Page 24 - Demo

24 Phonebox Magazine | January 2026Mercury ReportPrior to the start of the meeting mayor Debbie Whitworth made the following announcement: Before the meeting this evening I%u2019d like to say a few words as a tribute for Tom Bent who died suddenly and unexpectedly last month. It is with deep sadness and shock that I and fellow council colleagues learned of the sudden passing of Tom, co-owner of Olney Pancake Parlour. On behalf of all the residents and everyone at Olney Town Council %u2013 I extend our sincere sympathy to Mark, to Jamie, to their family, friends, and colleagues at this most diffi cult time. Tom was a valued member of our business community, contributing greatly to the local economy with his bubbly enthusiasm for new initiatives and his infectious bubbly spirit and zest for life. He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him.Public ParticipationThere was one member of the public who spoke this month. As a resident of Dartmouth Road he expressed his disappointment that the usual Christmas trees had not been erected on Dartmouth Road, as the council had run out of trees. Town Clerk Jane Brushwood interjected to say that additional trees had now arrived. However as part of Olney Events, the volunteer group that had previously organised the trees, he was disappointed by the quality of those that had been erected. They had been %u2018ham fi sted%u2019 into the brackets without being opened up, some had the lights hanging off and residents had complained that in some cases the leads were too short or too thick to pass through window frames so consequently would not be lit. None of these issues had occurred when Olney Events had organised the trees, he said. Additionally many children had been disappointed to fi nd that their house had not received trees when others had. Jane replied that many of the trees had deteriorated in recent years and there is an ongoing programme of replacement. The council workers would be instructed to revisit and %u2018fl uff up%u2019 the trees that had not been fully opened, she said.Apologies for absence and declarations of interestDavid Tyler and Deirdre Bethune had sent apologies. There were no declarations of interest.Ward Councillor%u2019s reportMilton Keynes City Council (MKCC) Ward Councillors Keith McLean and Peter Geary had both sent apologies but submitted a written report which Debbie read out. Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire Authority are undertaking a public consultation regarding the reduction in the number of on-call fi re engines and closure of two stations. Keith and Peter are opposing the move and wish residents to be aware that the consultation closes on 28th January and can be viewed and commented upon at bucksfi re.gov.uk. David Chennells asked if the proposals would aff ect Olney and Debbie confi rmed that they wouldn%u2019t. The consultation for the fi nal draft of the MK Local Plan closes on 22nd December. There are still no more details about the location of the government proposed new town for Milton Keynes. Next year all 60 seats on MKCC will be contested after which the leader of the Council Pete Marland will be stepping down after 12 years%u2019 service. Finally they said that they were pleased that the fi nancial support for the 41 bus service had been extended and wished all staff and parishioners a Merry Christmas. Wearing her Ward Councillor hat Debbie reported that Nationwide Building Society had confirmed that all current branches will be open till at least 2030. Damage done to the Olney branch in the recent ram-raid is significantly greater than originally thought and the required work was due to be signed off by MKCC by the end of that week, after which it would be %u2019all systems go%u2019. Concerns had been expressed by residents about the potential increase in traffi c, parking and noise caused by the proposed change of use of the old St John Ambulance hall to a Om Shakthivel Temple. As yet no planning application has been submitted. Residents have fl agged safety concerns regarding parking at four locations in the town, namely Yardley Road from the junction of Driftway, Fairfi eld Close 12m from East Street, East Street 12m from Fairfi eld Close and 27m westerly, and Palmers Road southern kerb line 36m southeasterly . MKCC Highways have assessed all four locations and will initiate a Traffi c Regulation Order, eff ectively starting the ball rolling to implement double yellow lines in those areas.PCSO reportNo PCSO was present so Jane Brushwood read out the report:Incident Type CountAssault without injury 1Criminal damage (resident%u2019s camera tampered with, 1 camera broken 1Dangerous dog (no bites took place, words of advice given to owner) 1Public Order 2Shoplifting 7Theft (Theft of driving license) 1Theft from vehicle (theft of headphones, gym bag) 1ASB Community (knocking on doors and running) 1ASB Personal (youths playing football on the street) 1Suspicious persons 1Suspicious vehicle 3Suspicious other 1Expenditure and budgetThere were no queries on expenses. Regarding the budget, Chris Shaw Chair of Finance said that as usual it was a matter of timing but he had nothing that sticks out. Later in the meeting Chris reported that he had attended a webinar on the %u2018CCLA takeover%u2019 and felt that this was a positive thing that would protect and enhance OTC%u2019s %u2018miniscule investment%u2019 with them. Post meeting investigations by Mercury revealed that CCLA is an investment company which serves non-profi t clients such as charities, churches and local authorities and aims to help them maximise their impact on society through their investments. Subject to regulatory approval CCLA is being acquired by Jupiter Fund Management plc.Reports from external meetingsMany councillors represent OTC at external groups and forums. Christina Diamandopoulos reported that she had attended a meeting of MKCC Nature Group and a presentation concerning violence against women. Mary Prosser reported that the trustees of the Ann Hopkins Smith Alms houses had attended a private viewing of documents of interest at the Cowper and Newton Museum followed by the residents Christmas lunch. Dan Rowland had attended a meeting of the MKCC Flood Group. Chris Tennant had attended a councillor briefi ng given by MKCC about the New Towns Task Force report. No site has been chosen for a new town as of yet, but if it was built in MK it could add another 10 to 20k homes to the 60k already planned in the MK Local Plan. Sarah Lowe reported that following on from a rural crime meeting she had recently attended she had surveyed local retailers regarding shoplifting. As suspected, it had revealed significant underreporting of incidents. Across the 28 retailers who responded it appears that over an average month there are between 180-250 incidents, with one reporting losses of around %u00a32k per week. That particular retailer said they only report thefts of more than %u00a3500. 57% of retailers said they don%u2019t report any incidents at all. One retailer reports all incidents to head offi ce but they only report a tiny fraction to the police. Reasons given for non-reporting include not witnessing the crime taking place so they don%u2019t think they can report it, and also because Olney lacks a local police presence. In some cases the retailers said they had provided full evidence and identifi cation but no action had been taken. Jane Brushwood said that %u2018if it%u2019s not reported it hasn%u2019t happened%u2019. Also, the police do not just sit in Central MK waiting for things to happen, she said, and may well be in the area already, so it is important for incidents to be reported. A meeting had taken