Page 43 - Phonebox Magazine March 2012

now no scope for error or omission in the future.”
Jeremy Rawlings spoke first, having followed the land disposal issue from the start. He felt that Terry How was right – the support given to affected residents had been abysmal. He summarised the letter as saying that, yes, MKC had made a mistake, but that they weren’t planning to do anything much about it. He felt that OTC must make sure the issue gets raised to a higher level. Jeremy stated that the way the land disposal had been handled was wrong, but didn’t know how to proceed further. He concluded by saying that the sale of the land was after an MKC Planning Meeting in which most of the comments were against it yet, when it came to the vote, most Councillors abstained.
Mike Hughes asked Steve Clark, as Mayor, for his views and perhaps an undertaking to investigate possible ways to proceed. Steve agreed with Jeremy but, again, felt it unclear what the Council could do. Tony Evans stated that OTC needed legal advice, MKC having operated improperly and against its own protocol by not advertising the land sale. He also noted rumours that the land had since been sold on by the original purchasers for a massive profit. He explained that OTC had said the situation was wrong from the start, that it should seek legal advice and, perhaps, that it should sue MKC.
Colin Rodden, a lone voice, questioned the validity of one public body suing another in these money-saving times. He also felt that Olney had to be allowed to grow – houses had to be built somewhere.
Jeremy Rawlings stated that, while one Olney Ward Councillor is related to one of those who’d purchased the land from MKC, there was emphatically no suggestion that either Ward Councillor had done anything wrong.
Investigations after the meeting confirmed that the residents have raised the complaint to the Ombudsman and discovered that, while the Council was unable to raise it in this way, it’s investigating other options, including whether it could support the residents’ complaint.
Mercury thanks Jeremy Rawlings and other Councillors who’ve provided background for this section and helped ensure its accuracy.
Grant Application for youth Centre
Jeremy Rawlings gave a brief introduction, saying that the Youth Centre was applying for a grant of £1,250, the salary of a professionally qualified Youth Worker for two sessions per month, for the year starting April 2012. The Council funded the post last year and the sessions have proved very popular with around 50-60 children attending.
Mike Hughes asked if the Youth Centre had tried to obtain funding elsewhere. Jeremy said that it hadn’t, noting that MKC doesn’t fund these sessions for Under 13s. Mike suggested that perhaps the session entry fee should be increased from 60p to £1.60 per person, thus covering the cost. Tony Evans felt that the Grant Application was very good value for money and that, with some people spending time criticising young people in the area, the Youth Club was
doing something positive to help. Deidre Bethune concurred, saying that OTC needed to fund the sessions. A vote was taken and passed with all in favour bar two abstentions – the Council will pay the grant.
Bits ‘n’ bobs
MKC is running meetings to explain the process of Community Asset Transfer, in which it plans to transfer some of the assets it owns to more local ownership. Peter Geary spoke briefly from the public gallery to clarify the purpose of these meetings. As Alan Richardson noted and Peter Geary confirmed, the Olney Centre is not one of these assets – it’s not MKC’s to transfer.
Some funds arising from the Petsoe End Wind Farm development are becoming available, with £7,000 assigned to the Olney Parish. This money must be allocated towards schemes “for
the promotion, installation and education of renewable energy or energy saving measures” in the Parish. OTC will send a representative to the next meeting of the Community Development Liaison Committee, set up to administer these funds.
Parking
The Council had received a letter from a local business asking that the Market Place Car Park time limit be increased from three to five hours. The Council refused this request for reasons including three hours being long enough, there being longer stay spaces in the town and the cost of changing the signage.
In the Cattle Market Car Park, a single parking bay is reserved for turning. However, Mike Hughes noted that it’s often heavily encroached on by the vehicle in the next space, thus leaving insufficient angle for vehicles to turn. This results in cars having to back out of the Car Park onto the main road – hardly ideal. MKC has suggested increasing the reserved area to two bays, thus allowing cars to turn more easily. The Council agreed with this suggestion.
Olympics event
As reported in earlier Mercury articles, the local Churches are organising an event on 27th July to coincide with the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony. Tony Evans noted that this was progressing and that, once the finances had been estimated properly, the organisers must be encouraged to put a proper proposal to OTC. He felt it would be a fantastic event, if it could be made to work.
The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 5th March 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.
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Phonebox Magazine 43