Page 75 - Phonebox Magazine October 2014

Tesco deliveries
Concerns have been raised by residents of East Street about the impact of lorries delivering to the rear of Tesco in the Market Place. It appears that Tesco have honoured the promise made to only use small vehicles for deliveries, but other suppliers are using large lorries which are not suitable for such a narrow access. One resident had suggested placing bollards on the pavement to ease the situation. Peter Geary thought that provision of bollards could be requested as part of the current capital scheme but wondered if it was now time to revisit the original request from Tesco to have timed loading bays at the front of the store. Joe Stacey suggested that OTC contact these other suppliers directly, pointing out the problem but Peter thought it was up to Tesco to resolve the matter themselves.
Draft Minerals Plan
As reported in July, in order to meet the required provision of aggregates the
emerging MK Minerals Local Plan should identify specific sites for extraction. As part of the ‘call for sites’ process the industry has put forward a total of 14 potential sites for allocation in the plan. Peter Geary pointed out that the Manor Farm and Lavendon Mill sites could result in an extraction rate of 70 to 80 thousand tonnes per year and not the 70 to 80 Tonnes stated in the July Mercury report. He said that MKC had done a poor job in approaching landowners and also the process plants are situated in Wolverton, so it would have made more sense to consider sites closer to there. He suggested that the actual demand might be less than estimated in the plan, so it might be possible to remove one or more sites. Peter will draft a response on behalf of OTC.
Odds and Sods
The existing wi-fi system provided by MKC to the library will be extended to the rest of the Olney Centre, although OTC will have to foot the bill of £3.8k. There was some discussion of whether this ought to go out
to tender but Liam Costello said that the extension of the library network from the existing provider would be considerably cheaper than a new standalone system. He pointed out that corporate bookings for the centre had been lost due to the lack of wi-fi. The new fence round the football pitch has reduced dog fouling but Jeremy Rawlings said that it had increased on the Youth Club field.
Tony Evans said that there did not seem a great desire from the Rugby Club to support the proposal to allow limited parking on Doff’s Field on match days.
Tony Evans said that MKC were not fulfilling their obligation to maintain the public play areas. An officer from MKC had recently made an unannounced inspection and will be producing a report.
The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 6th October 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.
Maintaining Successful Scouting in Olney
Group Scout Leader recruitment
1st Olney Scout Group has enjoyed great success and is currently thriving with a Beaver Colony, two Cub Packs and two Scout Troops - enabling more than 100 local children aged from 6 – 14 to enjoy Scouting. It now has the largest youth membership in the District.
We are active in the community, running the successful annual Duck Race with TOGS, Ye Olde Hot Chocolate stall at Dickens in December, benefitting the community during June’s Scouting in the Community Week and work with various other voluntary bodies throughout the town. They are also seen on parade at Remembrance Sunday in the church and paying homage at the War Memorial to those who lost their lives in the two wars.
The success of the Olney Scout Group relies upon the involvement and enthusiasm of young people supported by the time and effort put into planning and running engaging activities by Scout Leaders. Scouting gives young people the opportunity to learn new skills, but most of all to have fun.
We currently have 14 leaders across the entire five sections of the Olney Group.
For the past two years, Pat Pankhurst, Deputy District Commissioner for Milton Keynes Scouts has stepped in and supported Olney with this role, but now with mounting responsibility for six other groups, she can no longer provide this vital support.
The seeds of success have continued to grow with enthusiasm, but to maintain the strength and continuity of our Scouting success tree we urgently require a Group Scout Leader/Group Manager – someone who can hold all this up and help it grow and flourish in the years to come.
Can you hold up our tree and help it to grow? Were you a Scout or a Guide, could you support us? It’s a management role, it’s fun, it’s rewarding.
If you can help, there’s more at mkscouts.org/get-involved/register-as-a-volunteer
or contact the District Commissioner Mark Blomfield at mark.blomfield@btinternet.com
Founder of Scouting - Lord Baden Powell
Phonebox Magazine 75