) are being prepared. Annual staff appraisals have been put back to early in the new financial year, bar the Town Clerk’s already completed one. The Council will be testing technology to allow the annual Town Meeting, planned Friday 16th April, to be online. The Olney Centre heating works are almost complete. Work on external walls has been finished, as has that near the Church. All the Markets are taking place, the numbers of stalls being increased gradually in line with emerging COVID regulations. The Cemetery continues to function under COVID guidelines. Clerk’s report: Complaints about individual Councillors.

    Two complaints had been looked at by Monitoring Officers, each concerning an individual Councillor and on separate matters. Both were dismissed as having no case to answer. Jeremy Rawlings concluded by explaining that, for members of the public listening to proceedings and considering standing for Council, there is a complete set of rules and regulations, a Code of Conduct, and also the OTC Standing Orders, to which Councillors are bound by law. He noted that there is a route for both public and Councillors to complain and raise issues about Councillors’ conduct, as exercised here.

    Clerk’s report: Complaints about the Council as a whole
    Andrea explained that other complaints, more general to the Council as a whole, had been received. In the past year. All of these had been found to have no foundation, she said, but had caused great cost to the public purse.
    Another complaint was from a former member of staff who was concerned that their personal information had not been handled properly. They had become aware that OTC had disclosed information from their personal record on its website and also published the same information on its Facebook account. The Council thanked the correspondent for the letter, adding that it understood the concerns raised and said that the complainant was “within your rights to contact the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office)”.

    Human Resources Committee report
    Joanne Eley said that an allegation – reported in the Phonebox Magazine – that HR documents had been shredded, was untrue and urged anyone with factual evidence that this had taken place to come forward to the Council, MK Council or the police, as it could be a criminal matter.

    Finance Committee report
    Paul Collins reported that the Council has allocated £5,000 per annum over three years to support the Amazing Grace 250 celebrations which, it is hoped, will take place in 2022–2023, but added that a report in the Phonebox Magazine that the money had been allocated to the town’s Museum was not accurate.
    Desmond Eley explained that the Town and Deputy Town Clerk have completed specific cemetery training, and are getting the records in line with current legislation. The grounds staff continued with all maintenance on open spaces except the watering of hanging baskets.
    The sports pitches soil has been tested, with scientists recommending no more general fertiliser be applied for at least another five years.
    Public toilets have been kept open throughout most of 2020. The failure of the old Victorian underground pipe-work in the Olney Centre has been remedied and future-proofed.

    Planning Committee report
    Steve Clark reported a Planning Application related to the ‘apple store’ at the top of the lane down to the orchard in East Street. Members of the Planning Committee had been given an informal presentation by the family concerned and their developers regarding the potential development of a small part of the orchard site. This would require access from East Street – that currently existing is too narrow due to the presence of this property. A Planning Application has been lodged with MKC to remove the property, due to its poor state of repair, allowing access to any subsequent development on the orchard.

    Development Group report
    Chris Tenant first declared an interest, living near the Aspreys / Yardley Road development. There has been concern about surface water run-off from that site, though there has been no further incident, temporary measures having been put in place by the developers. The full drainage scheme is slated for completion by April.

    Construction
    Mercury Report traffic routing has now been tightened. It appeared some vehicles had not followed the procedures in place: that Yardley Road and Driftway must be used to access the A509. Also, there will be further closures of Yardley Road due to associated works by Thames Water, noted on the Council’s website.

    Library and Museum reports
    Colin Rodden noted that, while Olney Library is currently closed due to COVID, a click-and-collect service is available. Books can be ordered from https://www.milton- keynes.gov.uk/libraries and collected from Olney Library at times available via that page. Paul Collins noted that the Cowper and Newton Museum now has an online booking system and an online shop. It is hoped that the shop and gardens will open mid-April, and the Museum mid-to-late May, subject to the lifting of COVID restrictions.

    The next meeting will be held online on Monday 12th April, at 7.00pm. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk: townclerk@ olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

    If you would like to be identified in the Mercury Report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact Phonebox Magazine at: editor@phoneboxmagazine.com

    A full written report by [our Mercury reporters] can be also be found on our webpage: phoneboxmagazine.com - The printed magazine report has been assessed by the editor to give an overview of the meeting, describing the most important aspects, without listing every single point made and every decision reached.
    In this way readers can decide for themselves how much they want to read and in how much detail – and can draw their own conclusions on the decisions made by the Council.

  • The full version of the April Olney Town Council report
    Public access to meetings
    For the duration of the COVID-19 restrictions, meetings of Olney Town Council (OTC) will be held online as audio meetings using Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can listen to the proceedings by surfing to the OTC web page, www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk, clicking on the ‘Meetings’ tab, then scrolling down to the announcement about the next meeting, where there’ll be one link to the agenda and another to join the meeting listen-only.
    If you would like to be identified in the Mercury report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact The Phone Box at editor@phoneboxmagazine.com.

    Public participation
    The first letter reported the dumping of a large pile of rubbish on the small island on the Goosey, noting that with recent flooding this had been a disaster for the environment. Olney Town Council (OTC) is already in contact with the owner’s solicitors, will be meeting with them this month and will keep the letter writer informed of progress.
    The second letter requested it be read out at the March meeting. But the writer would like to remain anonymous in the minutes and recorded meeting. [Some of Mercury’s notes here have been omitted by the Editor because of unsubstantiated personal views against former Councillors and their names being used; that we would not publish without the writers’ name being made available to ourselves].
    It hit out at what say as “the public trial by social media of the Council which, in my view, has been relentless since August 2020. It appears to me that close friends of ex-Councillors associated with and supported by the Phone Box appear to have cornered the local media in trying to influence residents to their way of thinking without a full story.” And the “tireless onslaught which, rather ironically, constitutes bullying”
    It then went on to request that “the Council replies to the questions publicly on social media and in the local press, to give a more balanced coverage of events?”
    Jeremy Rawlings noted that the Council would be replying in due course. He explained that other letters had arrived at the Council, some of which would be addressed later in this meeting.
    Note: The Council’s reply to the above letter, posted Wednesday 3rd March, and other of its posts going back to at least Wednesday 3rd February are worth reading as they provide some background to recent changes at the Council. These may be found here, https://www.facebook.com/pg/OlneyTownCouncil/posts, which may be viewed with or without a Facebook account.

    Apologies and declarations
    No apologies for absence had been received, all Councillors being present. No declarations of interest were made.

    Public Art
    Louise Izod, Public Art Officer at Milton Keynes Council (MKC), gave a brief presentation on Public Art, and specifically how OTC could utilise its Section 106 monies for Public Art purposes. MKC has a broad definition of Public Art, examples including follies and landmarks, sculpture, and artists in residence. It “is about inviting the vision, creativity and skills of artists to engage people freely with place, in a well considered way”, she said.
    Some of the contributions from development are used to help fund Public Art. Looking at Olney, her investigations suggested approx. £27,000 was available to spend now, with potential for a further £233,000 in the near future if certain developments, notably that adjacent to Yardley Road and Aspreys, go ahead. She recommended OTC seek public involvement to produce a plan.
    Chris Tenant explained that OTC maintains a tracker of Section 106 monies, so he would be able to help tie down what was available. He calculated the total pot of Public Art money to be about £345,000, due to about six developments. Desmond Eley asked how long it would take from a potential Public Art project being identified to achieving funding for it – the question asked in the context of the Amazing Grace celebrations planned 2022-2023. Louise replied that timescales for individual projects were around one year to 18 months while, if a plan was put in place first, that would add an initial six to eight months. Andrea Vincent felt it may be worth starting some work immediately, in parallel with creating a plan and encouraging community involvement.

    MKC Councillor Code of Conduct
    This item was to review the MKC Councillor Code of Conduct and consider its adoption in place of the current OTC Code of Conduct. Jeremy Rawlings noted that MKC was yet to approve it, though planned to do so shortly, so proposed to defer this until next month. Peter Geary explained that, while OTC could theoretically adopt it now, if Councillors wanted to propose any amendments, they could be checked for legality prior to MKC debating adoption of the new Code next month. The Code should be ready for the new OTC elected in May to sign up to, he said.

    Amendments to OTC Standing Orders
    Jeremy Rawlings put forward two proposals: All elected chairmen of committees must have attended chair training within six months pre or post their appointment; all members of the Finance, Human Resources and Planning Committees must attend subject-specific training within six months of appointment and then at regular intervals afterwards.
    Chris Tenant asked that “regular intervals” be defined, Peter Geary replying yearly, with additional training when underlying changes to the subject matter demanded it. Joanne Eley noted that most of those chairing committees who’d joined in 2017 had attended Finance, Planning, Effective Councillor-ing and chair training. Although she’d chaired many bigger committees than these, she felt those who were minded to give of their best had already attended the training and kept well abreast of these issues. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of these amendments.

    Demand-Responsive Transport proposals
    Jennifer Wilson-Marklew, an MKC Cabinet member with areas of responsibility including public transport, had been invited to speak concerning significant up-coming changes to bus services.
    A new demand-responsive, all-electric transport service called MK Connect, a mix of shared taxi and bus, will be introduced Wednesday 31st March prior to the withdrawal of various subsidised services. The to-be-withdrawn services affecting Olney and its surrounds are no. 37, and the Olney – Lavendon stretch of no. 21. The new service may be used up to 11pm, seven days a week, where no fixed service exists or none is running at the time.
    The service will cost £3.50 during peak hours (7am – 9am, 4.30pm – 6.30pm), and £2.50 all other times. Concessions are available, it costing £1 for All in 1 MK cardholders for example, and Older Person’s and Disabled Person’s bus pass holders travelling free after 9.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends. The service will arrive within 30 minutes in urban areas, 45 minutes in rural locations, and pick-up and drop-off within 400 metres of locations requested. Once booked, users will be guaranteed a seat, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles will be available on request.
    Further information is available here, https://ridewithvia.com/mk-connect/, and the booking line is 01908 252526. The changes will be publicised, including posters in bus stops, leaflets posted to homes in affected areas and by Parish Councils including Olney’s.

    Rugby 7s tournament
    Olney Rugby Club has requested use of the Recreation Ground for the Rugby 7s tournament on Saturday 17th July. Permission was granted subject to the COVID restrictions in place at the time, and similar conditions to those imposed in 2018.

    Tenders to repaint the Olney Centre interior
    Just two quotations had been received, other companies declining to quote due to the size of the job. Of those two, one of which is local, only the first had quoted for all the work required, the second planning to do so in the next few days. The Council is keen to complete the decoration before the Centre reopens so, once the full second quote is received or seven days have passed, the Council will accept one, likely the cheaper.

    Town Clerk’s report
    This was a long item, containing much relevant to recent changes at the Council. Some information is skipped and other compressed for brevity.
    The request for the up-coming year’s precept has been submitted, and documents for the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) are being prepared. Annual staff appraisals have been put-back to early in the new financial year, bar the Town Clerk’s already completed. One-to-ones continue. The Council will be testing technology to allow the annual Town Meeting, planned Friday 16th April, to be online. The Olney Centre heating works are completed bar some final making good. A bin in front of the Olney Centre was set alight, this being seen, the fire extinguished and the Police informed of the criminal damage. Work on external walls has been finished, as has that near the Church.
    All the Markets are taking place, the numbers of stalls being increased gradually in line with emerging COVID regulations. The Cemetery continues to function under COVID guidelines, this proving hard for the families involved. OTC has sought guidance from the institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, which has proved helpful.

