Page 15 - Phonebox Magazine September 2008

Mercury Report
Olney Town Council Meeting of Monday 4 August 2008
Public participation
Ashley Pankurst spoke about parking problems in the town. He noted that many cars park in Carey Way and Austen Avenue on Sunday mornings during the Rugby season. He asked if Olney Town Council (OTC) had any view on providing extra parking provision for sports. He felt that parking around the Market Place was also an issue and that it’d get worse as a result of the new Tesco and the four two bedroom flats above it. He also felt that the parking signage in the town was poor and that people new to the town must have difficulty working out where to park and under what conditions. Jock Smail replied that OTC was looking into most of the issues, especially that of parking round the Market Place, and that there'd be a full discussion in the next meeting.
Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG)
John Sharp reported that there were 29 reported offences in the month from 4th July including one of Grievous Bodily Harm and, unusually, two of sexual activity involving children under 16. He concluded by noting that Milton Keynes Council will be performing checks on all 30 licensed premises in Olney over the next two months.
Litter bins
As reported in last month’s Mercury, a small group of Councillors had walked around Olney to audit the litter situation and see where additional litter bins could usefully be placed. Michael Hughes explained that they were now seeking approval for nine new bins at £400 each. Tony Evans noted that, as part of the work, it had been discovered that some bins were being emptied only monthly and that, at no additional cost, they would now be emptied weekly. After a lengthy discussion which included litter in Cobbs Garden, the emptying of bins on the Recreation Ground and the colour of the new bins (there being no milder 'heritage' version available), Councillors voted to approve provision of the new bins. For information, the bins will cater for both litter (black half) and recycling (pink half).
Recreation Ground drainage works
Tony Evans had met with Milton Keynes Council (MKC) to discuss the drainage problems on the High Street which had been highlighted by heavy rain. He explained that there was a 2ft pipe from there to the end of the Recreation Ground children's play area but that this then fed two 6in pipes down to
the back of the Cricket Pavilion, these latter pipes being insufficient to cope with the flow caused by very heavy rain. MKC required that OTC either replace the two 6in pipes with a larger one (e.g., 2ft) or with an open ditch, which Tony estimated might be approximately 3ft deep.
Tony gave very approximate costings for the two options, ranging between £7,500 and £13,000 for a 600mm (approx 2ft) pipe and £1,000 for the open ditch. There was a good deal of discussion on which option to choose, with Debbie Brock being concerned about the safety of the ditch in an area where young children play. Councillors voted to proceed with digging the ditch and to obtain tenders to supply, fit and bury the larger pipe in that ditch, with only Debbie Brock voting against due to her concerns about the ditch. Once the tenders are in, OTC will decide what to do next.
Thursday Market questionnaire
As reported in an earlier Mercury, OTC has been considering the publication of a questionnaire to see what people want from the Thursday Market. Both the Council and the Market traders had created questionnaires, and the traders’ was chosen as the one to be published.
One of the questions implied that a bus service may be laid on to bring people from nearby villages into town on Market day, and Tony Evans had discovered that a 26 seater bus would cost around £176 per day. Councillors discussed at length whether or not OTC would fund the bus service if completed questionnaires indicated that sufficient people would use it, and also if it should even fund the questionnaire.
Summarising hugely, Tony Evans felt that the Market was an important part of the Council's income and that it was part of its duty to try to keep it going, while Chris Ford felt that the demographic and people's shopping habits had changed and that Market traders should contribute to the costs of the questionnaire and, if provided, the bus.
The Council voted to publish the questionnaire on a full page in the Phonebox (see page 38) and to make the question which implied a new bus service somewhat more vague, with Chris Ford abstaining. No decision was made on funding the bus service.
Olney Town Colts and the Allotment Field
Standing Orders were suspended so that Ian Stokes of the Colts could introduce this
topic. He explained that the Colts had seen significant growth, now having 250 children aged from five to 17 and that, as such, it now has insufficient pitch space and would like permission to use the Allotment Field for fixtures regularly each weekend. As far as Mercury could understand, the Rugby Club currently appears to have first call on the field but doesn't often use it at weekends.
Standing Orders were resumed and after some discussion, which showed that Councillors believed that the two clubs should share the field, it was decided that Jock Smail and Michael Hughes would meet with Stuart Parkin, of the Rugby Club, and Ian Stokes to reach an agreement.
Ann Hopkins Smith and field rental
Tony Evans left the meeting for the duration of this item as he is a trustee of the Ann Hopkins Smith (AHS) Charity.
AHS owns the Charity Field and rents it to the Council which, in turn, rents it to the Rugby and Football Clubs. Last year, the rent charged by AHS for the field was £1,650. The Council had received correspondence concerning the rent it would be asked to pay this year. Mercury could not see the paperwork, but it appeared that AHS had asked Robinson and Hall, a land and property consultant, to value the rent which should be paid on the field and was now suggesting that OTC should ask its own consultant to value it and, based on that valuation, start a negotiation. Interestingly, AHS was not able to divulge its valuation.
After much discussion over what appeared to be an unorthodox way to negotiate a rent increase, the Council decided to obtain its own valuation and to keep this figure confidential. It will then decide on how to proceed – e.g., starting to negotiate based on its valuer's figure.
Litter at Whirly Pit Pond
Debbie Brock reported that a young Olney resident had contacted her about litter in and around the Whirly Pit pond, saying it made them feel ashamed to live in the town. She asked if the Council would agree to provide a sign highlighting the pond's historical status and that there should be no fishing or littering. Debbie will obtain costings for such a sign.
For interest, the following website page contains folklore – headless horsemen and
continued on page 17
Phonebox Magazine 15