Countryside Access
Forum
Held at Antrobus
House, Amesbury
Wednesday 4th
July 2007
Commencing at
10:30am
Members
Mr E Clark Vice Chairman
Mr R Feltham Open Spaces Society
Mr R Crook National Farmers Union
Mr W Lewis Wiltshire Association of Local
Councils
Mr J Withers South Wiltshire Rights of Way Preservation
Group
Mr W Riley Trail Riders Fellowship
Mrs
H Woodbridge British Driving Society
Mr C Gingell The National Trust
Mr P Goodhugh The Amesbury Society
Mrs D Plummer British Horse Society
Miss
B MacMullen Wiltshire Bridleways
Association
Mrs
J Crosbee Ramblers Association
(on behalf of Mrs Crabb)
Officers
Mrs
D Chandler Swindon Borough Council
Mr
R Broadhead Wiltshire County
Council
Mr
P Broadstock Wiltshire County
Council
Observers
Ms
J White British Driving
Society
Mr
J Batt CPRE & Urchfont
Parish Council
Mr
C Patient Trial Riders
Fellowship & Berkshire LAF
Ms
R Crocker New Forest
Countryside Access Forum
Mr
P Walsh New Forest
Countryside Access Forum
Mrs
A Riley
Secretary
Mrs
A Stewart
Attendees
Mr R Brooks Defence Land Estates
Lt Col N de Foubert Defence Land Estates
1
Nomination of new Vice Chairman
1.1
Mr Hayward resigned
from the Forum leaving the Vice Chairman position open. Mr Clark was nominated by Mr Feltham and the
proposal was unanimously agreed by the members.
1.2
As Mr Humphries is
still unavailable Mr Clark took the chair and welcomed everyone to the meeting
at Antrobus House Amesbury.
1.3
Mrs Stewart updated
the Forum on the member changes that have happened since the previous
meeting. As previously stated Mr
Hayward has resigned as has Mr Langton representing Country Land Business. Mr Thomson representing Friends of Salisbury
Shopmobility has been un-contactable for the past 2 meetings and has not
attended a meeting since being invited as a member; as a result Mr Thomson has
resigned by default. The Forum has one
new member, Miss MacMullen representing Wiltshire Bridleways Association, to
offer a local equestrian view point.
2
Apologies
Mr C Humphries Chairman
Mrs P Crabb Ramblers Association
Mr W Brown Independent
Mr M Johnson Independent
Mrs A Henshaw Council for the Protection of Rural
England
3
Minutes of the previous meeting (11th
April 2007)
3.1
All minutes were
accepted as a true record.
4
Matters Arising
4.1
Item 3.5: Mr Lewis queried Mr Broadhead’s comment ‘the
Warden’s maintenance programmes must be strictly prioritised and if a rural path
was a popular route annual growth would be kept back anyway’. Mr Lewis commented that for normal rights of
way this would apply but MOD rights of way are only available when red flags
are not flying preventing regular use.
5
Consultation on a Section 28 Indefinite Direction,
Upton Scudamore
5.1
Mr Brooks reiterated
his apologises for his non attendance at the last meeting.
5.2
Most of the MOD land is
excepted land under Section 1.
5.3
Following risk
assessments of the remaining 45 parcels across the country 19 are pursuing a
Section 28 direction. For safety
reasons these 19 parcels have never been included on the maps as access land so
the public would not be losing anything if the Section 28 is successful. Of the other 18 parcels pursuing a Section
28 only 1 has received an objection.
5.4
Section 28 can be
applied for under 4 categories:
1 – Mostly secured sites with fencing surrounding them.
2 – Impact areas – danger of exposed ordnance
3 – Range danger areas
4 – Military requirements
5.5
Mr Brooks stated that
the Upton Scudamore parcel in question is used for troop gathering and troop
movement where public separation should be maintained. The adjacent rights of way to these parcels
would not be affected.
5.6
The present
boundaries will be reviewed to fit the current land holding through the bylaws
programme. As a result in 2-3 years
time this parcel will automatically come under Section 1 resulting in the area removed
from the map anyway; however the MOD would prefer to avoid this confusion for
the public.
5.7
Mr Clark opened the
meeting up for comments. Mr Gingell raised
an objection that the parcel was an isolated escarpment 100 metres away from
the A350 and surrounded by farmed land, such land usage suggested that there
would be no danger to the public.
Preventing access to the parcel would inhibit the public from exploring
the escarpment and major butterfly recording had taken place in the area.
Lt Col de Foubert explained that although no specific dangerous activity to the
public would be taking place it would provide a buffer zone. Having public access in the area would
negate the amount of training area available.
There are 120 members of Imber Conservation Group which has selective
access across the plain, the group completes extensive surveys of the
butterflies and birds in the area.
5.8
Mr Riley asked if the
public could have access to the area when the red flags are not flying.
Mr Brooks explained that this parcel is a backdoor training area and that the usage
could chop and change on a daily basis.
The red flag system also takes 2 hours to erect and 2 hours to take down
again which eats into training time.