    Clerk’s report: Complaints about individual Councillors
    Two complaints had been looked at by Monitoring Officers, each concerning an individual Councillor and on separate matters. Both were dismissed as having no case to answer, the Monitoring Officer noting both Councillors acted correctly. The outcome statements will be published on OTC’s website.
    The first concerned Desmond Eley’s part in the discussion of the agenda item “To agree a tender for the emergency repair of three walls” in January’s full OTC meeting. Desmond noted:
    “I find it rather ironic that former Councillor Mr. Viney made an unjustified, petty complaint about my perfectly acceptable conduct, particularly as he did not always comply with the Code of Conduct during his time as a Councillor. He has wasted hundreds of pounds of public money, and I am very happy for the full decision to be published. For the record, the Milton Keynes independent person advised that I stepped in to provide professional advice so that the matter could be resolved. That decision seemed to be in the best interests of the Council and the residents of Olney.”
    Regarding the second, Jeremy Rawlings explained:
    “This was raised by Councillor Colin Rodden, against me, who accused me of bullying and harassment. The independent person found no evidence of this whatsoever and, in fact, dismissed the claim completely. The complaint was rejected and, again, the adjudication, the report will be published in full on the Olney website.”
    ... and Collin Rodden responded:
    “It was unfortunate, and I didn’t want to go through the Code of Conduct, but I did feel that unfortunately there was no further way for me to actually go, unfortunately. So I think that, hopefully, though the various opportunities we’ve got through the various Codes we’ve been talking about tonight, and that we’ve put forward to the next Council meeting, we can look at those to make sure that all Councillors are protected, and that we have respect for each other and ensure that we don’t have a war over emails, and that people talk to each other, and that there’s more respect between various Councillors within OTC.”
    Jeremy concluded by explaining that, for members of the public listening to proceedings and considering standing for Council, there is a complete set of rules and regulations, a Code of Conduct, and also the OTC Standing Orders, to which Councillors are bound by law. They are important, available on the OTC website, and those considering standing would do well to read them to ensure they are fully conversant with the way the Council operates. He also noted that there is a route for both public and Councillors to complain and raise issues about Councillors’ conduct, as exercised here.

    Clerk’s report: Complaints about the Council as a whole
    Andrea explained that other complaints, more general to the Council as a whole, had been received. In the past year, one former Councillor had sent over 25 emails, including a Subject Access Request and three Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests, as well as complaints registered with the MKC Standards Office. All of these had been found to have no foundation, she said, but had caused great cost to the public purse.
    The first complaint was received from a member of the public and (different) former Councillor: Since the beginning of February, the Council had received 10 emails, on the matter of the Clerk’s Statement and the publishing of a Report, from a former Councillor. The complaints, where evidence had been provided, have been responded to as below. No evidence of bullying of the former Councillor has been provided. However, this will be investigated because it is a complaint and must therefore go through the process.
    The Council’s response was as follows, verbatim bar some reformatting:
    "I was not the Clerk at the time but have spoken to the Mayor and others who were on the Council at the time to build up an understanding of what happened. Having read the independent report and in the absence of other evidence, the report is correct.
    The complaint by the former Clerk clearly came as a surprise to most of the Councillors at Olney Town Council, especially the content. Olney Town Council took the complaint seriously and commissioned a full independent investigation that interviewed numerous people on the Council including yourself.
    The main allegations by the then Clerk were found to be baseless, however a number of significant weaknesses in the way the Council operated, and governance were highlighted. The Council has worked hard to correct these in the intervening time.
    The Council received a FOI request for the report after it was announced that we were looking into all business over the past five years that, at the time, the Council had decided to keep confidential and not make publicly available.
    The Council took professional advice as to whether the report should be released. The advice was it should. When a report is released under FOI it is normal practice to make it publicly available, which OTC did.
    I am sorry that you are annoyed by the release of the report, the Council has a duty to follow the rules. The very reason for this complaint arising in the first place was that the rules had not being followed. OTC has followed these rules in this case."

    The second complaint was from a former member of staff: In brief, they were concerned that their personal information had not been handled properly. They felt that they had become aware that OTC had disclosed information from their personal record on its website and also published the same information on its Facebook account.

    The Council response was as follows, verbatim as above:
    “Thank you for your email and I understand your concerns. The Council received a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the report on 5th February 2021. This came from a member of the public.
    The report is a summary report to the HR Committee of Olney Town Council which met on 11th March 2019 and Full Council on 1st April 2019. This summary report was in the papers for both March/April meetings and the agenda/minutes of the meetings show that you provided the papers for that meetings and Clerked them. Further the Mayor sent you a grievance outcome letter summarising the report's recommendations. This came with an instruction to forward to your colleagues which they tell us you did not do and there were no copies of such correspondence on their files. The summary report is not on anyone's personal record.
    This is a quite different document to the Investigation Report which of course regardless of an FOI would need to remain confidential as it is in people's personal records. Advice was taken from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who clearly stated that the document should be published under the FOI Act in full. It was at no time marked confidential by the authors.
    We enquired of the ICO about names of staff and Councillors. They advised that redaction was not necessary as public servants Councillors, and staff should expect publication of their names and activities in the public interest. They also advised that the report was not exempt information under The FOI Act part II, having looked at it closely, there was no option for us other than to publish following the FOI request.
    Having received that advice, the Council took the view that although not necessary we would redact the names of staff. I also wrote to all staff (past and present) by first class post as courtesy to let you all know the document was to be published. As you had not given permission to use your home address, so I contacted “your most recent employer” who agreed to forward a letter to you. That was sent to them in an envelope with a first-class stamp to forward to you, your envelope also had a first-class stamp attached.
    You clearly had sight of the Summary Report when preparing for the March/April 2019 meetings. All other staff involved in the process did have a copy as I ensured this was the case when I took up my post in July 2019.
    The Council should not have suppressed the summary report to the HR Committee document in the first place. I'm unclear why this path was taken. You are of course within you rights to contact the ICO.”

    Clerk’s report: Compliments
    The OTC office had been thanked for its assistance with the repairs for the Church wall, having negotiated with MKC to get the work done, and is now negotiating to see if further walls near the Church can be similarly attended to.
    Colin Rodden thanked Andrea for contacting MKC re cutting back vegetation along the pathway between Olney and Emberton. This was looking really good, he said.

    Human Resources Committee report
    Joanne Eley explained that the Deputy Town Clerk, Sarah Kennedy, has gained her Introduction to Local Council Administration (ILCA) qualification and is embarking on her Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA). The Town Clerk, Andrea Vincent, is part way through gaining her CilCA. Both regularly attend other training courses to give them the skills to manage their roles.
    Joanne then said the following, reproduced verbatim:
    “As the current HR Chair, I take exception to the false allegation reported in the Phone Box, implying that HR documents may have been shredded by current staff or Councillors. This is untrue. The source of this serious allegation is not identified but is asserted to be an anonymised comment posted on the Olney Noticeboard. This is not reliable, and the statements are defamatory. I would like to invite anyone with any factual evidence that this has ever taken place to come forward to the Council, Milton Keynes Council or the Police as it would indeed be a criminal matter. I cannot speak for what has occurred prior to my being elected HR Chair in September ’19, or prior to the appointment of the current Town Clerk in July ’19. There are certainly gaps in our documentation dating from before the respective appointments. The custom and practice employed prior to the dates stated above have been stopped. The former admin team issued confidential minutes on red paper, handed them out around after the exclusion of the press and public, and collected them back up after the end of the meeting. What happened to them after is a matter for the former incumbents. This was certainly not good practice, and lacked transparency. The report recently published highlights how this poor practice failed to stop a breach in confidentiality.
    Please everyone take note, this is untrue. The Council is duty bound to report fact, as a regulated and monitored organisation, that is accountable. We are working within the legislation and rules to correct the past failures that have been many years in the making. We have established good governance and transparency. Cronyism, which undermines democracy and is a moral hazard, no longer exists. At no time in the history of Olney Town Council has there been more transparency around Council working.
    For the record, I reiterate that this is my March 2021 report. No HR report was received by Council in February 2021. Given the editorial in this month’s Phone Box stressing how factual they are, and I quote ‘Mercury report, written by our independent reporters, that are a factual account of what has gone on’, I will therefore be writing to the Editor, asking him to explain why the report is not a factual contemporaneous report in this issue. See page 9 – this HR report was published in the January 2021 issue as a report delivered in December 2020. Whilst on the subject of the January issue, I take this opportunity to report to both Council colleagues and the residents, that the former Councillor who requested the FOI referred to has not exercised their right of appeal on the ICO ruling.
    Finally, on behalf of the staff team and the HR team, I thank all those residents who have taken the time to call, personal message and email in their support throughout the wake of the protracted media attack. In particular, those who stepped away from their family celebrations to convey to us how shocked and angry they were at the New Year’s Eve meddlesome ridiculing of the Town Clerk and Council.”
    Jeremy Rawlings thanked Joanne and the members of the HR Committee for the meticulous way they have worked since 2019 in order to bring the situation back to normality.

    Finance Committee report
    Paul Collins gave this report, part-reproduced verbatim:
    “I would like to correct a couple of statements in the latest issue of the Phone Box in Mercury’s report of the last Town Council meeting, in reference to the Community Support Fund. We have there allocated £5,000 per annum over three years to support the Amazing Grace 250 celebrations, which we hope will take place in 2022 – 2023. The report says I said that ‘£5,000 per annum for the next three years has been granted to the Museum for the Amazing Grace 250 celebrations.’ That is not correct. That money has not been allocated to the Museum. That is a fund specifically designed for the purpose of encouraging small community groups to come forward and suggest a variety of small-scale celebrations. The Museum itself is engaged in a project where we anticipate applying to external funders for approximately £350k, which is a project, I’m sure you’ll agree, in a different league to the one being referred to in the report.
    There is another point I’d like to raise in relation to the Phone Box, and this relates to a comment by a columnist, part of whose column is headed up ‘Council matters’, wherein it is stated that the mistakes made in the last AGR are in black and white and can be rectified by correct accounting next year. That is a totally false statement. There has been no challenge to the accounts submitted in terms of the actual numbers stated in our annual governance report, which has been signed off by both our internal auditor and our external auditor. The comments made by the external auditor were not a challenge to the actual numbers in our accounts, but they concerned procedural matters which have already been referred to by the Town Clerk. I can only surmise that the purpose of this was to smear myself personally and potentially other members of the Finance Committee. I wholeheartedly reject that. I think it’s a disgraceful way to conduct journalism.”
    Jeremy Rawlings reiterated that it was a procedural matter – some of the documents required were not submitted. As soon as the issue was raised, they were submitted and everything was fine. There was no issue with the content of any of the accounts or documentation sent to the auditors. Everything had now been approved.
    Joanne Eley added that the Mercury report is always unattributed to the actual author, month on month. She would be writing to the Phone Box, to ask that the public can see the name of each article’s author, it not being accountable otherwise. Jeremy explained that, over the years, there had been inaccuracies, and noted that there were times in the past when the Mercury reporter would speak with Councillors to verify accuracy but he did not believe this had happened, or at not with him, for well over two years.

