Apologies r absence were received om Steve C rk, Andy James and Ma olm Messe  
Public participation
Olney Newton Link
Police report
The first presentation under the new three minute rule was given by Rena Partridge on the subject of the Olney Newton Link. This has now been running for 5 years and Rena proposed that the Link submit a report to Olney Town Council every 3 months and that the Council authorises the Link to appoint a person to represent it at the Local Government Information Bureau (LGIB), which encourages links between UK towns and towns in the developing world. She stressed that such links are meant to be use l both ways: they're not just about us giving goods to poor people but also for us to discover more about the world.
This part of the meeting was essentially based on Rena Partridge's presentation given at its start. David Coles said that the Link was good for both Olney and Newton and that it would be good to make it more formal. Councillors noted that the d prefer Rena to find someone to represent Olney on the LGIB and that it needn't be a Councillor. They also felt the Council should allocate money to  nd the expenses of the person appointed. Both these proposals were agreed, with the finances for the  nding of expenses being arranged in a later meeting.
Rena gave some context to the proposal, saying that 2007 will be the bicenten  of both the abolition of the slave trade and the death ofJohn Newton.
This month's report was given by PC Kevin Leaney. The burgl  from dwelling figures for April to July show an 800% increase on the same period last year and those for burgl  from non dwelling a 300% increase. All burglaries in the first figure occurred in July (9 in all) and   in the second figure occurred
on a single night on the Industrial Estate. In July there were 3 Actual Bodily Harm incidents and 1 of Grievous Bodily Harm. n Gr iti, which is classified as criminal damage, has reduced since this time last year.
SEEDA
Malcolm Godwin joined the meeting and gave a talk on an initiative from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to regenerate market towns in the South East region. This is a 7 year programme with £7 million allocated to the region, ofwhich £875,000 is allocatd to the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes areas. The initiative is designed to  nd projects in the town, with a number ofsmall awards of£40,000 and a single large award of£240,000. To get an award, a project must be match  nded from either the public or private sector - these are big projects.
Fireworks on the Charity Field
Dave Price, President of Olney Floral Fiesta until this year's AGM, explained that Fireworks Night could not be held on Barn Field this year although it was possible, in the long term, that it may move back there. He said that Fiesta's view was that, particularly as it was the 400th anniversary of the gunpowder plot, they were still keen to hold the display. The only possible site for this is the lower Charity Field, which is owned by the Anne Hopkins-Smith charity and rented to Olney Town Council. The charity has agreed to it being used for the display provided there is no bonfire, as both this and the vehicles used to construct it would damage the field.
The projects must have economic outputs - for example jobs or improved community facilities - and, to quali , a town must have undergone a Healthcheck. This is a community based project which identifies the town's economic, social, environmental and transport strengths and weaknesses, decides what it should be like in the  ture and plans actions and projects which will make any changes required. It is such projects that would be eligible  r the SEEDA  nding. A little post meeting research showed that 1 1 of the 20 or so eligible towns in Buckinghamshire have completed or are in the process of running a Healthcheck.
Dave has obtained support for this from the owners of nearby land and from the Sports Clubs. He noted that, in spite of the increased financial risks due to the new site and the ability to 'police' paying admission to it, Fiesta needs to run Fireworks Night in order to fund loss making events such as Fiesta Week.U
There were various questions and it was discovered that a Healthcheck takes around 9 months to complete and costs around £12,000 (for a part time worker), and that running a Healthcheck would benefit the town in many ways apart  om the possible SEEDA  nding it could attract.
Tony Evans felt it would be a disaster if the display did not go ahead - it had been run for 1 0 years and grown into a big successful event. He felt the Council should back it wholeheartedly and help publicise it. He also noted that the Council would need to allow Fiesta to charge admission to the area.
Mobile phone m t
PAGE 30 PHONEBOX
There was then a lengthy discussion, of which only the main points are included here. The viewing area would be the Charity Field (where the floodlights are). Fiesta has asked the Council to underwrite the event  r £2,000 maximum, a £500 increase over that requested in previous years due to the increased financial risks. Given the current membership problems being experienced by Fiesta, Paul Watson felt it would be appropriate for the Council to see its accounts before agreeing to underwrite the event. Jeremy Rawlings highlighted the financial risks and felt they were too great for Fiesta to hold the event. Other Councillors felt the risks were worth taking and that the Council should help to make the event work.
As reported before, Hutchinson 3G UK has erected a mobile phone mast on the Fire Station. Olney Town Council is not in  vour of this site due to its closeness to the Youth Club and a day nursery. Buckinghamshire Fire Authority (BFA) had signed a contract allowing Hutchinson to erect the mast but, having  und out more about it, would like it to be removed. There re, BFA has written to Hutchinson asking it to take down the mast, on the grounds that Hutchinson did not reveal all pertinent evidence be re the contract was signed. BFA has also agreed a motion that unless this mast is removed, it will not sign any more contracts for masts on Fire Stations and it will not renew contracts for existing masts when they expire.
The application for Fiesta to hold Fireworks Night on the Charity Field was accepted. The decision to underwrite the event will be made in October's meeting, when Fiesta's accounts have been made available.
Mercury Report for the Council M