Agenda and minutes

Plymouth Local Access Forum - Monday 12 April 2010 10.30 am

Venue: COUNCIL HOUSE, PLYMOUTH (NEXT TO CIVIC CENTRE)

Contact: Ross Jago, Secretary to the Local Access Forum 

Items
No. Item

58.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Minutes:

Name

Minute no. and Subject

Reason

Interest

Mr Skinner

63 ‘Ramblers 1988’ Map

Member of Rambling Association and open Spaces Society

Personal

Mr Emery

63 ‘Ramblers 1988’ Map

Member of Ramblers Association and open Spaces Society

Personal

Mr Pawley

63 ‘Ramblers 1988’ Map

Member of the Ramblers Association

Personal

 

59.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 35 KB

The Forum will be asked to confirm the minutes of the 8th February 2010.

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on the 8 February 2010 be confirmed as a correct record subject to the following amendments –

 

       (i)            regarding minute 46, Mr Skinner and Mr Emery’s declarations of interest as members of the Ramblers Association are added;

 

     (ii)            regarding minute 51, having declared an interest Councillor Wheeler took no further part in the debate on the Extinguishment of a Public Footpath through Ridgeway School;

 

    (iii)            Mrs Mickley attendance to be recorded;

 

    (iv)            regarding minute number 45 and 55 the word committee should be changed to forum;

 

      (v)            regarding minute 51 ‘a point of order is made’ to be replaced by ‘a formal order is made’ .

 

60.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

The Chair recently attended the regional meeting of Local Access Forum (LAF) Chairs. It was reported that-

 

       (i)            the majority of discussion was were focused around the issue of the English Access Forum (EAF) , its current perceived failings and future;

 

     (ii)            Natural England was confident there was a need for the EAF and would consult with regional LAFs on how to move forward later in the year.

 

The Secretary recently attended the regional meeting of LAF secretaries. It was reported that-

 

    (iii)            the way in which the Plymouth LAF is operated is in line with other LAFs in the region;

 

    (iv)            a training day on the work and purpose of LAFs had been arranged. With the aim of helping new members to gain understanding of their role. The Secretary would circulate dates to interested members.

 

The City Planning department had invited members of the PLAF to attend training sessions which would have a focus on issues around public rights of way.

 

The following comments were made by members of the forum-

 

      (v)            although this invitation was welcomed, there was still an issue around the interaction of the Planning Department and the PLAF. It would be useful for a protocol to be developed where members of the PLAF could be involved at an earlier stage in the planning process.

 

Resolved that the Secretary investigate how an inter-working protocol could be developed.

61.

STEPPING STONES TO NATURE PROJECT

The Stepping Stones to Nature Project Coordinator will give a presentation on the project.

Minutes:

The Stepping Stones to Nature Project coordinator provided a verbal presentation to the forum on the achievements and future work of the project. It was reported that –

 

       (i)            the Stepping Stones to Nature project was a £1.065 million partnership project seeking to deliver improved opportunities to access green space in and around the city;

 

     (ii)            Stepping Stones brought together green space managers, with community engagement and health professionals. This partnership brought together expertise from public health, parks, protected landscapes, neighbourhood renewal, play, rights of way, and outdoor education;

 

    (iii)            partners included the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), Dartmoor National Park, Groundwork South West, the National Trust, Open Air Laboratories network (OPAL), the Plymouth NHS Trust Public Health Development Unit, University of Plymouth, and the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

 

In response to questions from the forum it was reported that –

 

    (iv)            the project had gained coverage in the local press. Projects had been advertised in the area they most affected through engaging with existing groups in the area and using libraries. Advertising was focused within a one mile radius of the project area;

 

      (v)            there was no capacity in the budget to work with private land owners;

 

    (vi)            although the capital improvements the project could bring were limited to six areas, it was an aim of the project to promote access to open spaces across the city;

 

   (vii)            Stepping Stones had an agreement that any improvements made would need to be approved by the City Council’s parks department and would continue to be maintained at the end of the project;

 

 (viii)            Police have been involved with the project with regard to anti social behaviour in open spaces;

 

   (ix)            staff from the future jobs fund have been working to improve the open spaces and feedback has indicated that people feel much more involved with the open spaces, have a better understanding of them and ultimately can take ownership of the area.

 

Resolved that the forum is provided with regular updates on the project from the Stepping Stones project coordinator.

62.

CONSULTATION - COASTAL ACCESS REPORTS pdf icon PDF 55 KB

Members will consider the Forums response to the Natural England consultation on proposed regulations setting out procedures for making representations about and objections to Natural England’s coastal access reports.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The forum considered the Coastal Access Reports consultation document and commented that the document was poorly written.

 

Resolved that-

 

(1)     any comments by forum members would be collated by the secretary and passed to the Chair to respond to the consultation;

 

(2)     in the future a short summary of large documents would be made available in the forums agenda packs with any requests for further information directed to the secretary.

 

63.

'RAMBLERS 1988' MAP

Members will report on their progress on checking 'ramblers 1988’ map.

Minutes:

The forum considered the ongoing work on the Ramblers 1988’ maps. Thanks were passed to Mr Skinner for providing the format for volunteers to work from.

 

Resolved that -

 

(1)     work completed to date will be forwarded to the Secretary for collation, the secretary will also be the point of contact for any subsequent submissions;

 

(2)     the potential PROW would meet on the 10 May 2010 to discuss the submissions so far and identify any further work required.

 

 

(Mr Skinner, Mr Pawley and Mr Emery declared a personal interest in the above item)

64.

FEEDBACK FROM WORKING GROUPS

The Forum will receive feedback from working groups.

Minutes:

There was no feedback to report from the working groups.

65.

LOCAL VALIDATION LISTS pdf icon PDF 408 KB

The forum will consider a draft Local Validation List for consultation feedback.

Minutes:

The forum discussed a consultation on Local Validation Lists. It was commented that there was no mention of public rights of way.

 

Resolved that the secretary of the forum respond to the consultation highlighting the following points-

 

  • that public rights of way are not listed on the Local Validation List;

 

  • the onus should be on the applicant to identify any PROW, potential PROW along with existing footpaths.

66.

CORRESPONDENCE pdf icon PDF 63 KB

To consider any correspondence received and note any correspondence sent by the Forum.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Forum noted correspondence received. The forum highlighted the letter from the PROW officer explaining the reasons for no longer attending the forum. It was commented that-

 

       (i)            the PROW officer would attend for specific agenda items that required officer input. This would entail the Forum developing and using its forward programme to inform its future agendas;

 

     (ii)            the forum was now supported by a capable secretary and the forum would need to use the resource appropriately.

 

67.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place on the 14 June at 10:30 am in the Council House.

Minutes:

Resolved that the next meeting will be held on the 14 June 2010 at the Council House.

68.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS pdf icon PDF 529 KB

To discuss any business that, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The forum discussed the Oreston coastal footpath, it was suggested by members that landowners in the area should be made aware of the public rights of way crossing their land.

 

Resolved that a letter is written to the LDF by the Secretary in conjunction with the Chair, urging them to consider joining the coastal footpath with the existing footpath in Oreston.