Page 42 - Phonebox Magazine June 2009

Mercury Report
Olney Town Meeting of Friday 8 May 2009
The Town Meeting is held once a year and is a chance for the public to come to learn what Olney Town Council and the local Police, groups and charities have been up to. Members of the public are encouraged to ask questions at the end of each part of the meeting.
Police report
The Police report was given by PC Dan Smith, a Newport Pagnell based officer who's covered Olney and the surrounding areas for the last four years. He started by giving the crime figures for the year ending April 2009, with overall offences up by 10% to 298, although it should be noted that last year's figure was itself 28% down on the year before. Looking at the main offences this year (and comparing with last) there were 82 (72) incidents of criminal damage with many related to alcohol, 70 thefts including shoplifting, and 25 (13) burglaries from dwellings.
Dan outlined two Police initiatives to cut crime. The first was the empty car campaign, where Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) look for cars with valuables on display inside and then contact their owners, requesting that they be more careful in future. The second was giving householders advice to help them avoid bogus callers and associated distraction burglaries.
In terms of PCSOs covering the local area, Dan explained that Matt Wareham, one of Olney's PCSOs, had changed jobs within the Police and had been replaced by Tina Lewington, to be joined in the near future by Chris Ward. In terms of PCs, Julie Bishop is part time in this area working alongside Dan himself.
Community Safety Partnership (CSP)
Lisa Emmanuel, a Safer Neighbourhoods Manager in the CSP, started by explaining the Partnership's background. It has been running in Milton Keynes for around 10 years, having been created as a result of the 1998 crime and disorder act which stated that Local Authorities must share some of the responsibility for community safety. In 2005, the Government introduced PCSOs and Neighbourhood Policing, including Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAGs). Olney was one of the two pilots for this strategy, and now there are 33 'Neighbourhoods' in Milton Keynes, each with its own dedicated Police team.
At its start, each NAG identifies the issues its community faces, prioritises the top three (Olney's being traffic, antisocial behaviour
and litter), meets monthly to discuss them and consults annually to ensure the list continues to reflect local concerns. NAGs are regarded as having been very useful and some of Milton Keynes' NAGs' successes have been recognised nationally, with the Home Office citing the borough as an exemplar for other areas.
John Sharp, Councillor and member of the Olney NAG, concluded by explaining how it had addressed one priority – litter. The NAG had been involved with providing bin bags to the local fish'n'chip shops so they could change the bags late in the evening, and the Council had provided 10 new bins around the town.
Recreation and Services Committee
Tony Evans presented this topic. The Council's Recreation and Services Committee is responsible for open spaces such as the allotments and sports fields, the Market Place and its toilets, and planted beds.
Interest in the allotments is high at the moment with around 40 residents on the waiting list, this making it most important that exiting holders use their plots.
The Cherry Orchard is now being used for burials and the central pathway is to be extended.
The three hour limited parking on the Market Square has been most successful and, according to a member of the public, some of the long stay users have migrated to Spring Lane. The Thursday Market traders continue to struggle, although three new stalls have been added. The stallholders have started a three month trial of a similar market on the third Sunday of each month. The Farmers' Market, on the first Sunday each month, is thriving with around 30 regular stalls and more on the waiting list.
Olney Town Council (OTC) is responsible for the toilets on the Market Square and Recreation Ground, the former having been taken over by OTC some time ago when, otherwise, Milton Keynes Council (MKC) would have shut them. It continues to be hard to keep them really clean, with the Council having to pay to fix the regular stream of breakages caused by a minority of people.
From the public area, Jeremy Rawlings asked about the basis on which OTC has taken on the privately owned Doff's Field. Tony explained that, having taken advice from the National Farmers' Union, it had decided to charge £100 per cut of the grass. The Rugby Club obtained quotes from four
external contractors and has decided to pay the Council for the service.
Roger Mann asked if it was possible to reduce the allotments' waiting list by providing more plots. Tony replied that any new plots would be too close to the nearby football pitch, this proximity having already caused something of a problem – see last month's Mercury.
Planning Liaison Committee
Steve Clark started by explaining that Olney Town Council merely advises on planning applications, this advice being passed to Milton Keynes Council which makes the decisions. It had been a fairly quiet year likely due to a combination of the adverse credit conditions and the vast majority of identified infill sights having been developed.
Commenting on The Tesco Express development, within Olney's conservation area, he noted that the site was already a retail outlet so no planning permission was required for change of use. This left the Committee to comment on planning applications for air conditioning units and shop frontage.
Olney Centre Management Committee
Alan Richardson explained briefly that the Centre has had a successful year, with on average 40 different groups using its facilities each week. Work in the past year has included having a new boiler installed, while that planned for next includes repairs to the floor in the main hall and a deep clean of the building.
Ann Hopkins Smith Almshouses Trust
Tony Evans noted that the charity has been busy refurbishing all 12 Almshouses, each now having a new bathroom, kitchens, sliding rear door, patio and complete internal redecoration. Funds are somewhat depleted due to this work and the worldwide stock market falls. All the houses will have their exteriors repainted next year, and the reserves then allowed to rebuild
He completed by saying that any elderly lady with strong Olney connections could apply for an Almshouse by writing to him at Olney Park Farm, Yardley Road, Olney.
Olney British School Charity
This year, the Charity awarded 33 grants of £110 each to Olney people under 25 years' old engaging in further education beyond A Level. Its only income being interest on capital, the size of grants this coming year will be reduced considerably. Applications
42 Phonebox Magazine