    Recreations and Services Committee report
    Desmond Eley explained that the Town and Deputy Town Clerk have completed specific cemetery training, and are getting the records in line with current legislation. The grounds staff continued with all maintenance on open spaces, as they have throughout the pandemic, with the exception of the watering of hanging baskets. This included grass cutting, performed throughout the winter due to the lengthened grass-growing season. The introduction of management controls by the office and head grounds man had achieved a 57% decrease in diesel purchases, saving 3,200 litres for the year. These controls included fitting a padlock to the tank after the stock took a major hit mid May 2020. Further management control has led to a significant reduction in bedding plant expenditure, hoped to be reduced further this year while maintaining the existing displays.
    The soil of the sports pitches has been tested, the soil scientists recommending no more general fertiliser be applied for at least another five years. A rogue fertiliser order received in September 2019 was taken back by the suppliers’ agent without charge, and no purchases have since been made. Some nitrogen may need to be applied in Spring to parts of the pitches only. This evidence-based management of the Recreation Grounds is saving around £3,000 per year, and is also in line with the Council’s Environment Management Plan.
    An audit of machinery has been performed. It was established that two pieces of equipment were being held outside the town and out of the Council’s direct control. They’ve since been relocated to the Council’s compound.
    Public toilets have been kept open throughout most of 2020 and remain open today. Feedback on this and the cleaning regime established has been very positive indeed. The failure of the old Victorian underground pipe-work in the Olney Centre has been remedied and future-proofed, and turned out to be the cause of the long-term dampness in the Pre School area.

    Planning Committee report
    Steve Clark reported a Planning Application related to the ‘Apple Store’, at the top of the lane down to the orchard in East Street. Members of the Planning Committee had been given an informal presentation by the family concerned and their developers regarding the potential development of a small part of the orchard site. This would require access from East Street, that currently existing being too narrow due to the presence of this property. He believed it had not been used for human habitation for many decades – perhaps 60 – 70 years. A Planning Application has been lodged with MKC to remove the property, due to its poor state of repair, thus facilitating access to any subsequent development on the orchard. The state of the building and difficulty securing it mean it will likely be taken down without further consultation. This was a legitimate process, and not part of any future Application for the orchard site, he said.

    Development Group report
    Chris Tenant first declared an interest, living near the Aspreys / Yardley Road development. There has been concern about surface water run-off from that site, though there has been no further incident, temporary measures having been put in place by the developers. The full drainage scheme is slated for completion by April. Construction traffic routing has now been tightened, it appearing some vehicles had not followed the procedures in place – that Yardley Road and Driftway must be used to access the A509. The application for construction traffic access off Aspreys has been withdrawn on the advice of MKC. However, the developers will be able build a tarmac road on-site, along the path of an existing farmer’s track to its North Eastern edge. This will not require planning permission and thus not receive the usual checks and balances: Concerns remained, therefore. OTC has asked MKC to review this decision. Also, there will be further closures of Yardley Road due to associated works by Thames Water, noted on the Council’s website.
    Significant planning reform consultations are underway, particularly one concerning permitted change of use from retail and commercial to residential. If adopted, Chris felt it would imply a parallel planning system, where owners of commercial or retail properties could in effect change their use to residential without a Planning Application. This is of concern to market towns up and down the country, he said, it representing a threat to town centres.
    Joanne Eley noted that the biggest threats to retail were the pandemic and its aftermath. If some retail businesses were threatened, surely housing was preferable to empty units. It was hard to predict how our High Streets would be after the fallout from COVID. The best solutions to this were to support local businesses and shop locally, generating a thriving town centre, she felt. Desmond Eley asked if the Council could do more to encourage local shopping as the situation develops, in its newsletter for example. Joanne felt the whole shopping landscape had changed countrywide, for example young professional couples shopping online and on their way back from work, rather than using Olney for their weekly shop.
    Steve Clark gave some background, noting that OTC has seen various Planning Applications over the years for moves between retail and residential, and has always viewed them with sympathy to the local traders. However, not requiring a Planning Application was a retrograde step, he felt. Steve also asked Chris whether he would write an article for the next issue of the Council newsletter, summarising the main points about the various developments taking place around the town, Chris replying in the affirmative.

    Library and Museum reports
    Colin Rodden noted that, while Olney library is currently closed due to COVID, a click-and-collect service is available. Books can be ordered from https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/libraries and collected from Olney Library at times available via that page. Paul Collins noted that the Cowper and Newton Museum now has an online booking system and, albeit scaling up, an online shop. It is hoped that the shop and gardens will open mid April, and the Museum mid-to-late May, subject to the lifting of COVID restrictions.

    =-=-=-=xxxx=-=-=-=
    The next meeting will be held online on Monday 12th April, at 7.00pm. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk, townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

Mercury's reports for 24 May 2021

  • May 2021 Issue (April report 1) as in the Phonebox

    Olney Council report for the new Council 24 May 2021

    First report of the meeting printed in the May edition of Phonebox Magazine

    Stacks Image 99141

    Public access to Meetings

    Change: Out with the Old - In with the New

    It’s out with the old and in with the new as local elections ring the changes for Olney Town Council.
    A new era has begun at Olney Town Council after an incredible 6th May local election night brought about wholesale changes to the committee’s set-up and personnel.
    Only Peter Geary and Chris Tennant were left from the previous council, which had been reduced to just nine members before the elections, following accusations about councillors’ conduct, bullying tactics, and a raft of resignations.
    Some old faces have returned to the council chambers, among them Deirdre Bethune and Colin Rodden, while a host of first-time councillors took their place at the council table on 24th May, for the first meeting since the poll – coincidentally, the Annual Meeting of the Council (see report on page 17 of this month's issue).

    It's the biggest voter turn-out in the town’s history – more than half of the electorate took part.
    Tom Johnston

    In the biggest voter turn-out in the town’s history – more than half of the electorate took part – Ben Brown became the youngest-ever member of OTC, which also welcomed some well-known faces from around the town, including theatre producer and Phonebox columnist David Pibworth, foster carer Naomi Brock and lecturer Ian Stokes.
    With 15 seats on the council up for grabs a new look set-up was to be expected but it was the dramatic way in which the residents of Olney voted with their feet and made such sweeping changes, that caused the biggest surprise.

    “It’s not about what happened on election night, it’s about what has happened over many years,” said Peter Geary.
    “New people are coming on to the council all the time so it’s not going to be that much different. If you look over the last few years, there have always been new people.”

    Ben Brown is looking ahead to helping the town return to a new normal, as lockdown measures are eased.

    “I think I’m most looking forward to helping the town get back to a bit more normality, post-Covid,” he said.
    “I’d like to see cancelled events return, a thriving High Street and a busy recreation ground. The Town Council doesn’t have the power to fix everything, but it can certainly be a force for good in many areas.”

    With six women on the council now, there is a greater male/female mix, something that is welcomed by newly elected Jane Varley.

    “Women make up more than 50 per cent of the population now so it’s good to see so many on the council,” she said. “I am looking forward to siting down and working with the new council, and I want to lead on biodiversity and sustainability.
    “I want to take the town forward. People come out in their droves to volunteer for this town – there is so much community spirit out there and we should harness it and make use of it.”

    Full list of elected Olney Town Council councillors:
    Trevor Aldred | Dee Bethune | Naomi Brock | Ben Brown | Philip Geach | Peter Geary | Debbie Hall | David Pibworth | Colin Rodden Dan Rowland | Ian Stokes | Christopher Tennant | Jane Varley Leanne Ward | Debbie Whitworth

    First Meeting of the New Olney Town Council (As in the June 2021 Issue)

    The winds of change were sweeping through the main hall of the Olney Centre for the first meeting of the new council and not just because of the increased ventilation necessary to meet Covid guidelines.
    This first meeting was unusual in that there were only two members of the previous council successful in the recent election.
    As his final act as outgoing Mayor, Jeremy Rawlings opened the meeting, congratulating the new members and inviting nominations for the new Mayor.
    Chris Tennant, Trevor Aldred and Phil Geach were nominated and indicated their willingness to stand, and following a secret ballot, Phil Geach was declared the winner. Jeremy then handed over to Phil and left the meeting. Phil’s first job was to oversee the election of a new Deputy Mayor. Naomi Brock, Dan Rowland, Ben Brown, and Colin Rodden were proposed, and Naomi Brock was successful in the ballot.
    There were 27 items on the agenda, many being mandatory procedural items that could be approved with a minimum of discussion. Others were deferred to future meetings when the members would have had time to review and understand the supporting documents as they felt they could not commit to roles and positions without understanding the commitment required.
    Several subcommittees exist, and members were invited to put themselves forward to serve on those, considering any conflicts of interest that may exist.
    Full details of the committee members will be published in the full report in the July edition of The Phonebox. Finally, Phil noted that there was no AOB on the agenda, but Town Clerk Andrea Vincent explained that this was not permitted under local government rules and only agenda items may be discussed. Phil suggested that when the Standing Orders are reviewed consideration is given to making this possible. The next meeting will be held on June 7th, once again with limited public access but the technical issues which plagued the online sound quality at this month’s meeting have been identified and will be resolved.

    MAY MEETING: NEXT MEETING 7 JUNE

    At the start of the meeting, one Letter was read out for the new Council's perusal

    DATE 13th May 2021
    As a resident on Olney of 26 years, I wish to challenge the council on a number of matters in relation to the recreation ground off East Street (The Rec).
    It should be applauded that notice is being taken of the concerns of the various sports clubs which use the rec, namely doing whatever is possible to reduce or remove the incidence of dog faeces on the pitches, asking other users to move around the perimeter of sports pitched when in use, and so on.
    However, in doing so, the council is now operating to the detriment of the silent majority of individual and family users of the area, as they do not speak with one voice, and I thing the balance needs to be redressed. Therefore can the council please, with immediate effect, arrange the following;-

    1. Remove the temporary Heras fence panels between the childrens’ play area and the MUGA. This serves no useful purpose and merely serves to cause more people to walk across pitches, not less. Who thought that one through, it is simply a great inconvenience? Is it even legal to do this? During the height of lockdown the alternative narrow path to the left became effectively unuseable as it was not possible to pass at less than 2m distant from others. And in the rain earlier this year the narrow was an unmaintained mudbath. Either scenario not very user friendly.
    2. Remove, level or surface the two paths that now have a loose and rough covering of tarmacadam road planings applied. Is it applied, or simply chucked? This is a serious hazard to many users, namely people with pushchairs, wheelchair users, those with any form of walking support, and the paws of dogs walked there. At present this surface is a disgrace, and it will only be a matter of time before somebody injures themselves and registers a claim against the council.
    3. Either arrange for additional parking for sports use, or cut down on the number of pitches on the rec. On most Saturdays and Sundays, when Olney are “at home”, the whole area is a sea of cars and those that park are very inconsiderate. The “No sports Parking” signs in the area are a very poor attempt at a solution. Persuading those that live in Olney to walk rather than drive might also assist, but I doubt that many will listen.
    4. In allowing the various sports clubs to mark out their pitches, please ensure that they allow a greater margin around the sides. If you want to ensure that dog walkers and others do not traipse across pitches, you need to allow enough room for them to do so.
    5. And finally, and this is an issue I have directly raised to officials at times, screen off the main football pitch situated directly on East Street. This is extremely close to the childrens’ playground, and the foul language that can be heard loudly and clearly from inconsiderate players is sometimes appalling. The officials questioned seemed to have no power to tell the players to grow up and mind their language.

    In the meantime I have decided not to take my granddaughter to the playground on match days.

    Name and Address supplied

    Public access to meetings

    For the duration of the COVID-19 restrictions, meetings of Olney Town Council (OTC) will be restricted to however many rooms may be available in the Olney centre, the public can also go online to listen to the live audio meetings.
    Members of the public can listen to the proceedings by surfing to the OTC web page, www.olneytowncouncil.gov.uk, clicking on the ‘Meetings’ tab and scrolling down to the announcement about the next meeting, where there’ll be one link to the agenda and another to join the meeting listen-only.

