Agenda and minutes

The Committee Officer welcomed members to the Forum. It was raised that there had been issues regarding the distribution of papers both via post and electronically. The Forum was assured that this would not be the case for the next meeting.

Apologies were received from Mrs R. Camamile CC, Mr B. Sutton, Ms H. Brown, Dr G. Mason, Ms A. Pyper, Mr A. Hillier-Fry, and Mr R. Denney.

With the permission of the Forum, the Committee Officer requested to change the order of business to that outlined on the agenda.

a)    Acceptance of continuation as members of the Forum.

b)    Committees required.

c)    Formal acceptance of positions on committees.

d)    Ratification of committee chairmanships.

e)    Appointments as representatives/observers on outside bodies.

Those present at the meeting stated that they would be continuing as members.

The Forum was informed that Lorraine Foreman would no longer be continuing as a member. It was requested that a letter be sent to Ms Foreman thanking her for her valued contributions to the LLAF.

The Committee Officer invited nominations for the position of Chairman of the Leicestershire Local Access Forum for the period ending January 2016. 

It was proposed by Ms Allen that Mr Terry Kirby be elected Chairman of the Forum.

AGREED:

a)    That Mr. Terry Kirby be elected Chairman of the Leicestershire Local Access Forum for the period ending January 2016;

b)    That the Forum formally thank Mr R. Denney for his work as Chairman.

The Committee Officer invited nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Leicestershire Local Access Forum for the period ending January 2016. 

It was proposed by Mr J Bullock that Mr C. Faircliffe be elected Vice-Chairman of the Forum for the period ending January 2016.

AGREED:

That Mr. Faircliffe be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Leicestershire Local Access Forum for the period ending January 2016.

The Chairman invited members to confirm or cancel the continuation of the subgroups and committees.

AGREED:

The Forum agreed to continue the Planning and Travel Committee, Verges Committee and Network Opportunities Committee.

The Chairman invited nominations for members to Chair the committees for the period ending January 2016.

AGREED:

a)    That Ms. V. Allen continue as chair of the Verges Committee;

b)    That Mr. J. Law continue as chair of the Network Opportunities Committee;

c)    That Mr. R. Denney continue as chair of the Planning Committee.

AGREED:

That the Forum continued with present arrangements subject to any future changes.

An issue was raised regarding the approval of minutes. It was clarified that the minutes were written by the Committee Officer who would only modify them once informed of any errors.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2014 be approved subject to the following changes:-

PRESENT

That “Mr. S. Salmor” be changed to “Mr. S. Palmer”.

Minute 105

          (i).        In regards to the Watermead pilot project, members expressed their disappointment in the County Council Country Parks Department for not cooperating in surveying and creating Countryside For All route literature. It was reported that they were in discussions with district councils and would report back on any progress made;

AGREED:

b)    Members requested that their disappointment in the County Council Country Parks Department for not cooperating in surveying and creating Countryside For All route literature be recorded.

Minute 108

         (ii).        Officers advised that Network Rail had carried out a preliminary consultation process and that Network Rail had paused in taking any action at the request of the County Council in order to consider the views of interested parties. Some members also expressed their dissatisfaction at the public meeting held by Network Rail;

Minute 111. Access Land Surveys.

        (iv).        It was reported that the Altar Stones reserve had been well maintained and signposted. It was reported that when concerns were raised regarding barbed wire above a style, the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust fitted piping to the barbed wire so that it could be crossed safely. Further discussions with the Trust were in hand about all three of their locations that had been inspected;

There were no matters arising.

There were no urgent items.

Members were invited to declare any interests in relation to items on the agenda.

No interests were declared.

a)    Access Newsletter

b)    LAF News

c)    National LAF Report - April 2013 to March 2014

The Forum considered three items of correspondence. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Members queried whether or not there were signs on open access land in Leicestershire sites as demonstrated in the LAF newsletter. It was clarified that some of these did exist and it would be something that the Forum was welcome to pursue with the access authority and land owners;

 (ii).        It was requested that the issues and challenges identified in the National LAF Report should be discussed further at an informal meeting and bring to a formal Forum meeting if necessary;

(iii).        There were other items of correspondence which had been circulated around the Google group. Members discussed the possibility of having a log of correspondence at future meetings in order to keep track of correspondence;

(iv).        In response to queries about where the LLAF stood in regards to any statutory consultation, it was stated that there was no statutory requirement that the LLAF be consulted on all matters. However it was noted that it was a body recognised and known due to the volume of work it undertakes and circulates to various partners and district councils. However it was up to the LLAF to pick up planning matters itself.

AGREED:

a)    That the items of correspondence be noted;

b)    That a log of correspondence stating its title and date be included at future meetings.

a)    Planning and Travel Committee  

b)    Network Opportunities Committee

c)    Verges Committee (verbal)

The Forum considered the updates from committee chairs. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        There would be a formal hearing on the new Freight Gateway on the 4 February and that the Forum was welcome to nominate a representative to attend on its behalf. There was also a site visit which neither Mr Warren or Mr Denney could attend. It was clarified that the reason for a hearing was due to it being an issue of national infrastructure and not just a local issue;

 (ii).        Responding to queries from Members it was stated that the Freight Gateway was probably a venture by a private company. Local Enterprise Partnership had some say in this however each person would have a different view (i.e local residents may be more opposed than businesses);

(iii).        Full plans were available online of the diversions that would be caused by the Freight Gateway;

(iv).        Mr Warren informed the forum that there had been a wide variety of consultation responses. Charnwoood Borough Council and the Ramblers Association had given positive feedback, however a lot of other feedback were widely varied due to issues regarding the appropriateness of the location;

 (v).        A meeting would be taking place soon at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council regarding the third phase of development in Hinckley;

(vi).        There would be Countryside for All routes training in 2015 on route literature. Officers at the meeting asked for Mr Law to send the value of this training compared to the costs which the County Council would use to decide whether or not to meet the expenses;

(vii).        Members were concerned that the publications regarding disabled access to parks fell short of what they were capable of.

