Page 24 - Demo

24 Phonebox Magazine | October 2025Mercury ReportPublic ParticipationNone of the members of the public present at the meeting had requested to speak.Apologies for absence and declarations of interestMary Prosser, Colin Rodden and David Tyler had sent apologies. There were no declarations of interest at this stage.Ward Councillor%u2019s reportPresent to give this month%u2019s report was Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC) Ward Councillor Keith McLean, who was visiting three other parish council meetings that evening. Keith said at the last meeting he had taken %u2018a bit of a haranguing%u2019 from a resident about speeding on Weston Road. He had arranged for the police to attend with a hand-held device between 1.30pm and 2pm on 25th July. Seventy vehicles had been recorded, and the maximum speed was 26 mph. Keith said he had forwarded an email from Mayor Debbie Whitworth to the head of MKCC asking them to verify how soon the proposed community centre at Yardley Manor can be started and fi nished. He noted that the A509 to Junction 14 was now open and some of his fellow ward councillors had been present to celebrate with an early morning glass of fi zz! The issue of travellers occupying a site near Gunn Lane in Sherington has already been reported in previous editions of The Phonebox, but Keith gave a brief update. An enforcement notice has been served by MKCC but there has been an appeal which will go to a hearing. Recently there had been two or three articulated lorries turn up and dump rubbish which was subsequently set alight. The Environment Agency (EA), Thames Valley Police and MKCC Environmental Crime Scene were now on the case. Keith urged residents to be vigilant and report any further incidents to the EA. David Chennells asked if the travellers actually owned the land where the incident had taken place and Keith confi rmed that it had been sold by a farmer towards the end of last year. Next he went on to talk about the planning application for the %u2018crane site%u2019 which had been recently passed by the MKCC Planning Committee, although he noted that the damage had probably been done earlier in the year when the original application had been approved under delegated powers by a Planning Offi cer without going to committee.Chris Tennant thanked Keith for his balance shown at the Planning Committee meeting. Keith expressed the opinion that the scheme of delegation is weighted in favour of the MKCC offi cers, who should realise when an application is contentious and bring it to full committee. PCSO reportTown Clerk Jane Brushwood said that PCSOs Connor and Arlene were hoping to attend but had been called away so she read out the crime fi gures for the period 05/07/2025 to 31/08/2025: Assault without injury x3; Criminal Damage x3; Drink/Drugs Driving x1; Drug Off ences x2 %u2013 Vehicle stopped by Police and Cannabis found; Public Order x4; Theft x2 %u2013 parcels taken from delivered location; Theft Vehicle x1 %u2013 milk, lose change and tools stolen from van; Theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle x5 %u2013 4x bicycles stolen, 1x car stolen. In addition there were other incidents not crime related: Antisocial behaviour %u2013 Community x2 %u2013 1x motor bike being ridden on rec, 1x fi re started in football stand; Antisocial Behaviour %u2013 Personal x1; Suspicious Other x1 %u2013 suspected burglary (staff in store); Suspicious Persons x3 %u2013 1xpeople looking into car windows; Suspicious Vehicle x3 %u2013 1x vehicle parked on pavement, 1x vehicle smelling of cannabis, 1x vehicle driving dangerously. In the surrounding villages there had been the theft of a portaloo from a driveway; Criminal Damage %u2013 car keyed; Theft out of a vehicle.Arlene and Connor arrived later in the meeting and Connor noted that incidents of shoplifting had increased massively in Olney in the past few months. A meeting had been scheduled with upwards of 30 retailers invited, but none had turned up. Reports of shoplifting had dropped to around four a month, but Connor suspected the actual incidence was more like four a week because the shops are not reporting it. David Chennells asked why that might be and wondered if it is getting to the point where shoplifting is considered socially acceptable? Connor said Thames Valley Police has employed a new system to make reporting easier so that retailers aren%u2019t sitting on the phone for 40 minutes waiting to contact the police. Also, it was not always feasible for police to %u2018blue light%u2019 out to Olney, due to the distance from MK Police Station. Store employees are not directly fi nancially aff ected and are advised not to engage with shoplifters, he said. CCTV evidence can be used, but it needs to capture off enders entering the store, taking the item, attempting to conceal it or evade paying, and then leaving the store. Quite often, the stores do not have sufficient CCTV coverage, or employees do not know how to use the equipment, so although it is captured, the police cannot access the footage. Finally Connor referred to the aforementioned speed check on Weston Road and said it would shortly be repeated at a time when the road is busier and vehicles are more likely to be speeding. Would the police %u2018be obvious%u2019 asked Deirdre Bethune? Connor replied that regulations meant that offi cers had to be visible and could not %u2018hide round corners%u2019, much as they%u2019d like to in order to get a more accurate set of results.%u00a0 Expenditure and budgetThe Budget and Expenses reports are sent to members before the meeting, and they are now expected to raise any queries with the clerk prior to the meeting so that they can be resolved in advance. This is presumably to avoid the long, drawn-out discussions that have previously occurred. Somewhat apologetically, David Chennells asked why the reports only covered July and not August as well, as there had been no August OTC meeting. Jane explained that as the meeting was being held on the 1st of September and the reports were required to be with members by the previous Wednesday the offi ce would not be able to provide the full August fi gures. Data results from Speed Indicating Devices (SIDs)Deputy Clerk Rob Mungham reported the following: Yardley Road, Yardley Manor Southbound 20 mph zone: 39302 vehicles, average speed 22.8 mph, 85th percentile speed (meaning the speed at which 85% of vehicles were travelling at or below) 28.8 mph, slightly up on measurements taken in March this year. Aspreys, Foxhill Northbound: 34961 vehicles, average speed 24.59 mph, 85th percentile 28.9mph, up on measurements taken in November last year. Aspreys, Hollow Wood Southbound: 35188 vehicles, average speed 25.47mph, 85th percentile 29.2 mph, slightly down on measurements taken in November last year.A later agenda item was to consider an additional SID post between the Whirly Pit roundabout and Aldi. Alan Stone said that when events such as Santa Pod and MK Classic Cars are taking place, it is like a race track travelling north, with most drivers having no respect for the 30mph speed limit. Also, when travelling south, motorists often leave it till they are almost at the roundabout before slowing down. This makes it very diffi cult for vehicles pulling out of Osier Way and the Aldi entrance, a situation which will be exacerbated by 100 plus lorries a day from the %u2018crane site%u2019. Jane Brushwood explained that a request has to be made to MKCC, who, if approved, will decide where the post can be located, both from an eff ectiveness point of view and also for the safety of OTC staff who need to erect and remove the SIDs from the posts. OTC is charged %u00a3800 for each post, and as there are currently nine posts to support three SIDs it might be necessary to purchase more SIDs, she thought. It was agreed to go ahead and initiate the process to request an additional post.River water testingDebbie Whitworth reported that members of the Fishing Association and other volunteers continue testing for pollution at various