Page 38 - Phonebox Magazine May 2011

Mercury Report – Olney
Town Council Meeting on Monday 4th April 2011
Public participation
No member of the public present wished to speak at this month’s meeting.
Land Purchase
Mayor Mike Hughes announced that the council had completed the purchase of a piece of land although no details of the land or the purchase price were provided. Subsequent enquiries by Mercury revealed that it comprises seven acres of land to the south of the Charity Field used by the Football and Rugby Clubs and the aim is to use this for casual recreational use with no formal pitch markings. It is not known when it will be available for public use or what preparation needs to be done, apart from providing an entrance via the Charity Field.
Conygere tree
Mike Hughes reported that following the solicitor’s letter received on the subject of the tree adjacent to 6 Conygere, the council’s solicitor has responding pointing out “the error of their ways”. No response had been received as of yet, he said.
Fly the flag
The existing flagpole on the front of the Olney Centre is no longer serviceable and needs to be repaired or replaced. One of the options being considered is to replace it with a new lightweight freestanding pole concreted into the centre of the garden circular planting area, at a cost of approximately £600. Jeremy Rawlings asked why it was necessary to have a flagpole at the Olney Centre when there are already two on the Market Place, but Tony Evans pointed out that they are managed by the British Legion. Tony said that in his opinion if the centre was to have a flagpole then it was important for the council to ‘fly the flag’. Mike Hughes said he would like to see the flag flown on special occasions, such as Veteran’s Day and the forthcoming royal wedding. One member suggested that perhaps it should be flown when the Clerk, Gill Edmondson was ‘in residence’!
Planning Applications
Olney Town Council is not a planning authority but is consulted about any applications in the parish by Milton Keynes Council. An application has been made for the erection of two 2 bedroom premises at 8 Berrells Court. Steve Clark said that he saw no reason to object to the plans but that there were already issues with the access to Berrells Court from East Street and the council should ask for that to be taken into consideration when MKC consider the application. Deidre Bethune thought it sad that in his pre-application advice the MKC planning officer had found it necessary to comment on the standard of the existing
buildings, since the planning authority had passed the plans for their erection in the first place. For information, the officer’s actual comment was: “Given a situation where so much has already been given away to developers there is now little left that would amount to a sound basis for discouraging the proposals in this location on conservation grounds. One might argue that the general design of the proposed pair of houses has no discernible regard for context other than aping the general appearance of the existing poorly scaled and detailed terraced dwellings and hence further exacerbating the disintegration of local character, I suppose. As for context, the wider burgage plot form is still respected and some cluttering remnants of ramshackle sheds / garages that are of no discernible interest would be lost.” For information, full details of this and all other planning applications can be found at http://publicaccess.milton- keynes.gov.uk/default.aspx
Driftway
Last month Rob Ward, Milton Keynes Council Neighbourhood Manager for Environmental Services, attended the council meeting to give an update on the landscaping plans for the banks of Driftway. This ended with Rob saying that the work was to be done ‘in weeks’ and certainly before the end of April. Tony Evans said he was pleased to report that within days of that meeting the bank surfaces had been scraped and topsoil and seed applied. Tony suggested that the council write to Rob and thank him for his prompt action. However, pressure would need to be maintained to ensure the success of the scheme he said.
Market costs (continued)
As reported last month, the council hires a skip and cleaning service to complete tidying up after the Thursday Market stallholders have left. This costs £322 per week which represents 44% of each stall’s weekly rent. As the skip doesn’t get particularly full, the Council discussed whether it and the cleaning service provided were worth continuing with. The discussion resumed this month with Tony Evans explaining that the skip would never be filled to more than half capacity, since it was delivered containing the sweeping machine which drove out at the end of the day to clear up the rubbish. As a result, the Market Place was always left clean and tidy and without this service the obligation would then rest with the stallholders to sweep up. Jeremy Rawlings asked if the stallholders had been asked if they would prefer to keep the skip and cleaner or have a rent reduction, although many felt that they
would always opt for a rent reduction regardless of the consequences. Della Cheal asked if the rate charged by the skip supplier was competitive and Mike Hughes said he believed that it was. Tony Evans said he would like representative of the stallholders to attend a meeting with the council, since the council were currently getting very little direct feedback and the proposed stallholders committee had yet to materialise, he said. Eventually it was decided to keep the existing arrangement but review in the event of a price increase by the skip supplier.
Market Place parking
Napier Parking, the company that manages the parking restrictions on the Market Place, had informed the council that changes in legislation meant that the wording of the signage would need to be amended and quoted £1300 for the new signs. Tony Evans said that such legislative changes do not occur overnight and Napier should have known about them when they provided the original signs. He did not see why OTC should have to pay for Napier’s mistake. Dave Price said he found it offensive that the new wording specifically stated that the parking restriction also applied to disabled drivers, although others though that it was necessary to provide clarification. There was concern from some members that the council are not getting value for money from Napier and Mike Hughes wondered if they should investigate other contractors, but pointed out rather tongue in cheek that he was not connected with any such companies (presumably in response to a recent letter in The Phonebox!)
Dave Price
Dave Price announced that he was standing down and handed his formal letter of resignation to the Clerk. For information, Dave has served on the council for the last 15 years, including four years as Mayor from 1998 to 2002. Mike Hughes thanked Dave for his service to the council and noted that he would be sorely missed, prompting a round of applause from the rest of the members. Dave then donned a leather flying helmet and goggles (he really did! – Mercury) and walked out quietly into the night to begin a new life as an ordinary citizen of Olney, or possibly a poet......
The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 9th May in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the mayor decides is appropriate. Olney Town Council Annual Town Meeting will take place on Thursday 28th April 2011 at 7.30pm in the Olney Centre.
38 Phonebox Magazine