AGREED:

That the Forum note the updates from Committees.

a)    National Forest Access and Recreation Group (Roy Denney)          

b)    Parks, Open Spaces and Countryside Group (Vicky Allen)   

c)    Canals and Waterways (Herbert Eppell)

d)    Heart of the Forest, Access and Connectivity Group (Steven Palmer - verbal)       

The Forum considered any updates from representatives on outside bodies. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Mr Kirby had asked if the Highways Agencies Traffic forum was still in existence but had not received a response;

 (ii).        A funding bid had been submitted for the Black to Green project which members were positive about. The bid could be worth £200,000 and would be decided on in February.

AGREED:

That the Forum note the reports from representatives on outside bodies.

There had been no advice given or consultation responses received.

Members were updated on the current position of various Public Path and Modification Orders. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Concerns were raised about the completion of footpaths but signage had not yet been put in place. Officers responded that it may be due to the footpath not being legally open yet but they would follow this up;

 (ii).        The Development and Control Regulatory Board did not meet on the 8 January as planned to discuss the path modification request in Cropston;

(iii).        Mr McWilliam presented an outline of the Midlands mainline electrification plans due to it being a significant infrastructure project. Due to the nature of the project many bridges would need altering or rebuilt completely if necessary;

(iv).        Members were informed that things may start moving very quickly on the project and they should be aware of the need to respond to consultation quickly;

 (v).        The reason for the project was due to significant demands and shortage of capacity on current infrastructure. It was also projected that freight movement would significantly increase on completion of the Freight Gateway;

(vi).        An update would be provided at the next meeting.

AGREED:

a)    That the orders update be noted;

b)    That officers follow up the status of completed paths and any signage.

The Forum considered a report of the survey of open access land. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Mr McWilliam expressed his appreciation for the work that had been undertaken by the Forum in regard to open access land. He further stated that it would be beneficial to spend a morning or afternoon to go through each report with those that have been involved;

 (ii).        The LLAF had nearly completed all open access land reports with only a couple of locations left;

(iii).        It was reported that the discussions with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council had been positive but the response from other owners of access land had been disappointing;

(iv).        Any work undertaken as a result of these surveys would be dependent on what the land was used for but they would achieve what they could.

AGREED:

That the report be noted.

AGREED:

That the item be deferred until the next meeting.

The Forum was informed that publicly open space was due to be mapped following a press release by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Local authorities were to be asked to be involved in the mapping of open space. Mr McWilliam informed the Forum that the Ordinance Survey rep was waiting for guidance on a framework;

 (ii).        It was noted that some areas of land were too small to be considered as access land, and members also raised that there was an issue of access land being mislabelled (such as residents’ gardens);

(iii).        It was not possible to give more clarity on what green space had been defined as, and it varies between local authorities and district councils.

AGREED:

The Forum noted the guidance on the accessible public open space.

The Forum considered the Commons Registration Regulations. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        The item had been included for the information of the Forum, and that they would be informed of any changes;

 (ii).        It was requested that there be a position statement at the next meeting so that the Forum can be made aware of any important information in these regulations.

AGREED:

a)    That the Forum note the regulations;

b)    That a position statement be brought to the next meeting by the authority on these regulations.

The Forum considered a deferred item from the previous meeting regarding Unrecorded Ways policy. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        The Forum was invited to make any comments on the policy document. Arising from discussion it was moved to amend the title of the document to the LLAF Approach to Unrecorded Ways;

 (ii).        The Forum was informed that there would be an Unrecorded Ways meeting at County Hall to allow members to look at records. The records were currently being scanned which the Forum would have access to;

(iii).        Ms Allen stated that the British Horse Society had organised a day of training for unrecorded ways and asked the Forum if anybody would be interested.

AGREED:

a)    That the Unrecorded Ways document be noted;

b)    That the title of the policy be changed to LLAF Approach to Unrecorded Ways.

The Forum considered a route in Great Dalby which had been raised as an issue by the Ramblers Association. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Arising from a query regarding other lost routes across the County it was suggested that this could be an issue to be raised at the next Lost Ways group;

 (ii).        Members queried that condition of the route to which it was responded that although it was not a publicly maintained route, there had not been any issues in regards to access other than a minor obstruction;

(iii).        The Forum were informed that the route was built so that users would drive around the now disused runway;

(iv).        Members were informed that the essential factor in coming to a solution is historical evidence of its use to which Ms Allen stated the evidence existed.

AGREED:

That the Forum note the situation regarding the route from Station Road to D94.

AGREED:

That at the next meeting the Forum discuss:

a)    Improving access for cyclists on routes and remove confrontation between different route users. It was queried if this could be presented in conjunction with the deferred Shared Routes report;

b)    That if possible a guest speaker be invited to give a presentation on cycling training in schools;

c)    That Green Lanes be discussed;

d)    Commons Registration Regulations.

The Forum considered the dates and venues of meetings. Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

  (i).        Some members expressed reservations about holding interim meetings in a pub or hotel and requested that these be held in County Hall. Members were informed that there were tough decisions to be made and it could not provide support for the increasing amount of LLAF meetings;

 (ii).        It was advised by officers that the next interim meeting be used to consider the governance arrangements of LLAF and consider the number of meetings that they were having.

AGREED:

a)    That the dates of future formal and informal meetings be approved;

b)    That officers and the Chairman have a discussion in the future regarding the Terms of Reference of the LLAF and how the various committees and subgroups fit into the Terms of Reference.