Page 30 - Phonebox Magazine April 2016

Mercury report
Mayor Steve Clark welcomed the newly appointed Deputy Clerk Debbie Eason to her rst full
council meeting.
Public participation
There were two members of the public who wished to speak at this month’s meeting, both on the same subject of parking in Oakdown Crescent, but with widely opposing views. As this was a formal agenda item it will be covered under that item.
Oakdown Crescent
As reported last month, Sue Warren had consulted Milton Keynes Council (MKC) about the possibility of introducing a permit parking scheme there. In order to be considered by MKC this would, amongst other criteria, require the support of over 70% of the properties in the crescent. Sue said of the 16 properties, one was currently empty but the remaining 15 occupants were in favour of the scheme. Once the three ward councillors had expressed support for the scheme then MKC would write to the residents to ll out a survey. Sue said that some of them were worried about lling out the necessary forms but she would provide assistance. On other matters, she said that the pot holes still hadn’t been lled in but the seat had been painted, which was a waste of time and money as no one used it so it might as well have been removed.
Brian Rice then spoke against the suggestion in what became a very heated exchange. Brian lives in a house near to Oakdown Crescent and has no parking outside his house so parks in the crescent. He said that if the scheme went ahead he would not only mount a legal objection but would also drive a JCB through ‘that wall’ (which presumably blocks vehicular access to his own property). He thought the scheme was a waste of time for just 16 people and Sue was ‘lucky’ that two residents had died over Christmas as he knew they were against it. He said he was sick and tired of being made out to be the bad guy and was disgusted by what was happening. Colin Rodden attempted to calm the situation but was shouted down by Brian. At this point Steve Clark ordered Brian to stop speaking and sit down as he was not prepared to have councillors spoken to in that way. Brian then left the meeting. Sue said she felt personally threatened by what had happened.
Once the atmosphere had returned to normal
30 Phonebox Magazine | April 2016
Colin Rodden said that if the scheme went ahead the council needed to recognise that it would move the parking problem elsewhere. Deirdre Bethune agreed but said it was important to do one thing at a time. John Boardman said that there needs to be a second stage and consideration needs to be given to demolishing the nearby garages. Peter Geary said that MKC must recognise that the parking permit scheme would only be stage one and the overall issue must not be allowed to disappear from their agenda. Deirdre agreed that the poor state of the pavements and pot holes pose a danger to young people, let alone the elderly.
Leave of Absence
Under the council’s Standing Orders if a member has not attended a meeting for six months they cease to be a councillor, unless they are granted a Leave of Absence. Councillor John Smail has not attended a meeting since 15th September due to illness and has requested Leave of Absence up to the forthcoming elections in May. This was agreed.
Plan:MK
For detailed information on the proposals read Jeremy Rawlings’ article on page 16 of the March Phonebox. OTC, along with a number of other Parish Councils, has issued a formal legal challenge to the consultation document which was issued by MKC in January. The basis of this objection was, amongst other things, that there was no evidence of the population growth claims and there had been no consultation with neighbouring authorities. MKC have now responded rejecting the claim. Jeremy said that the parishes will not raise any more legal objections at this stage but pointed out that the lea et delivered to all houses in the borough contains a number of errors. This will doubtless be a subject for discussion at this year’s town meeting on April 14th.
The Olney Centre
Deirdre Bethune said that three quotes had been obtained for installing UPVC or Aluminium double glazed windows in the Olney Centre. She said she was not happy with the quality of what was being offered for such and old building and had already contacted another company which specialised in heritage type glazing. Advice as to what might be required as part of the
planning process will be sought from MKC planners before any decision is taken. Following the recent spate of break-ins quotes are being obtained for an upgrade of the Centre intruder alarm.
Neighbourhood Plan
Joe Stacey presented the consultation version of the plan to the council and it was agreed that it could now move on to the pre-submission stage. The plan will shortly be available on line and sets out a vision for development in Olney up until 2031 and will eventually be the subject of a local referendum. Joe thanked the many volunteers who had spent a great deal of time in preparing the plan.
Circular Walk
At last month’s meeting it was decided to create a permissive right of way for the section that currently runs parallel to and South of Weston Road alongside one of the streams but would be diverted to instead run in the same direction along the Northern bank of the River Great Ouse. Advice had been obtained from Rosie Armstrong, MKC Assistant Rights of Way Of cer. Rosie said that a permissive path is one which the landowner permits the public to use, with the intention that it should not become a public right of way. The permission can be granted for a stated period and Rosie said that MKC would expect this to be in excess of 10 years since they would be investing time, effort and expense into it. She suggested that a public right of way would be the better option and this was passed on a vote by the council.
Riverside right of way
OTC is claiming a right of way along the top of Doff’s Field from Austen Avenue to Clifton Bridge and a Public Enquiry will be held on May 19th. MKC have asked OTC for suitable residents to give evidence at the enquiry. John Boardman expressed his surprise at this as considerable evidence had been collected and documented on a previous occasion, although it had not all been made public. MKC should have access to this documentation, he said.
Youth Centre Community Asset Transfer
The council is considering taking ownership of the Youth Centre as part of a C.A.T. as happened last year with the Olney Centre.