    If you would like to be identified in the Mercury report as the originator of any correspondence read out, please contact Phonebox Magazine at editor@phoneboxmagazine.com.

    Next Meeting

    The next meeting will be held online on Monday 7 June, at 7.30pm. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk, townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

  • June 2021 Meeting - The Second of the New Council

    Olney Council report for June 2021

    Second Meeting of the New Council

    This was the second meeting of the new Olney Town Council (OTC) since the last Mercury report. A summary of the first, the Annual meeting, was published in the May edition of The Phonebox but anyone wishing to know about the proceedings in more detail can read the official minutes on the OTC website or listen to a recording on The Phonebox website:

    Public access to meetings

    Only one member was present to speak.
    John Bates asked about progress of the Neighbourhood Plan (NP). The plan set a limit of 300 new houses up to 2031 but that had already been exceeded, he said. The plan’s stated objectives include additional parking, accessibility, pedestrian, and cycle routes; to reduce traffic problems; to use developer contributed funds to improve community facilities and infrastructure. Even before the 250-house Yardley Manor site begins, Olney is suffering from these problems, he said, and called upon the council to resist any further expansion to Olney.
    Mayor Phil Geach said the council would formally respond in writing. Another resident had written regarding the lack of recordings of past meetings on the OTC website, as happens with Milton Keynes Council (MKC). He had asked for his name to be read out, but Phil declined to do so, not because of the non-disclosure policy of the previous council but because the correspondent had said he was on holiday and unable to attend in person. At the start of the formal part of the meeting Mayor Phil Geach called a minute’s silence for the victim of the recent tragedy at the river in Olney. Phil reported that there had been an error in the counting of votes for the position of Deputy Mayor at the last meeting where Naomi Brock had been elected. Naomi had actually been one vote short of an absolute majority, but the other candidates had subsequently agreed not to ask for a re-run and said they fully supported her in the role. A vote was taken to reconfirm Naomi as Deputy Mayor which was passed unanimously. Colin Rodden pointed out that he had not received an apology from the office, as had been promised.

    Citizens Advice Service

    At the April meeting a proposal from MK Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) stating how they propose to provide service in the post-Covid environment had been discussed. The proposal was for a weekly combined face to face service and phone/online service at a cost to OTC of £5,850 per year, whereas the pre-Covid service had been fortnightly and considerable discussion had taken place at that meeting regarding the need for face to face consultations in the digital era. Ian Stokes asked how well the service had previously been used and Andrea said that all five appointments were always booked within two days of being opened up. There was some discussion as to how those without the technology could access the online facility, since there seemed to be an implication that OTC would somehow provide the capability. Using the PC in the library would not be particularly private, thought Deirdre Bethune. The preference appeared to be for a fortnightly service so it was agreed that Phil would speak to the CAB and come back with a proposal at the next meeting.

    Watering of High Street hanging baskets

    Deirdre Bethune explained that the hanging baskets in the High Street are put up by volunteers from Olney Events, having originally been done by the Floral Fiesta Committee and then The Olney Group (TOG). When Olney used to enter the Britain in Bloom competition we gained additional points for community involvement, she said. The baskets have always been watered by the council ground staff , along with the council-owned baskets around the Market Place, but there had never been a formal written agreement for them to do so. Colin Rodden asked how much time was spent on the watering and Andrea replied that it took two hours, two or three times a week, depending on the weather. A vote was taken to formalise the arrangement which was passed unanimously.

    Recreations and Services committee

    Ian Stokes presented a proposal to split the existing committee into two new and separate committees, due to the diverse nature of the areas of responsibility. The fi rst would cover environment and community services, to include environmental impact and climate emergency, and the second would cover sports and recreation. Since writing the proposal he had realised that Olney’s heritage was a big part of the town and should also be considered. Many of the new members had indicated they wished to serve on the Recs and Services committee, so perhaps there was an opportunity to split it, he suggested. Deirdre Bethune said that in the past there had been two separate committees but there had been such a high degree of cross-over that they had been combined. This would become clearer once the committee had met for the fi rst time, she thought. Peter Geary agreed, saying that 75-80% of the committee’s work involved parks and recreation and managing the fl eet of machinery. The council was keen to be ‘lean,’ he said, and putting in another committee with the associated overheads could be seen as creating unnecessary bureaucracy. He suggested sticking with the existing arrangement for six months and then review. David Pibworth asked if the Kitchener Centre came under the remit of Recs and Services, since it is used by the people of Olney who OTC represent and there was a great deal of concern in the town regarding its future. Andrea replied that it is managed by MKC so OTC is not directly responsible, but Phil said any issues and concerns can be raised to MKC via the Parish Liaison Group. It was agreed that Ian would look at how matters such as School’s liaison and environmental issues could be dealt with and to revisit in six months’ time.

    Surgery for councillors

    Phil explained that his prime reason for becoming a councillor was to listen to residents, and other new members also wished to increase engagement with the community. They felt the best way to do that was with face to face meetings and he’d approached the clerk with a proposal to use a room in the Olney Centre for a regular surgery. The Clerk had initially said that he should personally pay for use of the facilities, with which he had disagreed. After some discussion he proposed a motion that, subject to certain conditions, members of the council should be permitted to use the Olney Centre for surgeries without charge which was passed.

    Engagement of a Quantity Surveyor

    At the April meeting a discussion had taken place about the soaring costs of the proposed community centre on the Aspreys development and the duty of care that OTC has to get value for money. It had been agreed to engage a Quantity Surveyor to produce a report. This had now been received but unfortunately the report was marked as In Confi dence and not to be circulated outside of the council, so after much discussion it was agreed to move the matter to the confi dential items part of the meeting when press and public would be excluded. Peter Geary agreed, saying that because the document was marked In Confi dence the council had no choice, but the results of those discussion should be made public at the earliest opportunity. In general, there must be compelling reasons for members to vote to discuss an item in closed session. Phil Geach agreed, saying that in future the clerk would be required to provide an explanation as to why an item should be confi dential when the agenda was published in advance of the meeting so that members can make an informed decision. This led to further discussion about exclusion of press and public in general, and Colin Rodden said there were a number of complex items with which the new members would need to be brought rapidly up to speed. Chris Tennant, as Chair of the Development Group, expressed his disappointment that the document marking meant that the item could not be discussed in open forum because he had come prepared to give the council and members of the public a full update on the NP and in particular the Yardley Manor site. Phil Geach proposed that the item was moved to Confidential Items, which was agreed by a majority with two abstentions. However, when the vote was taken at the end of the open meeting for the public and press to be excluded, the majority of members chose to abstain from the vote, which was still passed by the majority of those who voted.

    Club House at the Recreation Ground

    Later in the meeting there was an agenda item to discuss the club house on the recreation ground formally owned by Olney Town Football club which Andrea Vincent proposed should be discussed in closed session. Andrea explained that she wished to provide a full and open history which would include commercially and privately sensitive information. David Pibworth said he was not happy with the proposal but would reluctantly accept it if the information was subsequently made public. Peter Geary said members should be clear that if they were not convinced that an item should be discussed in closed session then they should vote against it, but they should understand the legal ramifications. Naomi Brock questioned whether the subject was confidential since a great deal of information was already in the public domain. David asked for clarification of the legalities and Andrea replied that she would be in breach of GDPR by mentioning personal and commercial information about people. Phil asked if it would be possible to discuss the matter without identifying those individuals and Andrea replied that she did not think so. Further discussion took place and eventually Peter Geary proposed that Andrea should compile a detailed, confidential briefing to be circulated at least 10 days before the next meeting where a vote would be taken as to whether it should be discussed in closed session which was passed.

    Sale of land in Dinglederry

    For info: This does not refer to ‘the mound’ of which there has been much discussion on social media. Two residents of Dinglederry have approached the council with a view to purchasing separate strips of land adjacent to their properties. The fi rst is a gated alleyway which leads nowhere. The previous council had asked for a land agent valuation to be obtained, but Andrea Vincent said none of those approached had responded. Peter Geary explained that it was originally intended to be part of a public footpath which never came into being and was of no amenity value whatsoever and the price being off ered was reasonable. He proposed that the council agreed to sell the land and the vote was taken and passed. The second is a small triangle of land containing a dog bin and lamppost. There is a gated entrance to the resident’s rear garden across the land which the resident indicated may be required for a mobility scooter in the future. Andrea Vincent said the dog bin could be easily moved but not the lamppost. Deirdre Bethune said she had been to check and believed there was already room for mobility scooter access. Peter Geary said he was not convinced about the request and suggested that the mayor and others visit the site and discuss with the resident, which was agreed.

    Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)

    Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy explained that this document would need to be signed off by the Clerk and Mayor at this meeting. A few members said they hadn’t received the document, so it was agreed to have a brief adjournment at the end of the meeting to allow them to read it. It was subsequently signed off .

    Clerk’s report

    In response to Andrea Vincent’s report that the public toilets remain open, Leanne Ward said she had received feedback that the toilets Mercury Repored
    on the recreation ground need to be open for longer as they currently close at lunch time. Andrea said that following vandalism last year the decision had been made to close early, but the council was looking to keep them open until 3:00 or 4:00pm. Leanne said that when she had been responsible for maintaining the toilets the vandalism had occurred later and that she thought 6:00pm was more reasonable. Jane Varley said that when she had been at the Rec litter picking, she had noticed that people were still using the bushes because the toilets were closed at 1:00pm. Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy said a deep clean takes place at 5:30pm after which they could be closed, which Leanne thought was reasonable but 6:00pm would be preferable for weekends. It was agreed to discuss with the cleaners and to investigate the provision of signs stating the opening and closing times. An advert for the Olney Centre caretaker role had been prepared and would be advertised when bookings start to return. Phil Geach noted that it was a zero hours contract, which he said he was opposed to. He proposed a motion that the council is opposed to zero hours contracts, which was passed by a majority with one abstention.

    There is one standards complaint being investigated by the MK Monitoring Officer about a previous councillor.

    Odds and Sods

    New members said they had no idea what the individual items on the finance report referred to so it was agreed that the Clerk would provide an additional breakdown in the future. It was agreed that all councillors would be enrolled as a group to the National Association of Councils at a cost of £16 per head. At the previous meeting Town Clerk Andrea Vincent had advised members that David Pibworth was not eligible to join the working group on Press and Media Communications as he writes a regular column for The Phonebox. Phil Geach said he and David had subsequently sought advice and been informed that this is not the case, so would respectfully be declining the Clerk’s advice and David would be joining the working group.

    Next Meeting

    The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th July. Members of the Public are welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.

  • August edition of Phonebox Magazine - July 2021 Council Meeting

    Olney Council report for July 2021

    Public access to meetings

    With the planned lifting of COVID-19 restrictions due on 19th July, this was expected to be the last full Olney Town Council (OTC) meeting to be held, socially distanced, in the large room at the Olney Centre.

    Public participation

    Two letters were read out in this section. The fi rst, from Zina Bage, concerned the number and speed of HGVs passing through Olney, then moved on to traffic and parking, in particular considering the new housing being built. Mayor Philip Geach explained that OTC was inviting the Head of Highways at Milton Keynes Council (MKC) to visit in the coming months, and would put these points to her. The second letter concerned parking in Oakdown Crescent, the issues cited refl ecting the long term paucity of parking in the surrounding area.

