Countryside Access Forum

Held at Tilshead Village Hall

Wednesday 16th January 2008

Commencing at 10:30am

 

 

MINUTES OF MEETING

 

 

PRESENT

 

Members

 

Mr C Humphries          Chairman

Mr E Clark                Vice Chairman

Mrs P Crabb             Ramblers Association

Mr M Johnson           Independent

Mrs A Henshaw          Council for the Protection of Rural England

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 

Mrs H Woodbridge          British Driving Society

Mr P Goodhugh          The Amesbury Society

Miss B MacMullen          Wiltshire Bridleways Association

Mr N Sharpe             Defence Land Estates

Mr C Gingell              The National Trust

Mrs M Houlden          Walk with Wheels – wheelchairs & buggies

Mr J Alsop                Wiltshire College

Miss C Sealy             Country Land and Business Association

 

Officers

 

Mr R Broadhead          Wiltshire County Council

Miss S Madgwick          Wiltshire County Council

Mr P Broadstock          Wiltshire County Council

Mrs M Noyce            Wiltshire County Council

 

Observers

 

Mr J Batt                 CPRE & Urchfont Parish Council

Ms R Crocker            New Forest Countryside Access Forum

Mr A Roberts            Ramblers Association

Mrs J White              British Driving Society

Mr J Gardner             Friends of South Wick Park

 

Secretary

 

Mrs A Stewart

 

 

1               Apologies

 

Mrs D Plummer          British Horse Society

Mr W Riley               Trail Riders Fellowship

 

 

 

2               Forum Membership

 

2.1         Mr Brown, Independent, has resigned from the Forum.

2.2         There are 3 new members of the Forum

•       Miss Charlotte Sealy will be representing the Country Land and Business Association

•       Mr James Alsop is a lecturer in tourism at Wiltshire College, is the author of The Mid Wilts Way and is in the process of writing a book on circular walks in Pewsey Vale.

•       Mrs Marie Holden will be able to offer a view from the disability perspective.  She is the creator of the websites www.walkswithwheelchairs.com and www.walkswithbuggies.com


3               Minutes of the previous meeting (17th October 2007)

 

3.1         All minutes were accepted as a true record. 

 

4               Matters Arising

 

4.1         Item 9:  Mr Clark apologised for the delay in organising the Wiltshire Liaison Group and will ensure there is a meeting before the next Forum meeting.

4.2         Item 12:  The consultation on game shooting will take place at the next Forum meeting.  Mrs Stewart will forward a report with the minutes from Richard Thomas, the representative from Natural England, updating the Forum on the current progress.


5               Prioritisation of the DMMO Applications Register

5.1         Within the CRoW Act there was a call for more transparency regarding DMMO applications.  A register has been complied and is available both on the Wiltshire County Council website and paper copy on request, please contact Mrs Noyce 01225 756183. 

5.2         There is a requirement to process the applications within 12 months and as Wiltshire County Council currently has a backlog of 185 claims this deadline is not achievable.  An applicant can take their case to the Secretary of State therefore Wiltshire County Council must have a robust policy to defend themselves with.

5.3         Following the DMMO prioritisation consultation Miss Madgwick has completed a report based on the responses received which was circulated at the meeting.  From this report a policy statement must be written for the RoWIP.  User based applications will continue to be prioritised first and are in hand. These witness based claims often highlight a clear and substantial public benefit. 

5.4         Mr Clark did suggest that the Parish Council evidence applications should be prioritized as their claims are often significant to the map of their network.  Miss Madgwick agreed that this was a valid suggestion and felt that the office had the capacity to deal with the Parish Council evidence claims. 

5.5         All other claims would remain in chronological order. 

 

 

6               Salisbury Plain Training Area Wish List

6.1         At the meeting at Salisbury Plain Training area in July the MOD stated they would like to improve public access to the plain and requested a wish list for future works. 

6.2         The main issues highlighted on the County Council wish list included an upgrade to the circular route around the Imber Range for equestrian use which could have significant tourism benefits.  Also a byway link for the Bulford Ranges so access is still available when the red flags are flying.

6.3         The MOD dedications are moving forward particularly around Bull Cross.

6.4         Mr Sharpe stated that the meeting to discuss the submitted wish lists would take place in February.

6.5         Mr Clark was concerned that the signage issue was not highlighted in the council’s wish list as information available to the general public is confusing and the Ordnance Survey maps add to this confusion.   Miss Madgwick explained that the these issues were being dealt with as management issue not as part of the wish list.  Mr Sharpe assured the Forum that under the Byelaw Review the issue of signage would be reviewed.


7               Swindon Rights of Way Liaison Group

7.1         The next Swindon Rights of way Liaison Group is to be 13th February.  Mrs Woodbridge will update the Forum on the Liaison Group’s discussions at the next Forum meeting.