5.9
Mr Clark said that as
the parcel had not been mapped the public would be unaware of the land so
making a Section 28 would make no difference to them. Also as the land maybe exempt from the map within 3 years putting
the parcel on the map may prove dangerous.
5.10 Mr Crook agreed and added that a line needed to be
drawn.
5.11 As there were opposing views a vote was taken. There were 5 objections to and 7 approvals
for the Section 28.
5.12 Action: A
formal letter indicating support will be drawn up by Mr Clark.
6
Swindon Report, Swindon Rights of Way Liaison Group
6.1
The Swindon Liaison Group is continuing to focus
on the publicity of Rights of Way and have written to Parish Councils about
their promotional material for rights of way.
Unfortunately this letter has drawn a very poor response.
6.2
The draft Swindon RoWIP was sent out to all
members individually and the consultation concludes on 31st July
2007. Mrs Chandler accepted that there
are gaps in the document but was hoping the consultation process would help to
fill these.
Mr Riley has already responded individually.
Mr Clark queried if the RoWIP would remain a generic document or if specifics
would be included in the final draft.
Mrs Chandler explained that the consultation questionnaire had received
an excellent response with 6 key issues identified which the draft plan had
focused on.
- Maintenance of the existing network
- Lack of signage/information
- More links to the centre of population
- Physical barriers
- Poor public transport links
- Conflict from using the network
The final document will list specific projects which
will be reviewed annually.
Mr Clark stated that he would like to see some mention of how to tackle the
permissive access issue in Swindon. Mrs
Chandler explained that permissive access parcels in Swindon would probably not
be renewed due to the developments taking place.
Mrs Plummer was concerned that Page 7 did not include equestrianism. Mrs Chandler agreed to take the comment on
board.
The Forum members thought the document was an excellent draft.
7
Rights of Way Improvement Plan Update (Wiltshire)
7.1
The Forum welcomed Mr
Broadstock, the new Countryside and Access Development Officer, who has now
been in post for 5 weeks. Mr
Broadstock’s background is in countryside management and project management.
7.2
Mr Broadstock has
begun the role by trying to get the logistics out of the way and is currently
reviewing work that had been done by his predecessor and drafting a project
plan. Action: Mrs Stewart to send
out the project plan with the minutes.
7.3
The consultation plan
has almost been completed. Mr
Broadstock is concentrating on conducting the consultation. The questionnaire has been sent round to all
WCC staff and all Parish Councils. Responses will be compiled and analysed by
10th July. The responses
received so far have been put into broad categories. Mr Broadstock will be consulting individuals through libraries,
tourist information and local shows.
7.4
The Forum suggested
tackling parish councils face to face as much as possible. Mr Broadstock has so far been to one parish
council meeting and will accept as many invites as possible.
7.5
The Forum’s RoWIP
Working Party is keen to get involved in the process at the earliest
opportunity. Action: Mrs Stewart to
forward contact details of the working party members to Mr Broadstock.
7.6
The advantage of
writing the RoWIP now is that most authority plans have already been written
and lessons can be learnt from this work.
7.7
During the RoWIP
process the Framework document will be reviewed.
7.8
Item 12 on the agenda
– Letter to Miss de Rhe Philippe – The Forum agreed with the contents of the
letter so Mr Clark will sign the letter and send off.
Restructure of Wiltshire Rights of Way
Department Update
8.1
All the Rights of Way
vacancies have finally been filled. The
Administration post has been filled by Mary Lawson who will start sometime
early August.
8.2
The Definitive
Mapping Team posts have been filled by Tim Chinnick and Sally Madgwick.
8.3
The Rights of Way
Inspector role has been filled by Alex Howson who will be working in the West
and South of Wiltshire. This will leave
Paul Millard, who has been working across Wiltshire, to concentrate on North
and Kennet.
8.4
Action: Mrs Stewart to forward the updated structure chart
with the minutes.
8.5
A preferred supplier has been established for the database and the
funding is available from this year’s budget.
The database will be web based and refer to the CAF website.
8.6
The policy for prioritising Modification and Diversion orders is to be
reviewed and the CAF would like to be involved in developing this policy. Forum members are keen to see the Liaison
Group reformed so that there is an opportunity to get involved in individual
applications, as a strategic body the Forum is not the place for such specific
discussions. Action: Mrs Stewart to
include Wiltshire Liaison Group as an item for the next agenda.
9
Defra Consultation on implementation of the right
to apply for orders to extinguish and divert public right of way and associated
right of appeal
9.1
Mr Clark commented
that the briefing notes supplied by Defra were extremely useful as a guide.
9.2
Mr Broadhead handed
out copies of the thoughts he had written for the New Forest National Park as
an aid for them to write their response.
Action: Mrs Chandler to forward Swindon’s response that comes from a
very similar view point to Mr Broadhead’s.
9.3
Action: Forum members to forward their views to Mrs Stewart
for formulation.
9.4
Defra has some major
reservations about the introduction of this proposed legislation.
10
Report from Access Land Signage Group
10.1 The initial review has been completed of the 174
discreet parcels of access land: Group
1 – Traversing right of way = 45%
Group 2 – Adjacent right of way = 38%
Group 3 – Isolated parcel with no right of way = 17%
10.2 Mr Riley has been given a list of the isolated
parcels to see if there is any historic evidence of a route which he will be
feeding to the RoWIP.