    Process review

    Trevor Aldred offered to conduct a process review, in order to improve business practice and efficiency, and measure performance so that the Council can tell whether or not it is improving. Councillors voted to take him up on this offer once the new Town Clerk was in post, Andrea Vincent having resigned recently after around two years’ service.

    Community building at Aspreys

    Chris Tennant explained that the Quantity Surveyor’s report had been forwarded to the Developers, and would be discussed in a meeting later in the week between them and representatives from OTC, to talk through the options and a revised proposal for the building.

    Town Clerk’s report

    With Andrea not being at this meeting, this was handled by Sarah Kennedy, Deputy Town Clerk. Phil Geach reported that the Town’s retailers had written a note to express their gratitude for the retail initiative and the work Andrea had put into it. He thanked Andrea for her service to OTC and wished her well in her new role at Wolverton. Naomi Brock had received much feedback from local residents about poor landscaping, including grass not being cut. Deirdre Bethune noted that OTC generally takes on an extra grounds person to assist during the Summer. Also, heavy rainfall had at times promoted stronger than usual grass growth. Sarah Kennedy suggested publishing a schedule of work, so residents could see when each area of grass was due to be cut. Peter Geary noted that these issues were not unique to Olney – pretty much every public authority which cuts grass is currently having such problems.

    Change of area for Community Orchard

    Jane Varley noted that the previous Council had approved the creation of a Community Orchard, sited adjacent to the allotments. This item was to review a recommendation from a tree expert to rotate it by 90 degrees, sited instead adjacent to the southern end of the fi eld, where it is likely to thrive better, the remainder of the fi eld being used as a wild fl ower meadow. It would also make it easier to extend the allotments if required. Councillors voted to accept this recommendation.

    Community Fete

    Dan Rowland requested approval for the Council to investigate holding a Community Fete on the Recreation Ground. It would be a fun event to bring the town together, particularly given COVID and the cancellation of both Riverfest and the Big Olney Food Festival (BOFF). Starting with 28th August, various dates and locations were discussed, attempting to avoid clashes of time and location. It was noted that there was a relatively short time remaining until what would be a Summer event. Councillors voted to approve the principle of a Community Fete, with the fi nal date and decision delegated to the Mayor and the Offi ce.

    Committees

    Chris Tennant reported that the Development Group will be reworking the Neighbourhood Plan. This will be followed by public consultation before adoption by the end of 2022. The latest works on Yardley Road are complete, the drainage and sewage connections having been put in place by the Developer. Works towards the end of July will see the installation of a pelican crossing on Aspreys, with further works next Summer yielding additional safety improvements. Colin Rodden reported that the Human Resources Committee was recruiting for two temporary posts to support Sarah in the offi ce until a new Town Clerk could be appointed. Trevor Aldred reported that the Planning Committee had attended a meeting with the developers of the Warrington Road site, and looked through around 20 planning applications.

    Dog bins

    Naomi Brock has been looking into the possibility of off ering sponsorship of the dog bins, aiming to cover the approx. £2.50 per week cost to empty each bin, and £500 cost to buy each new one when required. Councillors voted to approve the idea in principle.

    Working groups

    Naomi reported that the Public Toilet opening hours have been extended, now open from 7.30am – 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9.30am – 5.30pm at weekends. The Council is considering siting a new bin south of the tree-line behind the existing one near the Swimming Steps. Bin bag dispensers at the Recreation Ground are also being considered, recognised as not being without risk. Graffi ti was also discussed, as was parking (currently a very serious issue) and CCTV. In addition, a community litter picking group was being looked at, to act as somewhat of a visual deterrent, as well as to collect litter. Diff erent ways to maintain, and perhaps adopt, play areas were also noted. Finally, the Police can now use the facilities in the Olney Town Colts Clubhouse 24-7. It’s hoped this will encourage more of a presence in Olney and the Recreation Ground.

    Exclusion of Public and Press

    Towards the end of many Council meetings, Councillors vote on whether Public and Press should be excluded so that confi dential items may be discussed. Usually, this is the prelude to the end of the Mercury report but, this time, it was used merely as a technical mechanism so that the document on which the forthcoming discussion would be based could be received, any confi dential parts redacted, and then the ensuing discussion conducted in public.

    Club House at Recreation Ground

    This item concerns the southern end of the Club House adjacent to the football pitch on the Recreation Ground adjacent to East Street, previously occupied by Olney Town Football Club and currently occupied by Caveman Conditioning. The northern end of that building is occupied by the Olney Town Colts Football Club, and is not part of this discussion. It was clear from the start that, while the previous Council had discussed this topic as a confi dential item, this one was determined to discuss it in public, with only the minimum required pieces of information redacted. Phil Geach explained that the redacted parts of the document noted above were the “terms of tenders, and proposals and counter-proposals in negotiations and contracts”. Also, names and organisations could not be mentioned and, as they were not spoken, they are not reported further. Jane Varley was keen to draw a line under the previous Council’s handling of the situation, and get on with resolving it. Deirdre noted that she’d spoken with the person concerned, and they still had a strong interest in staying in the building. Chris Tennant summarised the current situation: The southern end of the building had fallen into disrepair due to decades of neglect, meaning signifi cant structural defects must be remedied, probably a complete rewire, roof repairs, plumbing work and a lot of TLC. The Council went through a tendering exercise, with expressions of interest being sought from various groups, in and outside the town,
    to become preferred bidders for taking a long lease on that end of the building. That lease was to be on the basis that the leaseholder would take responsibility, and fund the costs of repairing the building and fi tting it out as needed. A preferred bidder was selected and a contract of the lease issued, but the costs to repair the building spiralled and the preferred bidder was unable to complete the contract for the lease. So, there is no preferred bidder in place, but the organisation involved remains keen to take the building on. The building has fallen back to OTC as an asset, and needs significant investment to make it suitable for use. The issue to be resolved is what OTC should do with this asset. Ian Stokes noted that it was a former community building, and that the process adopted by the previous Council was disgraceful, secret, private and deceitful – he had papers to prove it, which he was happy to publish. There are other interested parties who wish to take on the building, and always have been – but they were dismissed. He also felt that the rental fi gures he’d seen were farcical (i.e. too low) for a commercial rent – other businesses would be very keen to have such preferential rent for this building – perhaps six to a dozen. This building could be a way to raise funds to maintain the Recreation Ground during the Summer, he felt – security, litter picking, etc. If it was to be rented to a business, a commercial rent must be charged. Peter Geary felt the mistake by the Council dated back four to fi ve years, when it took on the building in the state it was in, rather than enforcing the terms of the lease to ensure the building was handed back in ‘a cleared condition’. It is not an asset, it’s a liability, for which the Council is responsible. There now appeared to be two options for the Council: pay for the repairs, or lease it to an organisation which would fund them. Leanne Ward felt that it was a community building, taken away from the community and run by a commercial enterprise which hadn’t put anything back into it. A commercial building should attract a commercial rent. This was the reason for the hostility from the Rugby Club, the Football Club, etc. It was only fair to make it available to all interested parties, giving them a chance to lease it. Naomi Brock felt that perhaps a few different organisations could use it. Dierdre Bethune noted that the original OTC-commissioned Quantity Surveyor’s report, which identifi ed a cost-to-fi x very much lower than that believed now, led the plan to be that the existing tenant would make all the repairs in one go. However, the much-increased costs had led to them instead wanting to make them scheduled over time. Phil Geach felt the majority were minded to almost start from scratch, in an open and transparent way, not excluding any interested party. An inspection will be performed to see if the building is safe and, if it isn’t, the cost to make it safe will be estimated.

    Next Meeting

    The next meeting will be held on Monday 2nd August, at 7.00pm in the Olney Centre. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk.

  • August Meeting Notes
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    Olney Town Council Meeting 2/8/21

    This is a general summary / highlights of the meeting and is not the minutes

    Public speaks
    Sue Warren referred to item 7 on the agenda regarding Oakdown Crescent and its parking problems. She has been asking for the council to look at this problem for 10 years. So far, the only progress has been for an ambulance bay to be marked out.
    Later on in the meeting it was brought up as a topic that should be discussed by the parking working group.
    Linda Baker letter referred to the problem of enough capacity for badminton players and requested that any new facilities built in Olney ie. The Aspreys development would have suffi cient height for those who wish to play badminton.
    Bev Wright spoke at the meeting had originally wanted to speak at the meeting on another matter. Beverley Wright was commenting on the fact that she believed that the public should be able to speak at the beginning of the council meeting on any topic whether on the minutes or not otherwise the topic a member of the public may want to talk about may never come on the agenda. According to the Mayor The standing orders say differently but in this instance he would allow her to talk on any subject.

    Mayors update
    A user group has been set up by Naomi Brock re litter picking that is working well. More bins have been placed at the rec which is helping.
    There is still graffiti, drinking at the play park most nights despite being reported to the police.

    CCTV and security regarding the rec
    There was a lively debate on whether OTC should employ security staff at the rec on busy weekends.
    Naomi Brock would prefer a long-term solution for Olney of a warden. Leanne Ward thought security staff would only push the problem elsewhere.
    There was a general feeling that something should be done for this summer at least and it was agreed to ask for quotes from different security firms as a more immediate remedy. CCTV was also discussed but was agreed that it doesn’t actually stop problems at the rec.

    Football Club
    Quotes were considered re a safety inspection of the Football Club building that is in a parlous state.
    It was agreed that a building inspection was called for followed by an electrical report.
    Working group for areas of concern in the town. A working group was set up to look at parking issues in the town.

    Removal of publication of personal matters relating to a former employee
    The item has now been taken down and it was agreed that personal matters should never be publicised in the first place. It was agreed that the former employee would receive an apology.

    Update on the Community Building at Aspreys.
    Chris Tennant is spearheading this project. It has been decided that the base design should be such that it can be enhanced in the future as further monies become available.

    Update re the Goosey Island land. The owner of this land has offered it for sale at the price of £125k
    Councillors thought this valuation was way above its true value. There was some interest in crowd funding as an option but ultimately the whole idea was rejected. Some figures were discussed as to what the value might be should it ever be considered as a purchase.

    To review the expenditure report
    Council were informed that IT is now fully wired for WiFi.

    The Deputy Towns Clerks Report
    Received and noted.

    To approve drafts of the amended OCM, Finance and Dickens of a Christmas Terms of Reference now that the committee meetings have taken place.
    Terms of reference agreed.

  • September 2021 - Full Meeting Report

    Olney Council report for September 2021

    Public access to meetings

    Mayor Phil Geach explained that at last month’s meeting a resident wanted to speak on a matter that was not an agenda item for that meeting. The Standing Orders approved by the previous council did not permit this, although they chose to ignore this rule. He had suspended that Standing Order on that occasion and explained that the council were currently consulting with Bucks Association of Local Councils (BALC) as to whether the Standing Orders could be amended to permit discussion on any subject in the future. In the meantime that rule would be suspended at this and all future meetings until a decision had been made. This was an agenda item later in the meeting where, after much discussion as to when and why this rule had been made in the first place, it was agreed to amend the Standing Orders at the next appropriate meeting, subject to advice from BALC.

    Public participation

    The only person wishing to speak was Lee Hindle regarding what she described as the ‘tatty and shambolic’ state of the town. In the past a temporary groundsman had been employed by the council for the summer months, but this had not happened this year. A previous groundsman had returned on a voluntary basis – mainly in the cemetery and churchyard, she said, in order that the other ground staff could get on top of the mammoth task of maintaining the rest of the town, and things did improve greatly. She commended Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy for her efforts and visibility but suggested that the ground staff need to ‘pull their fingers out’ to get the town back to looking as it had done in the past.