8               Rights of Way Improvement Plan Update

8.1         Copies of the draft RoWIP are now available both in print and on the County Council website and other appropriate websites including the Forum website.  Copies were handed out at the meeting and are also available on request from Paul Broadstock paulbroadstock@wiltshire.gov.uk 01225 713349.

8.2         The appendix is the document which provides the evidence for the RoWIP content.  It states what the RoWIP is going to be looking at, where the funding will be generated from for works highlighted in the RoWIP and how the RoWIP leads into the LTP

8.3         Much of the RoWIP is background information; the substance of the document is the action plan from page 22.

8.4         The consultation closing date for the RoWIP is Tuesday 1st April 2008.


9               Access Management Grant Scheme

9.1         A letter from The Ramblers Association has been sent to all Local Access Forum’s asking them to support the campaign to save and extend the AMGS.  This letter was distributed to all Forum members in the papers for the meeting.

9.2         Mr Clark explained that a national body was being formed from the forums across the country so that there was one voice lobbying Natural England and the government which might carry more weight.  However Mr Clark felt that there was still a benefit in individual Forums expressing their concerns in writing as well.

9.3         Mr Clark stated that a representative from Natural England was present at the RoWIP Funding Event and also the South West Chairs and Secretaries meetings and had been adamant that due to significant funding cuts the AMGS would definitely be withdrawn. 

9.4         It was agreed that the Forum would write a letter to encourage Natural England to continue the grant scheme.  Action:  Mrs Stewart to action.

 

10          Report from RoWIP funding Event – Thursday 13th December

10.1     The Minister has made it clear that there will be no pot of gold available to fund projects identified in RoWIP’s.  It was suggested that Forum’s should help to source funding and to think of the broader picture.

10.2     There were 3 key points made:

1      Forum’s to look at strategic health plans in their area.  There is substantial funding available for preventative measures therefore it is important to get position statements into the plans.  Action:  Mrs Stewart to write to PCT

2      LTP funding through the general transport pot.  There have been a number of housing projects in Wiltshire where funding could be sourced through Section 106’s.

3      Funding could also be sourced from local development frameworks and local government funding.

 

11          Report from South West Chair’s and Secretaries – Tuesday 15th January

 

11.1     The main themes of this meeting followed on from the RoWIP funding event of the previous month.

11.2     An initiative triggered by the Cumbria Forum has been successful to create a national body to represent the Forum’s across the country to lobby the government directly as one voice.

11.3     On the Forum’s behalf Mr Clark agreed to contribute to the National Coordinator once in post.

11.4     Mr Broadhead explained that Wiltshire also has a strong national voice through the County Surveyors Society as the Chairman of the group is Alan Fiest, Assistant Director and the secretariat is provided by Janice Green, Definitive Mapping Officer for Wiltshire.

 

12          Report from Website Publicity Group

 

12.1     A report from Mr Johnson was circulated with the papers for the meeting.

12.2     The RoWIP can now be found on the website.

12.3     130 walks in Wiltshire have been added to the website and have received very positive feedback.

12.4     Mr Johnson has written an article for the new Rights of Way newsletter on the Forum.

12.a     Mr Broadhead and Mrs Stewart had a meeting with representatives from Longleat Estate to discuss the possibility of the Estate’s permissive access being shown on the Forum website.

The Estate felt that they provide significant permissive access but believe that the provision of additional information would be counter-productive causing land management problems and damage to the environment.

The Estate would be prepared to cooperate with the production of a leaflet showing access but would not be prepared to fund it.  The Forum did not think funding a leaflet would be a useful enough tool to finance.

Action:  The Forum asked Mr Broadhead to find out from Inland Revenue if the Estate was complying with their requirements under the Heritage Maintenance Plan.

12.b     Mrs Noyce is going to be editing a newsletter for the rights of way department called Wiltshire Wayfarer.  It will be a quarterly newsletter beginning with a spring addition to be issued by the end of March

Mrs Noyce would like articles by the end of January.  Mr Johnson has provided an article on the Forum but it would be nice to have profiles on each individual body represented at the Forum for future additions.  Articles can be submitted to rownewsletter@wiltshire.gov.uk Mrs Noyce can be contacted directly on 01225 756183.

Mrs Crabb suggested that it would be useful to have an update on the database in the newsletter.

The newsletter will be distributed to Parish Councils, libraries, user groups and other interested parties.  If you have any suggestions for the distribution list please contact Mrs Noyce.


13          Any Other Business

 

13.1     Ms Crocker from New Forest Countryside Access Forum has been extremely impressed with the website the new walks in Wiltshire information is particularly useful.

13.2     Mrs Stewart informed the Forum that the BVPI 178 (Performance Indicator) results were up 1% from the previous year.  This could be as a direct result of the new Rights of Way Inspectors and the 4th Maintenance Contractor employed in the summer. 

 

14          Date of Next Meeting

14.1     Wednesday 23rd April, location to be confirmed.