Agenda and minutes

Plymouth Local Access Forum - Monday 15 December 2014 10.30 am

Venue: Council House, Plymouth (Next to the Civic Centre)

Contact: Lynn Young  Email: laf@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

31.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest in accordance with the code of conduct.

32.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 76 KB

The Forum will be asked to confirm the minutes of 8 September 2014.

Minutes:

Agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2014 are confirmed as a correct record.  Under this item, Ian Stewart (Vice Chair) thanked the Council (Democratic Support) for the consistently high standard of minutes produced.

33.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

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

Minutes:

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

34.

LOCAL NATURE PARTNERSHIP

To receive a presentation on the Local Nature Partnership.

Minutes:

Members were advised that due to officer unavailability this item was deferred until the March 2015 meeting.

35.

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH UPDATE

The Forum will receive an update on the South West Coast Path.

Minutes:

Robin Pearce (Public Rights of Way Officer) advised Forum members that –

 

(a)

pedestrian counters to calculate footfall had been positioned at the steps located at the Royal William Yard and Jennycliff;

 

(b)

106,000 people had walked the steps at the Royal William Yard in the 11 months since they opened in June 2013;

 

(c)

74,000 people had walked the steps at Jennycliff between 1 August 2013 and 30 June 2014, approximately 500 people a week used the steps;

 

 

In response to questions, it was reported that –

 

(d)

two pedestrian counters were positioned on the South West Coast Path;

 

(e)

pedestrian counters could be positioned on other routes in Plymouth, although there were no immediate plans to use any more at this time;

 

(f)

pedestrian counters could be used to support future funding bids and to prioritise funding.

 

36.

MODIFICATION ORDER UPDATE

The Forum will receive an update on the progress of modification orders.

Minutes:

Robin Pearce (Public Rights of Way Officer) advised Forum members that –

 

(a)

two Modification Orders had recently gone to Planning Committee –

 

·         the Widewell School application had been refused;

·         the application for the addition of a footpath from Hooe Road to Westcombe Crescent had been approved, and the formal consultation process would now begin;

 

(b)

a number of other Modification Orders were being processed, and should be ready to go to Planning Committee in 2015 –

 

·         Plymstock School;

·         Hooe Lake;

·         Church Hill Road to Stamford Lane;

·         Estover Close;

·         The Kloof;

·         Sparkwell Bridge;

·         Venn Close;

 

 

(c)

all information regarding the Modification Orders was available to view on the Plymouth City Council website;

 

(d)

Planning Committee meetings were streamed live if Forum members wished to follow the progress of an Order that was being heard;

 

(e)

it was possible that some objections could be raised in respect of the Order for the addition of a footpath from Hooe Road to Westcombe Crescent, however the application had received a great deal of support from local residents;

 

(f)

the new Deregulation Bill that was currently going through Parliament would make some minor efficiency improvements to the modification order process.

 

Ray Fairchild (Chair) highlighted the importance of outsourcing the bulk of the Modification Order work.

37.

LOCAL ACCESS FORUM TERMS OF REFERENCE pdf icon PDF 244 KB

The Forum will note the new Terms of Reference.

Minutes:

The Forum agreed the proposed changes to the Terms of Reference.

38.

TRACKING RESOLUTIONS pdf icon PDF 21 KB

To monitor progress on previous resolutions.

Minutes:

Rosemary Starr (Smarter Choices Manager) advised the Forum that she would be meeting with Pauline Burrows, Parking Systems Manager in the new year to discuss public slipways.  The Parking Department had apologised for the delay in updating the information on the internet.  If any member of the Forum had information that could pose a danger to a member of the public they were to advise Rosemary Starr who would ensure that the website was updated.

 

Meetings had been held for Forum members to discuss the Plymouth Plan, which had proved useful, and their comments had been submitted.

 

A discussion ensued regarding how to spend the sum of fifty pounds that the Forum had received for participation in discussions for the Plymouth Plan.  Two suggestions were put forward – sponsorship of a sign, and the purchase of a pedestrian counter.  Robin Pearce (Public Rights of Way Officer) advised that these ideas would cost well in excess of fifty pounds.