    Olney Health Hub

    As Chair of the Olney Development Group, Chris Tennant provided an update on the proposals to relocate the existing Cobbs Garden Doctors Surgery (CGDS) to vacant land adjacent to the Olney Youth Centre off Austen Avenue, as identified in the Neighbourhood Plan. CGDS has also considered the Warrington Road site on the edge of the town owned by a developer that has outline planning permission for a range of use. Also present from CGDS were Chris Herman (Advisor), Dr Maggie Winter and Practice Manager Penny Giraudeau. Presenting his report, Chris Tennant explained that the current medical centre opened in 1992 to serve 6,000 patients. It now has 8,500 which will grow to 9,500 with the new houses being built. The practice would ideally like to reopen its list to surrounding villages where they have historically taken patients, and this could see their list grow to 12,000. Demand for appointments is high, one factor being the larger than average number of elderly patients. The current surgery does not meet current regulations in terms of building design, space, disability access, car parking and other areas. Primary care has changed over the last 30 years with increased medical care being provided in the community and this is likely to increase in the future, putting additional strain on the existing building. Not only does the practice need to increase the amount of clinical space but also the administrative area available to their staff. An independent review two years ago concluded that the current building is severely restrained and would need to double in size to meet current building standards, which would not be possible on the current site. They would like to incorporate a modern IT service and develop the role of telemedicine. There has been interest from a dentist and optician to provide a One Stop Health facility. The Youth Centre and adjacent land is currently owned by Milton Keynes Council. (For Info: MKC ceased funding Youth Services some years ago and since then the building has been in a steady state of decline. It was recently leased to a team of local volunteers who have undertaken some renovation work and opened it as the East Street Community Centre). There is a significant amount of Section 106 money (‘Planning Gain’ from the new housing developments) to support the project, circa £719k. If the partners were to own the new surgery the balance would be funded via ‘borrowing cost reimbursement’ or notional rent. The other option would be for a commercial developer to build and fund the development, again using the Section 106 money available. In October 2020 some Section106 money was secured from MKC by CGDS, with the help of OTC, for the practice to appoint a professional advisor to look at a project feasibility study. The brief included site search/investigation, viability appraisal, NHS funding, heads of terms, and preparation of an outline business case and funding requirement from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in order to progress to the next stage. The advisor was appointed in October 2020 and has been working with CGDS on project feasibility and negotiation with MKC Property Services. Several meetings have been held between MKC and CGDS since December 2020 and initial designs for the Austen Avenue site prepared but the project seems to have stalled over issues such as how to fund and provide the replacement for the existing Youth Centre building. Discussions with Anglian Water over the sewer that runs below the site have been positive and with a 6m easement it is possible to locate the proposed Health Hub building and replacement Youth Centre on the site.
    Considerable discussion then took place. The preliminary plan shows a new entrance to the facility off Austen Avenue, roughly where the existing Youth Club building stands. Colin Rodden was concerned about the increase in traffic and was keen to get public engagement for the whole project as soon as possible. Practice Manager Penny Giraudeau said that the Patient Participation Group had recently been revitalised and were keen to be involved in any consultations. With regards to replacement of the Youth Club building, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) had expressed a preference for building refurbishment rather than replacement where possible, Colin said. He asked about CCG funding and Chris Herman said it was not guaranteed that they would agree to provide funding. It was important to get a commitment from MKC to release the land, he said. Leanne Ward asked what additional services CGDS would be considering providing on the site, expressing a preference for those lacking in town, rather than services such as dentist and optician which are already existing. Dr Winter explained that CGDS currently has patients with the smallest square footage of anywhere in MK and they are ‘bursting at the seams’ and had been for some time. The new premises would enable them to look at expanding their range of services and list, but that would be dependent upon employing additional doctors.
    A new building on the Warrington Road development was being considered, but she would prefer to remain in the centre of town for ease of access. The surgery would still focus on providing a good core service, she said. Ward Councillor Peter Geary noted that CGDS proposed to fund the building of the new Youth Centre and pointed out that OTC had recent experience in the cost of building such a facility. The cost of building the Community Centre on the new Yardley Road development had turned out to be much higher than anticipated and he thought that a funding gap existed in this case to provide a similar sized facility, even with an element of Section 106 funding. Although in need of considerable renovation, the existing building is fundamentally sound, he said, and could be renovated at less cost than a new building. However, this would not deliver the benefits of a new building in terms of aesthetics, energy efficiency or usability. Chris Tennant said there appeared to be considerable support from MKC for a new building as part of the overall scheme. A vote was taken and it was agreed to support CGDS with their relocation plan.

    Mayor’s report

    A data connection hub has been installed in the High Street by MKC and no one seems sure what it’s for. It is apparently for topping up bus data points cards but is not located at the bus stop. Phil Geach said it had been installed without consultation to OTC or the conservation officer. MKC has apologised and it will probably be moved to the bus stop. The MK Connect service has been of variable quality and communication from MKC has been poor. They have promised to give OTC a seat at the table for future discussions around the service. Phil said he had also enquired about the possibility of an electric shuttle bus around the town when the Yardley Road development is built.

    OTC Community Fund

    This fund, previously known as the Sidney Dix fund, after a local benefactor, is available to community groups in the Town. Chair of Finance Ben Brown explained that the application process has a yearly cycle with applications being submitted to the council by May, discussed at the finance committee in July and then ratified by full council in September. For a number of years the number of grants awarded have been minimal and therefore the pot has grown to circa £35,000. The money in this reserve cannot be spent by the council and can only be used for the purpose of community grants. The finance committee are proposing that the community fund is advertised more widely and the deadline and timetable for grants be temporarily suspended to allow applications at any time. Leanne Ward asked if schools could apply to the fund and Ben said he was of the opinion that schools fell within the criteria of community groups. It was agreed to suspend the existing application process for 12 months and allow applications to be made throughout the year. A current application of £500 from the Cowper memorial United Reformed Church towards a community quilt project for the Amazing Grace 250 celebration was approved, as was a grant of £3000 to the Rugby Club towards their new changing rooms

    Olney Fireworks

    The Olney Group (TOG) has requested permission to hold the annual firework display on the recreation ground on Sunday 7th November, subject to whatever Covid regulations and advice may be in place at the time. The council agreed to the request.

    Club House at Recreation Ground

    This item concerns the southern end of the Club House adjacent to the football pitch on the Recreation Ground adjacent to East Street, previously occupied by Olney Town Football Club and currently occupied by Caveman Conditioning. Following on from the detailed discussion at last month’s meeting, Jane Varley reported that legal advice had been obtained regarding the existing tenant confirming that they have rights as a sitting tenant. However, no lease has ever been signed so OTC are within their rights to go to the tenant and seek a review of this non-existent lease and to set a lease at a commercial rate. A building survey has been completed and the results were due on 17th September. An electrical survey is also planned but that will now be delayed until the results of the initial survey are available. Should the building be deemed unsafe to occupy then OTC would have a duty of care to ensure that Caveman Conditioning vacate the building. There was considerable discussion around whether the council would be liable in the meantime, but Peter Geary observed that none of the other council owned properties had received a full building survey recently, so it was taken on trust that they were safe unless there was evidence to the contrary. It was agreed to wait for the result of the survey before taking any further action.

    The next meeting

    The next meeting will be held on Monday 4th October, at 7.00pm in the Olney Centre. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk.

    The Mayor's Memo as in the September Magazine

    Stacks Image 99192
    This last week, three months after becoming Mayor, saw my first two official engagements; the opening ceremony of the new Cabin on the Community Allotment and an awards ceremony at Olney Fire Station.
    On the face of it you may not think that these two events have a lot in common but for me each, in their own way, symbolises the caring community in which we are so lucky to live.

    The first event was last Saturday when I had the honour to appear alongside Gladys Olujobi representing the Co-op. The store has supported so many community initiatives and we are truly grateful for their continued presence and engagement in day-to-day life in the town.

    The Allotment Association, chaired by Elaine Herniman, has worked tirelessly to bring the joy of gardening, self-sufficiency and achievement to so many. The Community Allotment, with its raised beds, wide, well-tended paths, poly tunnel and now bright and spacious Community Cabin complete with solar power, is a haven for all who use it, bringing an opportunity to enjoy all that being an allotment holder can bring but on a smaller more manageable scale. The variety of fruits and vegetables being grown is an inspiration to us all and truly a pleasant way to spend a few hours. We are all too aware of the precarious balance that exists on our planet; the harmonious interaction of humans, and the ecosystem that supports us is vital to ensure our continued survival and it is beholden on us all not to lose sight of our duties as custodians, not owners, of the world we inhabit.

    The Council is currently exploring a number of projects to help us better support our environment and subsequently make Olney a nicer place for all. We have recently given our support to a new meadow to the east of the allotments and, bordering the south side of that, a community orchard. With the future in mind we are exploring solar power for Council Buildings and the introduction of more charging points for electric vehicles, all of which we will be looking to provide by means of grant-aided funding and therefore at minimal impact on the finances of the Council. The Council is also working with Milton Keynes to take more open spaces into local ownership and thereby give us more opportunity to determine how best to support wildlife whilst keeping areas available for recreation.

    On Tuesday evening I hot-footed it from a Finance Meeting to the local fire station where I was treated to a demonstration of the expertise of our town firefighters during a series of drills. To say that these fellow residents of ours are dedicated to keeping us safe and train hard to ensure that they can, would be to vastly understate the level of their commitment to the town. Following the drill I presented a certificate of achievement to Firefighter Craig Price for attaining qualifications in firefighting proficiency requiring two years of training. Congratulations Craig!

    A number of things were apparent to me during my visit. The level of camaraderie, professionalism and good humour displayed by the crew was evident and I was immensely reassured that some of our own cared enough to give of their time and offer up their personal safety for their neighbours. What did concern me was the simple lack of numbers of crew available. On Tuesday there were four firefighters in attendance out of a current establishment of six. To put this into perspective, in order to be able to offer a viable service to the town an establishment of 12 is needed. There have been a couple of incidents over the last year or so where comment has been made over the lack of attendance of the Olney fire engine. The simple fact is that there were not enough crew to man it. We need to acknowledge that if we wish to retain this invaluable facility in the town then we need more people to step up to join our current team. The requirements to join are not onerous; you need to be 18 years old or more and be physically fit. The Fire Service knows that not everyone can be available 24/7 so it is quite ok if you can only offer time during the day or after say 6pm as long as you can get to the station in East Street within 8 minutes of receiving a call.

    I know from my work in the Covid Support Group that the community spirit in Olney is second to none so I implore all of you ladies and gentlemen who can offer up some of their time to contact Station Officer Des O’Connor at doconnor@bucksfire.gov.uk or simply pop along to the Station on a Tuesday evening for a chat. Likewise any businesses that would like to encourage their staff to join our retained Firefighters and would like to discuss how they might help, or simply learn more, please contact either Des or me for a chat. In the meantime, I am sure you, like me, would like to thank these brave neighbours of ours for all they do.

    Finally, please do say hello to me, or any of the Council who you see in the town, or feel free to pop along to the ‘surgery’ held every Thursday 6pm - 7pm in the Olney Centre for an informal chat. Remember we are here to support you and represent your views and we always welcome any feedback.
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  • October 2021 issue (September meeting)

    Olney Council report for September 2021

    Public Speaks

    Public access to meetings
    Mayor Phil Geach explained that at last month’s meeting a resident wanted to speak on a matter that was not an agenda item for that meeting. The Standing Orders approved by the previous council did not permit this, although they chose to ignore this rule. He had suspended that Standing Order on that occasion and explained that the council were currently consulting with Bucks Association of Local Councils (BALC) as to whether the Standing Orders could be amended to permit discussion on any subject in the future. In the meantime that rule would be suspended at this and all future meetings until a decision had been made. This was an agenda item later in the meeting where, after much discussion as to when and why this rule had been made in the first place, it was agreed to amend the Standing Orders at the next appropriate meeting, subject to advice from BALC.

