Page 18 - Phonebox Magazine April 2010

Mercury Report
Olney Town Council Meeting of Monday 1 March 2010
THIS MONTH MEMBERS of the public attending the meeting outnumbered the councillors by a ratio of around 2:1, there being in the order of 25 members of the public present. This was more than the usual attendance for the Annual Town Meeting, noted Mercury.
Public participation
There were two contributions from members of the public this month, and it soon became clear that the majority of attendees were not from Olney but from Weston Underwood and Clifton Reynes. The matter concerning so many residents of these villages was the apparent resurgence of interest in the building of the much discussed, but never built, Olney bypass. As far as Mercury is aware there has been no official revival of this project but local resident Jim Middleton raised the issue a number of times last year in the Public Participation slot and Councillor David Rumens has promoted it as a solution to the severe traffic pollution problems in the town.
First to speak was Weston Underwood resident Shirley Mahler who explained that as resident of some 52 years and a previous member of Bucks County Council, she knew very well why many years of discussions on the matter had come to nothing. She explained that at the time of the last proposal for the bypass there had been no clear preference on the east or west route and it would have been necessary for Bucks CC to finance archaeological surveys of both routes, which they could not afford to do, so the plans had been dropped at an early stage. Even now there would be no funding available for investigations until 2016, she said. She noted that one effect of those earlier plans had been to polarise the communities on either side of the river, causing some animosity.
Next to speak was Olney resident Colin Kempston, who had been a participant in the Olney Health Check carried out three years ago. He said that in a survey carried out as part of the Health Check, residents had been asked what they considered to be the most import issue for Olney and 96% of respondents had identified the bypass. He said that there had been discussions around opposition against any scheme, but he felt that most of those against had changed their minds or moved on. He urged those present not to get tied up in discussions about the route since surely it was better to have a bypass where it was not wanted than not to have one at all.
As there was an item of the meeting agenda to discuss the bypass, the majority of the members of public stayed to listen to the discussion.
Remodelling of Bridge Street Junction
The junction of Bridge Street, High Street South and Church Street in a notorious
accident ‘black spot’ and Debbie Brock explained the plans that are in hand by MKC (Milton Keynes Council) to improve the situation. There will be some narrowing of the road, which will be built up to remove the adverse camber. The existing central refuge will be moved and a 20 mph restriction put in place. There was also the possibility of an anti-skid surface, she said. David Rumens questioned whether a 20 mph limit is permissible on a primary route, but Debbie confirmed that it is.
STARS Meeting
Not a gathering of local celebrities, but Milton Keynes Sustainable Transport and Road Safety forum. This purpose of this item was to receive a report from David Rumens, who attends the forum on behalf of OTC but at this point Mayor Mike Hughes opened up the discussion to cover the bypass, saying that the council were being berated for not pressing MKC to build the bypass and he had personally received some flak for suggesting that the people of the town do not want it. The best way to judge local opinion would be to hold a referendum, he suggested. Steve Clark agreed that it would be the best way of gauging local opinion. There then followed some discussion on what questions and options could be asked in such a referendum but Debbie Brock said that it would have to be worded very carefully and simply. She said that MKC is a cash strapped council and £500k is a lot of money for something that cannot be carried out till at least 2016. It was not clear to Mercury if this figure refers just to the initial investigation but £500k does not buy very much bypass, presumably! Mike Hughes said the decision on the bypass should be considered in conjunction with plans to upgrade the A509. There could be a big impact if it was dualled either side of the town, for example. David Rumens said that the MKC Core Strategy only mentions the A509 once so detailed plans are not known. It was important to find out the views of the town, he said, because with no pressure from Olney it had slipped off of MKC’s priority list. He reminded the council that building of the Dunstable bypass had taken 70 years so it is important to keep the pressure on. Note: Ward Councillor Peter Geary subsequently confirmed to Mercury that the plans for the A509 refer to dualling between M1 junction 14 and the Tickford (Land Rover) roundabout.
Referring to Colin Kempston’s earlier statement that ‘96% of the people of Olney want a bypass, Mike Hughes said he did not think that figure truly represented the local opinion and Tony Evans agreed, saying that OTC must find out since they do not know how people truly feel about it. Something must be done because the traffic situation in Olney is a growing problem, he said. Debbie Brock said that it would be necessary to call a
town meeting to find out if there was an appetite locally for a referendum and if there was then sufficient time would be required before it was held in order for the various lobby groups to come together so that everybody had full knowledge of the issues involved.
David Rumens eventually reported on the STARS meeting, explaining that a final report will be available in June and it is expected to cover the matter of Air Quality Management in High Street South and how MKC is intending to address the situation. Debbie Brock expressed her opinion that relatively minor issue of Air Quality Management was not proportionate when giving consideration to the building of a bypass.
Toilets
At this point Deidre Bethune declared an interest and left the meeting. As reported last month, the toilets in the Market Place are in need of renovation and local architect Bill Bethune had been asked to draw up some possible options. He’d done so free of charge, and presented them to the Recreations and Services Committee for consideration. The Recreations and Services Committee had agreed on one particular option and recommended that the full council approve the design and agree to appoint Bill as architect at a cost of £1500 to produce a detailed plan and then £40 an hour as Project Manager. The building work would then go out to tender. The proposal was passed unanimously. Alan Richardson observed that the recent ‘deep clean’ carried out by the council’s own staff had made a considerable difference and had been done at less cost than quoted by an outside contractor. It was agreed that this should be repeated throughout the year, but may have to be done by contractors when the council staff were busy during the summer. Tony Evans said that he thought that, apart from the floor, the present toilets were “not too bad” considering the amount of use that they get but the new facilities would need regular maintenance if they were not to deteriorate and now was the time to bite the bullet and invest in the upgrade.
Kissing Gate
The entrance to the Recreation Ground Nursery Field from Timpsons Row will be supplemented by a Warrington Radar Gate alongside the existing Kissing Gate. This will provide access using a key which is widely available for access to facilities such as disabled toilets. The cost of the gate will be £287 and will be installed by the council’s own staff.
Olney Heritage Group
David Rumens asked for the council’s permission to permanently site a display case in Room 1 of the Olney Centre. Deidre
18 Phonebox Magazine