10.3 A letter has gone out to the landowners of parcel
440 on top of Cranbourne Chase which received mostly a positive response. Mr Withers local team will be erecting the
signs hopefully this weekend. The Forum
thanked Mr Withers for all his help on this pilot project.
10.4 This system has been a success and will be
continued once a priority list has been drawn up. There is has been a large list of landowners compiled and the
Ramblers have many volunteers on standby ready to put up signs.
10.5 The CAF’s £7,000 budget may be focused on improved
signage.
11
Report from the Website Working Group
11.1 Mr Johnson’s report was handed out at the meeting;
the graph showed increased usage of the website over the last couple of months.
11.2 Mr Johnson wrote to Longleat Estate asking them for
a map of their permissive access which would be included on the CAF
website. Unfortunately Longleat Estate
declined. As a result Mr Johnson
suggested that the Forum ask WCC to formally write to Longleat requesting a map
or at the very least an approved permissive use statement.
11.3 It was suggested that Longleat Estate’s permissive
use may have affected their inheritance capital gains tax so this should be
accessible by the public.
11.4 The Forum agreed with Mr Johnson. Action: Mr Broadhead to write to Longleat.
12
Report from the Publicity Group
12.1 Mr Johnson drafted a letter which went in the June
issue of the WCC Parish Newsletter regarding collation of all the documentation
held by Parish Councils of rights of way publicity such as Parish Council
booklets of walks. Unfortunately only
one response was received which was an obscure question rather than any useful
documentation. Action: Mrs Stewart to
obtain the parish council email address list so that Mr Johnson can contact
them directly. Update: Action completed.
13
National Trails
13.1 Maintenance works on the Ridgeway and the Thames
Path to ensure the routes comes up to a national standard have to date been
funded through a management grant. This
year WCC had intended to use this funding to complete major works on the
Ridgeway north of the world heritage site.
Unfortunately due to Natural England budget pressures the grant fund is insufficient
to allow the work to be done this year.
Mr Broadhead suggested that the Forum may like to formally express
concern to Defra and Natural England regarding the withdrawing of such funds.
13.2 Mrs Chandler supports Mr Broadhead’s suggestion as Swindon
also urgently needs funding for works on the Thames Path.
13.3 Mr Clark suggested that a response from the
Regional LAF would hold more weight so the SW Regional LAF Coordinator, Hilary
Winter, should be contacted. Also as
the Ridgeway and Thames Path fall in to the South East Counties their Regional
LAF Coordinator should also be contacted.
Update: Hilary Winter is not currently acting as Regional LAF
Coordinator as Natural England is not allocating the role a budget at this
time. Ms Winter is hoping this issue
will be resolved shortly so that regional support will be delivered by Natural
England. Update: There is no Regional
LAF Coordinator for the South East.
13.4 Mr Clark suggested following the lead of Dorset and
pursue the European Leadership Grants which have been available for long
distance routes. Mr Broadhead explained
the part of Mr Broadstock’s role will be to seek out funding opportunities.
13.5 Mr Broadhead explained that the North Wessex Downs
AONB had submitted to new leadership funding and would be looking for specific
projects. Also the Cranbourne Chase
AONB is in the process of bidding for lottery funding which looks positive.
13.6 Mr Broadhead, Mr Broadstock and a representative
from the British Horse Society, Mr Sullivan-Tailyour have discussed a way
across the Wessex Ridgeway to link up with the BHS route from Lime Regis to
Norfolk. An appropriate route has been
identified and the BHS are to carry out an assessment so that projects can
begin. There will be certain sections
that would be appropriate for carriage drivers.
14
Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) proposed
seminar
14.1 FWAG are looking to put a seminar together for mid
September. WCC will be making a
presentation at the event.
14.2 FWAG have asked that the Forum send a representative
to explain what the Forum is trying to achieve. Mr Clark agreed to attend the meeting.
15
Any Other Business
15.1 Concern was voiced about the progressive extinction
of permissive access sites across Wiltshire as it is only included in the
higher level schemes and not the entry level scheme. Action: Mrs Stewart to invite a representative
from Defra to discuss this issue.
15.2 Lt Col de Foubert made an open invitation to the
General Update on Defence Training Estates, Salisbury Plain, Public Rights of
Way for all the Forum members. Action:
Representatives from the Forum that do attend the meeting will
update the other members at the next meeting.
15.3 The Cotswold AONB will be having an access
conference on 16th October and would like the Forum to send
representatives. Mrs Plummer and Mrs
Woodbridge agreed to attend the meeting and report back at the next Forum
meeting
15.4 The Defra consultation on Proposals to Improve Access
to the English Coast, were handed out at the meeting. Defra requested that responses are returned by Tuesday 11th
September. If any member would like to
respond please forward to Mrs Stewart who will compile comments and forward on.
16
Date of Next Meeting
16.1 Wednesday 17th October 2007. Braeside was suggested as a venue but is
already booked.