    Public participation
    The only person wishing to speak was Lee Hindle regarding what she described as the ‘tatty and shambolic’ state of the town. In the past a temporary groundsman had been employed by the council for the summer months, but this had not happened this year. A previous groundsman had returned on a voluntary basis – mainly in the cemetery and churchyard, she said, in order that the other ground staff could get on top of the mammoth task of maintaining the rest of the town, and things did improve greatly. She commended Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy for her efforts and visibility but suggested that the ground staff need to ‘pull their fingers out’ to get the town back to looking as it had done in the past.

    Olney Health Hub
    As Chair of the Olney Development Group, Chris Tennant provided an update on the proposals to relocate the existing Cobbs Garden Doctors Surgery (CGDS) to vacant land adjacent to the Olney Youth Centre off Austen Avenue, as identified in the Neighbourhood Plan. CGDS has also considered the Warrington Road site on the edge of the town owned by a developer that has outline planning permission for a range of use. Also present from CGDS were Chris Herman (Advisor), Dr Maggie Winter and Practice Manager Penny Giraudeau. Presenting his report, Chris Tennant explained that the current medical centre opened in 1992 to serve 6,000 patients.
    It now has 8,500 which will grow to 9,500 with the new houses being built. The practice would ideally like to reopen its list to surrounding villages where they have historically taken patients, and this could see their list grow to 12,000. Demand for appointments is high, one factor being the larger than average number of elderly patients. The current surgery does not meet current regulations in terms of building design, space, disability access, car parking and other areas. Primary care has changed over the last 30 years with increased medical care being provided in the community and this is likely to increase in the future, putting additional strain on the existing building. Not only does the practice need to increase the amount of clinical space but also the administrative area available to their staff. An independent review two years ago concluded that the current building is severely restrained and would need to double in size to meet current building standards, which would not be possible on the current site. They would like to incorporate a modern IT service and develop the role of telemedicine. There has been interest from a dentist and optician to provide a One Stop Health facility. The Youth Centre and adjacent land is currently owned by Milton Keynes Council. (For Info: MKC ceased funding Youth Services some years ago and since then the building has been in a steady state of decline. It was recently leased to a team of local volunteers who have undertaken some renovation work and opened it as the East Street Community Centre). There is a significant amount of Section 106 money (‘Planning Gain’ from the new housing developments) to support the project, circa £719k. If the partners were to own the new surgery the balance would be funded via ‘borrowing cost reimbursement’ or notional rent. The other option would be for a commercial developer to build and fund the development, again using the Section 106 money available.
    In October 2020 some Section106 money was secured from MKC by CGDS, with the help of OTC, for the practice to appoint a professional advisor to look at a project feasibility study. The brief included site search/investigation, viability appraisal, NHS funding, heads of terms, and preparation of an outline business case and funding requirement from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in order to progress to the next stage. The advisor was appointed in October 2020 and has been working with CGDS on project feasibility and negotiation with MKC Property Services. Several meetings have been held between MKC and CGDS since December 2020 and initial designs for the Austen Avenue site prepared but the project seems to have stalled over issues such as how to fund and provide the replacement for the existing Youth Centre building. Discussions with Anglian Water over the sewer that runs below the site have been positive and with a 6m easement it is possible to locate the proposed Health Hub building and replacement Youth Centre on the site.
    Considerable discussion then took place. The preliminary plan shows a new entrance to the facility off Austen Avenue, roughly where the existing Youth Club building stands. Colin Rodden was concerned about the increase in traffic and was keen to get public engagement for the whole project as soon as possible. Practice Manager Penny Giraudeau said that the Patient Participation Group had recently been revitalised and were keen to be involved in any consultations. With regards to replacement of the Youth Club building, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) had expressed a preference for building refurbishment rather than replacement where possible, Colin said. He asked about CCG funding and Chris Herman said it was not guaranteed that they would agree to provide funding. It was important to get a commitment from MKC to release the land, he said. Leanne Ward asked what additional services CGDS would be considering providing on the site, expressing a preference for those lacking in town, rather than services such as dentist and optician which are already existing. Dr Winter explained that CGDS currently has patients with the smallest square footage of anywhere in MK and they are ‘bursting at the seams’ and had been for some time. The new premises would enable them to look at expanding their range of services and list, but that would be dependent upon employing additional doctors.
    A new building on the Warrington Road development was being considered, but she would prefer to remain in the centre of town for ease of access. The surgery would still focus on providing a good core service, she said. Ward Councillor Peter Geary noted that CGDS proposed to fund the building of the new Youth Centre and pointed out that OTC had recent experience in the cost of building such a facility. The cost of building the Community Centre on the new Yardley Road development had turned out to be much higher than anticipated and he thought that a funding gap existed in this case to provide a similar sized facility, even with an element of Section 106 funding. Although in need of considerable renovation, the existing building is fundamentally sound, he said, and could be renovated at less cost than a new building. However, this would not deliver the benefits of a new building in terms of aesthetics, energy efficiency or usability. Chris Tennant said there appeared to be considerable support from MKC for a new building as part of the overall scheme. A vote was taken and it was agreed to support CGDS with their relocation plan.

    Mayor’s report
    A data connection hub has been installed in the High Street by MKC and no one seems sure what it’s for. It is apparently for topping up bus data points cards but is not located at the bus stop. Phil Geach said it had been installed without consultation to OTC or the conservation officer. MKC has apologised and it will probably be moved to the bus stop. The MK Connect service has been of variable quality and communication from MKC has been poor. They have promised to give OTC a seat at the table for future discussions around the service. Phil said he had also enquired about the possibility of an electric shuttle bus around the town when the Yardley Road development is built.

    OTC Community Fund
    This fund, previously known as the Sidney Dix fund, after a local benefactor, is available to community groups in the Town. Chair of Finance Ben Brown explained that the application process has a yearly cycle with applications being submitted to the council by May, discussed at the finance committee in July and then ratified by full council in September. For a number of years the number of grants awarded have been minimal and therefore the pot has grown to circa £35,000. The money in this reserve cannot be spent by the council and can only be used for the purpose of community grants. The finance committee are proposing that the community fund is advertised more widely and the deadline and timetable for grants be temporarily suspended to allow applications at any time. Leanne Ward asked if schools could apply to the fund and Ben said he was of the opinion that schools fell within the criteria of community groups. It was agreed to suspend the existing application process for 12 months and allow applications to be made throughout the year. A current application of £500 from the Cowper memorial United Reformed Church towards a community quilt project for the Amazing Grace 250 celebration was approved, as was a grant of £3000 to the Rugby Club towards their new changing rooms

    Olney Fireworks
    The Olney Group (TOG) has requested permission to hold the annual firework display on the recreation ground on Sunday 7th November, subject to whatever Covid regulations and advice may be in place at the time. The council agreed to the request.

    Club House at Recreation Ground
    This item concerns the southern end of the Club House adjacent to the football pitch on the Recreation Ground adjacent to East Street, previously occupied by Olney Town Football Club and currently occupied by Caveman Conditioning. Following on from the detailed discussion at last month’s meeting, Jane Varley reported that legal advice had been obtained regarding the existing tenant confirming that they have rights as a sitting tenant. However, no lease has ever been signed so OTC are within their rights to go to the tenant and seek a review of this non-existent lease and to set a lease at a commercial rate. A building survey has been completed and the results were due on 17th September. An electrical survey is also planned but that will now be delayed until the results of the initial survey are available. Should the building be deemed unsafe to occupy then OTC would have a duty of care to ensure that Caveman Conditioning vacate the building. There was considerable discussion around whether the council would be liable in the meantime, but Peter Geary observed that none of the other council owned properties had received a full building survey recently, so it was taken on trust that they were safe unless there was evidence to the contrary. It was agreed to wait for the result of the survey before taking any further action.

    The next meeting will be held on Monday 4th October, at 7.00pm in the Olney Centre. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk, townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

    Kitchener Centre Update

    The show will go on

    Following a meeting organised by Olney Town Council with Victoria Collins, Director of Adult Services and Andrea Natale, Head of Day Services, we have good news regarding The Kitchener Centre.

    The Kitchener Centre, currently operating on Tuesdays and Thursdays, are intending to open for another day. They hope to have it up and running to five days a week as soon as possible.
    Rumours that any attempt to close the centre - as happened in 2015/16 - have been quashed. The local medical centres can refer people with care needs to the Kitchener Centre. We will be letting as many people as possible know so that more people with care needs can be introduced to the facility.
    We have been assured that while assessments are required, timescales will be kept as short as possible.
    It is hoped that it will be run by local staff.
    We will be looking into the possibility of the centre being used by others when it is not operating as a day centre.

    David Pibworth on behalf of
    Olney Town Council.

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  • November 2021 Issue (October Council Meeting)

    Olney Council report for October 2021

    Sue Warren wished the Council to note the continued parking problems in Oakdown Crescent and asked that they took whatever action they could.

    No apologies received

    Declarations of Interest

    Ian Stokes and Chris Tennant both declared interest concerning item six of the agenda: Update of the Football Clubhouse

    Approval of minutes from OTC meeting on 6th September

    Trevor Aldred asked if a written report referred to in item 21/145 (proposed new Health Hub) had been circulated. Chris Tennant said that it had. Colin Rodden asked if there was any chance to engage with people living in the area proposed for the new Health Hub, land near East Street and Austen Avenue. He said he would like to see heightened engagement with them on it.

    Temporary Deputy Clerk appointment

    Mayor Philip Geach said that the council have appointed a temporary Deputy Clerk to assist in the council’s business, and asked for this to be retrospectively approved. Colin Rodden asked if the post had been advertised and Philip said no as it’s a temporary appointment. Chris Tennant said he thought the council had advertised for a temporary position and a permanent position and the Mayor said they had ‘gone out’ for a temporary Clerk’s appointment but had had no applicants. He proposed that 1) OTC approves the appointment of a temporary clerk and 2) they will review the situation on a regular monthly basis. Deirdre Bethune suggested they should review it up until Christmas saying it doesn’t have to be reviewed every month. Peter Geary agreed that a December review might be good with the question: does the temporary Deputy Clerk deliver the services we want delivered? Philip agreed that December is sensible for the review and proposed that it is brought up in the December OTC meeting.

    Request for an Olney Dog Show

    A request has been made to hold a dog show in the summer of 2022. Pre-Covid there was a dog show on the Rec and now an application has been made to use the recreation ground on Sunday 31st July on the field alongside the tennis courts, just past the toilets. Ian Stokes said the dog show was well organised last time with volunteers helping, plus they took all their rubbish home with them and the parking had been organised properly. Jane Varley asked where are they going to park this time? With a likely deluge of visitors, she said, do we allocate them parking? Ian Stokes remembered that previously they had parked sensibly adding that other visitors can use the available parking spaces. The charity Animals in Need would benefit from the event.

