Present: Cllr J England, Cllr D Wells, R Alderson, S Ball, K Hammond, H Armstrong, E Anderson, M Broadbridge (in the chair), G Hoey, A Towns , M Jenkinson and G Dixon.
Also in attendance: A Greener and N Boyd (Environment team) and D Lilley (Democratic Services) North Lincolnshire Council.
Apologies: F Ross, D Dukes, and S Jackson
83 DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL OR PERSONAL OR PREJUDICIAL INTEREST – There were no declarations of personal or personal and prejudicial interest in respect of items on the agenda.
84 MINUTES – Resolved – That the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting held on 25 January 2006, having been circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded.
85 TO IDENTIFY ANY URGENT ITEMS OF BUSINESS – There were no urgent items of business to be discussed.
86 MATTERS ARISING –
Minute 78 – Definitive Map Officer – The post of Definitive Map Officer had now been filled and the officer (Naomi Boyd) attended the meeting.
Minute 79 – Quiet Lanes Project – it was noted that no progress had yet been made on discussion with the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE).
Resolved - That an invitation be sent to the CPRE officer – Jenny Haynes – to invite her to speak to the Forum on Quiet Lanes.
Minute 80 – Signage and Access to Open Areas – Edward Anderson informed the meeting that a Kissing Gate had been erected on Risby Warren and a sign was to be placed there in due course.Concern was expressed regarding the lack of publicity about the area.
Resolved – That the matter be followed up by Environment team officers.
Councillor Wells stated that it would be useful to have footpath numbers on signs. Discussion followed on the possibility of footpath numbers being changed, and whether the forum thought this would be a good idea or not.The opinion was unanimous that re-numbering existing paths would lead to confusion for both users and landowners, and could have legal implications in disputes.
Resolved – That the Secretary to the Forum write to the Head of Planning and Regeneration to express the Forum’s opposition to the re-numbering of existing footpaths.
87 ANNUAL REPORT 2005 – The draft 2005 Annual Report had been circulated with the agenda.
Resolved – (a) That subject to minor amendments the Annual Report 2005 be published and circulated, and (b) that the previous secretary of the forum be commended on an excellent report.
88 MAP OF AREAS OF OPEN ACCESS – A map showing all the areas of Open Access in North Lincolnshire had been circulated with the agenda.Discussion ensued on the purpose and usefulness of the map.
It was agreed – That if the map were to be for public use it should contain more information with perhaps a key and an indication of the size of the areas marked.
Resolved – That the matter be referred to the next meeting.
89 IMPROVEMENT PLAN ASSESSMENT – A summary report was submitted with the agenda.
It was noted that the working group for the Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP), formed at the last meeting, had not yet met.The ROWIP had to be included in the Local Transport Plan, but there was no point it being discussed by the forum until the sub-group had met.
Resolved – That Environment team officers arrange a meeting of the working group.
90 OPERATION YOKOHAMA – An oral update was given on Operation Yokohama, a joint venture between the police and North Lincolnshire Council, in which 50 motorcycles had been confiscated, (47 crushed and three stolen vehicles returned to their owners).
The question was asked if the Access Forum was consulted on work done by the Environment team, as the Terms of Reference of the forum listed its remit as being to give advice. It was suggested it might be useful to have the future work programme as an agenda item.
91 UPDATE ON DEFINITIVE MAP WORK – A summary of Definitive Map work was circulated, and a list of Evidential Event Orders.
92 RISBY WARREN – It was brought to the Forum’s attention that conservation walks were taking place on Risby Warren, although there had been no consultation with either the forum or Corus. It was considered that this could be potentially dangerous.
Resolved – That Edward Anderson take up the matter with the landowner.
93 LAF MEMBER TRAINING – It was generally agreed that Forum members would benefit from some training.The chair and secretary had recently attended an event at Thetford, but it was felt that something local would be more appropriate.
Guidance was available on the Countryside Agency (Natural England) website.
Resolved – That Jennifer Aird, at East Riding Council be contacted on the matter of training.
94 YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER REGIONAL NEWSLETTER – The first edition of the newsletter had been circulated with the agenda. Discussion ensued on the newsletter, and the possibility of it being published on the Local Access Forum part of the North Lincolnshire Council website was suggested.
Resolved – (a) That members would prefer to see a sub-regional newsletter, with more emphasis on the Humber area, (b) that Edward Anderson compile an article on Risby Warren for inclusion in a future newsletter, and (c) that an article on Alkborough also be submitted at a future date.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
95 Defra (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Consultation – It was questioned whether the Access Forum was regularly consulted on Defra documents, if the Environment team was kept up to date with consultation documents, or whether it was up to individuals to monitor the Defra website to remain abreast of current consultations. It was appreciated that deadlines for consultation would not necessarily tie in with forum meetings.
96 Visit to Doncaster LAF – Members of North Lincolnshire LAF had been invited to join with Doncaster members on a site visit to Thorne and Hatfield Moors.The members that attended found it to be very useful and informative.
Resolved – That an email be sent to Doncaster LAF thanking them for organising an enjoyable visit.
97 DATES AND TIMES OF FUTURE MEETINGS – Resolved – That the dates for the next three meetings be as follows:
- 24 January 2007 to be held at Alkborough Flats, possibly combined with a site visit
- 16 May 2007
- 26 September 2007
and that these be widely publicised.