39.

HUDDLE HOT TOPICS pdf icon PDF 226 KB

To note the October issue of Huddle Hot Topics.

Minutes:

The Forum noted the latest version of Huddle Hot Topics.

 

Under this agenda item, a discussion ensued regarding the health benefits of walking.  Ian Stewart (Vice Chair) advised the Forum that Wigan had a good relationship with Adult Social Services, but there did not appear to be any similar link in Plymouth.

 

Robin Pearce (Public Rights of Way Officer) advised that an employee of MIND, the mental health charity, organised local walks, and copies of the Co-operative Way booklet had been sent to the Shekinah Mission and the Harbour Centre.  In addition to this the Walking for Health scheme – England’s largest network of health walk schemes, run by the Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support – was active in Plymouth.  Dean Blagdon, Community Physical Activity Worker, co-ordinated the schedule of walks for the city, throughout the year.  The walks were very popular and the scheme received a lot of support.

 

It was suggested that the LAF could become involved in publicising this scheme and it would be beneficial for a talk to be given to the Forum.  Members were advised that if they were interested in participating in any of the walks they could contact Dean Blagdon for further information (dean.blagdon@nhs.net).

 

Rosemary Starr (Smarter Choices Manager) advised the Forum that the Plymotion scheme would concentrate on the north of the city in 2015.  A member of the Plymotion team had recently qualified as a Walk Leader.

40.

WORKING GROUPS

To agree any working groups for items on this agenda.

Minutes:

Ray Fairchild (Chair) advised the Forum that funding for the Paths for Communities (P4C) scheme had currently ceased, and thought it would be beneficial to set up a working group in order to be prepared should another tranche of funding be released under the scheme.

 

Following a discussion, it was agreed that members would meet on Thursday 29 January 2015 at 11 am to walk footpaths in the vicinity of St Budeaux.  Ian Stewart (Vice Chair) would co-ordinate this walk.

41.

WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 182 KB

To receive the Forum’s Work Programme for 2014- 2015.

Minutes:

The Forum reviewed and updated its Forward Work programme.

 

Agreed that Ian Stewart (Vice Chair) would contact Dean Blagdon.

42.

CORRESPONDENCE

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

Minutes:

There were no items of correspondence.

43.

ISSUES ARISING FROM FORUM MEMBERS

To discuss any issues brought forward by members of the Forum.

Minutes:

Bob Harvey provided the Forum with an update on Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).

 

The Forum was advised that –

 

(a)

he had attended the most recent Partnership Committee meetings for both the Tamar Valley AONB and the South Devon AONB;

 

(b)

AONBs were facing significant cuts;

 

(c)

Cornwall County Council hoped to secure private funding for the Tamar Valley AONB;

 

(d)

AONBs were obliged to take the advice of LAFs; neither the Tamar Valley AONB or the South Devon AONB had consulted a LAF for advice;

 

(e)

LAFs needed to take the initiative and contact AONBs to determine what they were doing;

 

(f)

LAFs had not been represented at the latest meeting of the South Devon AONB Partnership Committee.

 

Agreed that Bob Harvey would contact Hilary Winter (Regional LAF Co-ordinator) to determine if contact could be made with the local AONBs to ascertain their plans for the next 12 months, and to advise them that LAFs can advise them if required.

 

Following members’ questions it was reported that –

 

(g)

the officers present at the meeting had no specific knowledge of the progress of the new Sherford development;

 

(h)

the re-development of Bretonside was still in the planning stage, and had not yet gone to Planning Committee;

 

(i)

the re-development of Laira Rail Bridge was ongoing and was expected to open in March 2015;

 

(j)

work on the new logos for the Forum had been suspended.

(Rosemary Starr left the meeting part way through this agenda item)

44.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held at 10.30 am on Monday 16 March 2015 at the Council House, Plymouth.

Minutes:

Agreed that the next meeting of the Forum is held at 10.30 am on Monday 16 March 2015.