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34 Phonebox Magazine | May 2025Amazing Cranes - How sweet the soundOlney is full of strange choices. Is it Ol-ney or O-ney? Is William Cowper pronounced Cow-per or Cooper %u2013 as in Henry? I don%u2019t think it much matters outside of a pub discussion, but the car parking debate has seemingly, and fi nally, been put to rest. To set the record straight, Ol-ney, or O-ney, is a market town, and without boring the pants off you by explaining the ins and outs of the historical origins, it basically means that a regular market is held on the irregular quadrilateral. So, the reason there are no white lines is due to it not being a car park. It currently has a sign saying %u2018Short Term Car Park%u2019, but it%u2019s in the throes of being changed, I%u2019m told.Whatever the sign may change to is secondary to it being a marketplace, where the weekly Thursday and monthly Farmer%u2019s market, plus %u2018BOFF%u2019 and %u2018Dickens of A Christmas%u2019 are held - as agreed by the elected members of Olney Town Council. The elected members also voted last month against white lines, so let that be an end to it; it%u2019s not a car park. It%u2019s an area that can be used for car parking when not in use.So, onto the crane business planning application on Warrington Road. Currently, there are 154 objections online with MK City Council, and I can see nothing in support by the residents of Olney. It%u2019s probably best to read the objections online rather than me going through it all in detail.It covers everything from HGV lorries accessing the single carriageway A509, not the safest road to get onto from this site even now, and the traffi c already running through Olney is very heavy.It is close to recently built residential houses and care homes, all of which would have never known what the developers had in mind as they have played their usual games. In fact, recent buyers were led to believe that the cranes were temporary and there just for the building work, which was a%u2026well%u2026a fi b. (Am I allowed to say that Ed? Or should we change it to %u2018Misspoke?)The company have disregarded MKCC orders to vacate the site, one voluntary and one compulsory. The original use was for light industrial and no way can what is being done now be classed as light industry. They continue to operate with hazardous waste, noise, and everything else that goes with heavy industry. All without planning permission. As I say, read all the objections on the MKCC website for all details.Also worth mentioning, it seems that there was a clear directive from the MK Ecology Offi cer to protect habitat-rich hedges and to halt any tree felling, and this has been defi ed by the developers with no repercussions.You try doing any of that when you put in a planning application!So, to conclude, this will be very interesting. Most of the residents of Olney, old and new, are against it and have made their views loud and clear. Our elected councillors at local level (Olney Town Council) have voted against it in no uncertain terms. Our town Mayor and ward councillor, Debbie Whitworth, has objected and has requested that it be debated in full in May at MK City Council. I%u2019ve not spoken to the other two ward councillors about it, and I can%u2019t see any offi cial objections from them, but I would assume that as they represent Olney, they will be behind the public they represent. It%u2019s clear enough.Our MP, Chris Curtis, has said, in a letter I have been shown, that although he can%u2019t get involved directly in planning issues, he has met residents of Osier Way and has spoken to Debbie Whitworth, (who has made an offi cial objection) is aware that an enforcement notice was served on the developers, and it looks as though he is at least attempting to support the local view.If the MP is asking questions, and all the ward councillors are representing their electorate, and Olney Town Council having voted against it, it will be interesting to see if the developers can still get their way %u2013 and indeed how.I suspect that if a Milton Keynes ordnance survey map was plonked in front of the planners at Milton Keynes, they%u2019d be hard-pushed to fi nd Olney, or at least only know it as a major development area. But let%u2019s see what happens. My heart tells me that we will save Olney from this blatant act of disregard for the public, but my bookie%u2019s head tells me that the developers will win the day. The clever money is on the developers, and let%u2019s be honest, all this is about is money.Keep your eyes peeled as it now looks as though it%u2019ll go to a public meeting rather than being decided as a delegated decision in a smoke-fi lled room on the 27th May. If it does go to a public meeting, then you, the public, will be allowed your say, so here%u2019s hoping, and I%u2019m sure our mayor and councillors will let us know.It%u2019s also interesting to see how many houses would fi t on the Newport Pagnell Tip when they manage to close it. It%u2019s going on all around us I%u2019m sorry to say.Ah well, talking of tips, here%u2019s my tip of the week. If an elected member of any authority tells you that, %u201cWe don%u2019t give a running commentary%u201d, you can be assured that they%u2019re hiding something.Last time I wrote something similar, the developers got a mate to write into the Phonebox magazine having a go at me. However, if there is a public meeting they can shout at me there. I%u2019ll be the one at the back with a pink carnation and a notebook.Before I get onto the crane issue, I%u2019d just like to address the much-debated Market Place. I admit to calling it the Market Square sometimes, but I am informed by my more mathematical pals that it is actually an irregular quadrilateral. So much choice. See you next month!Dave%u2026