Page 24 - Phonebox Magazine January 2007

Mercury Report
Olney Town Council Meeting of Monday 4th December 2006
Public participation
There was only one member of the public present at this month’s meeting. Lesley Viney had three issues she wanted to raise, so she had to speak quickly to fit them all into her allotted three minutes!
Firstly, she reminded the council that she had spoken before about an idea of hers to make the top end of East Street one way and wondered if any of the council had forwarded the suggestion to the Highways department for consideration.
Secondly, she reported that the pavement in East Street opposite Field Court had been disturbed as a result of the building work and had not yet been reinstated.
Lastly, she reminded the council that a sum of £10,000 had been obtained as planning for Fountain Court which she understood was to be used for a safe ‘route to school’ along East Street. There did not appear to be any progress with this scheme, she said.
Mayor Paul Watson said that the issue of traffic calming in the town would be covered later in the meeting.
Police report
PC Dan Smith gave this month’s Police Report. There had been 26 reported offences which included 7 thefts from vehicles, 1 interference with a vehicle, 4 of criminal damage, 4 burglary non-dwelling, 3 assault, 2 Actual Bodily Harm, 1 theft of a vehicle, 1 public order offence, 1 harassment and 1 of obtaining property by deception.
Mike Hughes asked if all public enquires to the central police number were logged. PC Smith said it depended on the circumstances. If the handler who took the call decided that police attendance was required he or she would log the call and issue a Unique Reference Number to the caller.
A discussion then took place about anti- social behaviour on the old Cattle Market car park, next to Punch opticians. This car park has entrances onto Market Place and Freemans Gardens. Large groups of youths have been congregating in the car park at night and causing a disturbance by revving car engines and driving vehicles in one entrance and out of the other at great speed. Considerable amounts of broken glass and litter have been cleared up on a number of mornings, including some evidence of drug usage. A letter had been received from a resident of nearby Pegasus Court saying that the residents felt very
intimidated and unsafe. She said there had been instances of motorbikes being ridden along the Lytch Gate path. There had also been apples and eggs thrown at the Manor windows and graffiti sprayed on the conservatory. In addition there have been reports of people climbing over the wall into the museum garden.
It appears that the problem is similar to that experienced a while back in the Town Council owned park in East Street (near the Rugby Club). In that instance a letter had been received from Philip Windsor, Chief Environmental Health Officer for Milton Keynes Council, advising that MKC had received complaints about the problem and that if positive action was not quickly taken then MKC would have no option but to serve a Notice to Abate a Noise Nuisance on OTC, as land owners. It was pointed out that the old Cattle Market car park, in fact, belongs to MKC so a letter will be written to them requesting that they resolve the issue.
PC Smith said that be believed Thames Valley Police had changed their policy and would now charge for the temporary deployment of CCTV cameras. Malcolm Messenger said that this meant that the public were now effectively paying twice for the same service as they already contributed via the Council Tax. The Council will seek further clarification on the issue before responding officially.
Boundary adjustment Dove Cottage
A letter had been received from the new owners of Dove Cottage in Church Street requesting that they be able to purchase a small strip of land from the council owned Glebe. This land was donated to the council some years ago by Mr and Mrs Wallace in the memory of the tragic death of their daughter. In return the owners would build a new stone wall along the boundary, at considerable cost to themselves, which they would then maintain. The wall would replace the present beech hedge which is constantly being eaten by the horses in the paddock. Recognising that the result would be at least one less car parked in Church Street and that the wall would enhance the character of the Glebe and surrounding area, the council agreed to support the proposal. It was noted that Mr and Mrs Wallace had been consulted and had written in support of the plan.
Seats between bowls club and multipurpose courts
A letter had been received from the president of the bowls club reminding the
council that youths had been sitting on the seats and throwing stones on to the bowls green when members had been playing. One of their members had been hit by a stone and there was a risk that considerable damage could be caused to their mowers if the stones were not removed before cutting. A suggestion had been made that the seats should be moved to the other side of the multi-purpose court where they would be better placed for watching rugby and cricket. The council agreed to support the proposal.
Scouting sunrise
A letter had been received from the 1st Olney Scout Group requesting permission to hold a ‘sunrise ceremony’ on the Market Place on the morning of 1st August 2007. The event will celebrate 100 years of Scouting and will be just one of many taking place around the world where 28 million scouts will celebrate peace, friendship and renew their Scout Promise. All the events will actually take place at 8.00 am local time rather than sunrise. The council agreed to support the event and some members will no doubt turn up for the cooked breakfast... If anyone knows where to obtain 100 doves the Scouts will be delighted to hear from them!
Smoking policy in Olney Centre
From July 1st 2007 smoking will be banned in all public places, nationally. MKC has decided to enforce the ban in all of their premises and vehicles from February 1st 2007. Where buildings are shared with other organisations they will seek to enforce the ban across all spaces within those shared buildings. This will apply to The Olney Centre, since the library is run by MKC. The ban will therefore apply to all private bookings of The Olney Centre from that date. The proposals did not meet with any objection from the members, although Jeremy Rawlings pointed out that it was important that any signage erected for February 1st complied with that which would eventually be required on July 1st.
School campus
A letter had been received from the developers stating that completion on February 2007 was possible ‘subject to caveats’. In theory, this meant that it would be possible to open after the February half- term holiday. Steve Clark said that Milton Keynes Council were reluctant to endorse this date, bearing in mind the reliability of previous promises.
24 Phonebox Magazine