    Update on the Football Clubhouse

    Jane Varley reported that a recent report by a surveyor had stated that the Clubhouse building was safe to occupy. The key safety concern, she said, would be the electrical installations, ensuring they have been isolated and are maintained for the changing rooms to be used, and she added that a report on this should be sought. Once the inspection was complete a further report should be provided for any items deemed dangerous, but there was not an immediate risk to occupants. She said there should be a ‘Fragile Roof’ sign put up on the building’s roof and added that the building also needs a test for asbestos. Deirdre Bethune asked: was none of this done before? Jane replied that an electrician is providing a full report, but he has already suggested that the building is safe to use. Deirdre said she was more concerned about asbestos than the electrical issues.
    Dan Rowland wondered whether it would be useful to get a Health & Safety report adding that the OTC is responsible for the building and yet can’t demonstrate that it has the situation under control. He added that it’s not known if there is asbestos present or, if it is present, whether it’s safe. Trevor Aldred said its echoes his experience of the Youth Centre where there were lots of safety issues to consider. Naomi Brock said they need to know for sure if there is asbestos and if so, is it covered under the building’s insurance. Dan said OTC have a duty to inform the insurers about asbestos when the building is being hired out. David Pibworth said that the fire escape was not good enough while Debbie Hall added that asbestos is only dangerous when it’s damaged. Colin Rodden said the fire doors need looking at and the tenant should be asked if he can make them safe. Philip Geach said they should investigate whether Health & Safety officials will carry out these surveys adding that he thought they definitely need to have an asbestos report. Leanne said the Clubhouse issue keeps coming back to the table and they keep spending more money going backwards and forwards with surveys. Jane Varley agreed: she said one report said to have a greater electrical survey while another said have an asbestos report. Naomi suggested there was no point spending more money on surveys if they were not going to use the building. Ian Stokes believed they were spending thousands on the building but only to ‘put a sticking plaster on it’. Dan Rowland said there were commercial activities going on at the building and yet OTC was not sure that it was safe. He said no commercial activities should now be allowed until it was declared safe, adding that OTC is responsible for the building. Deirdre Bethune said they should be coming to a decision on this. Philip Geach said the lease was delayed and then when it came close to anything being done, the repairs were deemed too expensive. Leanne thought it was not professional to expect the tenant to pay for all the repairs and to put the rent up too. Chris Tennant said the tenant had agreed to a graduated rent to offset the capital investment they were making.
    Chris added that the main issue with the building is that there was a legacy of under-investment in terms of its structure, water ingress and asbestos issues. He said there was support for the tenant on the basis that a commercial rent was put in place and the tenant brought the building up to acceptable standards. He suggested OTC should form a Working Group to meet with the tenant and discuss future rent arrangements and a package of remedial work. Debbie Whitworth said safety was paramount here. Ian Stokes asked if OTC need to spend more money on a building that they don’t know the future of. He said it’s drip, drip, drip spending all the time. Dan Rowland said that OTC needs to make sure the insurers are happy to continue insuring the building. And if not, can they find another insurer to cover it? Leanne noted that if the tenant has insurance, isn’t that enough? Peter Geary said there was building insurance in place but not public liability. He said much of the concerns are the tenant’s liability, not the council’s. David Pibworth said he did not want to affect someone’s running of a business but that safety issues have to be looked at. Philip Geach summed up that the concerns are:

    1) The immediate safety of the building;
    2) The tenant being able to continue there;
    3) Insurance cover;
    4) Health & Safety long term.

    Naomi said they should urgently write to the tenant and tell them if, for example, they can’t use the water. Ian agreed, saying that if there is no clean running water then you can’t have people working in the building. Philip Geach proposed, and it was agreed, to send a copy of the building report to the tenant adding that nothing in the survey says that the building is not safe. Peter Geary said, as we are lay people – we’re going round and round here and that this was the role of the proper officer. Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy said there were two reports. One said it was not unsafe and the other highlights electrical issues, stating that anything deemed unsafe is disconnected. The two reports say the building is safe, in her view. Ben Brown asked if they should allow the Deputy Clerk to commission the remedial works and asked if OTC were happy with the recommendation that the building was safe. Philip Geach said the Deputy Clerk should speak to the insurers and make sure the building is suitable but, if at any time it is deemed unsafe, then she can shut the building. This was agreed by councillors although David Pibworth abstained.

    Deputy Town Clerk’s Report

    The AGAR (Annual Governance and Accountability Return) is complete and there were no exceptional matters. A new caretaker has started and is working 25 hours a week which makes a combined total effort in the office of 84.5 hours. A groundsman has left the council and options for a new grounds team are being investigated. New IT equipment has been bought and new WiFi around the council building is working well. The Olney Centre is operating well and has been very busy with bookings and queries coming in every day.
    The annual flailing of hedges has begun and bedding plants for Autumn/Winter need to be ordered. A decision as to which supplier to go with was required. Sarah Kennedy said she had received many complaints about weeds all over town. The grounds team are going to concentrate on the north and south entrances to the town (Bridge Street and Wellingborough Road) for weed maintenance. An Olney Middle School and Olney Infant Academy meeting took place which Debbie Whitworth attended. Debbie reported that Milton Keynes are running a programme called Modeshift Stars and schools that hold the right accreditation have seen many positives including cleaner air and road safety improvements. OIA had issues with weeds nearby and there has also been a recommendation to extend double yellow lines outside it. There is also a petition for a ‘20’s Plenty’ sign.
    Chris Tennant said Red Routes were becoming quite overgrown and said that, to encourage parents to use them to take their children to school, could OTC make the routes safe. He said there were various routes completely overgrown. Sarah Kennedy said that this year has been ‘crazy’ with the growth of weeds. But she added that now that weeds are dying down, staff are starting to catch up with their maintenance.

    Expenditure Report

    Colin Rodden said he was looking forward to getting the library open and receiving more visitors. He said that FOLIO have received a grant from the Co-op to make it more user friendly and attractive.

    The Next Meeting

    The next meeting will be held on Monday 1st November, at 7.00pm in the Olney Centre. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk, townclerk@olneytowncouncil.gov.uk.

  • December 6th 2021

    Olney Council report for 1st November 2021

    Public participation

    There were no members of the public wishing to speak at this month’s meeting.

    Mayor's Report

    Mayor Phil Geach reported that the Cowper and Newton Museum AG250 committee (Amazing Grace 250th anniversary) have an Olney Town Council (OTC) representative post which was vacant, and he would be taking it up, unless anyone else wished to do so. They would be looking for support in their application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, and to purchase some heritage signs for the town for which an application to the OTC Community Fund would be made. Public engagement is key, and the museum will be looking to hold a public meeting early next year. Phil reported that he, Chris Tennant and Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy had attended a meeting virtual with Milton Keynes Council (MKC) housing department regarding protected housing on the Yardley Manor development. There will be 19 properties, varying from one-bedroom flats to five bedroom houses available for rent, which will be earmarked for residents of Olney or people with a strong connection with Olney to have ‘first bite’ at an affordable rent. Milton Keynes Council (MKC) are undertaking a publicity drive and a public engagement meeting was due to be held before the end of the month to provide more details to prospective residents. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Royal British Legion and the remembrance parade would be taking place on Sunday 14th November. As an ex-serviceman David Pibworth would be placing the wreath on behalf of the council.

    Summer security patrols
    Ian Stokes reported on the security patrols that took place for a period of eight weeks during the summer by a private security company to reduce the instances of antisocial behaviour. He said the feedback had been very positive, although they had been spoken to quite aggressively at times. They’d had incidents to deal with every weekend and he felt they’d done a good job. The council now needed to decide if they wanted to repeat it next year. Jane Varley said the council should consider how they wanted to manage ‘the whole nine yards’ to include litter, parking and antisocial behaviour so that they are not playing catchup again. Naomi Brock observed that antisocial behaviour continued to take place at the recreation ground so it was not something that could be dismissed just because the weather had changed. Phil said that funding for CCTV was being sought and he would report back in due course. He said he had not initially been in favour of the private security patrol but because of the positive feedback he was now a convert. It was agreed to revisit at the January 2022 meeting.

    Events for 2022

    The AG250 celebrations had already been discussed, said Phil, but the other big event was the extended Bank Holiday from the 2nd to the 5th of June for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The main celebrations would probably involve street parties on Sunday 5th and possibly the lighting of the beacon on Barnfield. MKC Ward Councillor Peter Geary noted that for street parties to take place it was usually necessary to obtain a road closure order, as anything more than a cul-de-sac could cause problems. OTC could act as a conduit to MKC to facilitate this, he thought. Ian Stokes wondered if OTC should organise an event on the recreation ground instead of or as well as local street parties. It was agreed to form a small working party to look at the options.

    Football Club building

    This has been a subject of considerable discussion for some time and the saga continues: Phil reminded members that although the council try to discuss the issue in an open way they should be mindful of the need to avoid identifying individuals or businesses. Note: for the avoidance of any doubt, there is now a large sign on the outside of the building which says ‘Caveman Conditioning’. Jane Varley reported that structural, electrical, and asbestos surveys had been completed, the latter being a repeat of a previous survey which had come back ‘clean’. The others had identified that the building is safe to use but there is considerable work required to bring it up to spec. She proposed that three quotes should be obtained to identify the relative costs of repair and refurbishment or demolition and rebuild. Peter Geary agreed and thought that demolition might be cheaper as the council would be able to reclaim the VAT. Colin Rodden expressed surprise that the electrical report had identified cracked sockets as he thought council had already paid for repairs in the past. Jane responded that anything deemed unsafe had been disconnected. Peter Geary said that any electrical report would normally identify two things: Does it comply with the minimum safety standards and then a list of things that could be done to make it even better, the former being the present situation. He said that historically the council had experienced difficulty in getting comparable quotes when tendering for repairs, so it was essential to have a relatively tight brief. The current state of the building industry means that there is plenty of work available and builders are unlikely to even reply without such a brief. Dan Rowland was concerned that the report identified minimal RCD protection and questioned whether the council in a position to declare it safe. Jane replied that the electrician had passed it as habitable. Naomi Brock questioned whether the water was safe to drink, and Phil said the report identified that there are standing pipes which may pose a risk of Legionnaire’s Disease but does not state that the water is unsafe to drink. Naomi Brock expressed her frustration that this was the fourth meeting of the new council where the matter had been discussed, but Peter Geary thought that the decision to obtain quotes to bring the building up to a standard of which OTC could be proud was progress, although he had grave concerns that the council would not be able to afford it. Chair of Finance Ben Brown supported the proposal but said the unknown expense was making it very difficult to set a budget for next year.

    Odds and sods

    Dan Rowland reported that The Emberton Park Users Association are appealing for more volunteers. A fish survey to identify the number of fish in the lakes is to be carried out in November. Dogs will be banned from the conservation area and signage will be erected. The poplars along the road are to be cut down during the winter and a replanting scheme will take place.

    Exclusion of press and public
    ‘To consider exclusion of Public and Press Representatives pursuant to the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 on the basis that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by the confidential nature of the business to be contracted.’ Deputy Clerk Sarah Kennedy had urged members to vote in favour of exclusion on the basis that personnel matters were to be discussed. Items concerned included:
    • Personnel issues
    • Possible breach of GDPR
    •
    Discussion revolving around legal matters the public circulation of which could be prejudicial to the council’s position and might in themselves give rise to legal proceedings.
    The motion was proposed, passed and Mercury duly excluded himself.

    The Next Meeting

    The next meeting will be held on Monday 6th December, at 7.00pm in the Olney Centre. If you would like to contribute to the Public Participation section at the start of the meeting, please contact the Town Clerk:

  • December issue of Phonebox Magazine

    No December 2021 meeting was held due to Covid restrictions

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