Wednesday 11 March 2009




I live in a small village that is in the Milton Keynes area called Olney.

Area: Milton Keynes 001D (Lower Layer Super Output Area)

As you can see from this table there are not many people that live here, and I would describe as a rural townand there si not a great deal of ethnic cultures

Milton Keynes 001D



2001 Population: All people (Persons, Apr01)1
Count
1,609

2001 Population: Males (Persons, Apr01)1
Count
799

2001 Population: Females (Persons, Apr01)1
Count
810

2001 Density (number of people per hectare) (Persons, Apr01)1
Rate
0.86

People stating religion as: Christian (Persons, Apr01)1
%
73.21

People stating religion as: Buddhist (Persons, Apr01)1
%
0.25



According to the statistics on the table of Milton Keynes SOA 001D, we have a minimal amount of people on benefits, have no deprivation, no cause for issues, and I believe that to be true. There has just been a secondary school built for the children of Olney and surrounding villages, and as much as it is hi-tech, it has also been built with sustainable thoughts in mind also.

Housing in general is very high priced, and has not faltered through the beginnings of the recession. This does make it hard for the younger people to get their first affordable house here, and many of them move further away to cheaper places nearby in Bedfordshire or Northants.

3-month moving averages by number of bedrooms in Olney

Mar 2008 - Mar 2009

Change
5 Bedrooms
£645,000
£553,736
-14%
4 Bedrooms
£377,808
£362,655
-4%
3 Bedrooms
£238,398
£262,054
+10%
2 Bedrooms
£221,490
£202,647
-9%
1 Bedroom
£192,633
£141,504
-27%
All
£336,723
£285,900
-15%

This shows that on average families are still striving (and struggling) to afford to move here.


Olney is quite often classed as ‘quaint’, and many people move here, that commute to work once they are married and have children. The schools are good, and it is a nice place for children to grow up, with little crime, and plentiful spaces to play.


On the whole, council tax is banded extremely high, because we are banded to Milton Keynes Council, so the facilities are available to us, such as the library, etc, but are quite far out of reach, as are the police. Policing has been an issue of late, because of small issues, such as teenage drinking, and graffiti, but in comparison to other places in MK we have nothing to complain about, and this has been dealt with having a couple of Special constable police to be seen about.


Milton Keynes recycling for households is very good, and they also have a recycling scheme for outdoors waste for compost, at a small charge, and there are 2 large recycling centres to go to.
Sustainable issues are ‘rife’ at present in olney because there is a wind farm being proposed. Personally I am all ‘for it’, but there are many that are against, arguing that it will compromise the natural beauty of the small town and countryside. Unfortunately for the people opposing, it has been through court and rejected.
http://www.blew.org.uk/


The Milton Keynes area as a whole, does have problems..
there are 6 LSOAs in MK which are within the most deprived 10% in England. These areas cover a large part of Woughton Ward and part of Eaton Manor Ward. Overall there are 22 SOAs within the most deprived 30%. There are 14 areas within the least deprived, 10% of these are in rural areas, Newport Pagnell and some areas in the city. [Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 – Lower Super Output Area Analysis of MK]

Milton Keynes as a whole, is grouped into areas, of deprived and non-deprived due to its construction, so obviously they are trying to help the areas most needed at present.


The tannery of Olney was closed approx 6 years ago, and many people in Olney had worked there since leaving school, so this was a problem, also there are many farmers in this SOA, and there used to be a huge cattle market in Olney in the week, and has now ceased to exist, which meant having to go to Northampton, which has also moved now, but other industries have taken their place and so there is little unemployment here. There is a small industrial estate, and many of the 'long' lived locals work there, and the majority of the community is very close-knit, however there does still seem to be a slight animosity to the new people that move here, but still commute to their work place.


Community spirit is still high, and Olney has its yearly Cherry Fair, , and Dickens Day throughout the year, and we have a high tourist input with the farmers market also, which generates a lot of business for local businesses. There is also a monthly magazine all about the goings on in olney, to keep everyone up to date, and to comment on. Usually the comments are quite random, and non-specific, eg. The colours of shop fronts, and a slight tinge of graffiti in the bus stop, so it concludes to me, that most people are happy in this town/village.


Local transport links are good to Milton Keynes, and Northampton etc, but slightly erratic if living in one of the smaller villages. (They only seem to turn up when they want to). I think this could be improved quite considerably.


There are few amenities available for the youth, and this is the main cause for others annoyance, but there are 4 pubs, and several other restaurants. I think it would be good if there was somewhere for the youngsters to ‘hang out’ without getting in the way of everyone else, ‘not seen, and not heard’ scenario.

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