- 11 -SHEET
BRIDGEND LOCAL ACCESS FORUM
HELD UNDER THE AUSPICES OFBRIDGEND COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL AS APPOINTING AUTHORITY
NOTES OF MEETING HELD AT: Juniper Room, Innovation Centre, Bridgend Science
Park, Bridgend.
MEETING DATE : 11/08/14
ATTENDED BY / APOLOGIES FROMMr Alex Marshall – Chair
Mrs Anita Davies
Miss Angela Giddings
Mr Julian Golunski
Ms Iona McLaggan
Mr Leslie Meachin
Mr Roy Meredith
Mr Rowland Pittard
Mr Gareth Sayce
Mr Gordon Wheeler
Mrs Meryl Wilkins
Mr Andrew Mason – LAF Secretary
Mr Leigh Tuck – BCBC Countryside Access Maintenance Officer
Miss Alison Roberts – BCBC Coastal Access Officer
Mrs Sarah Harris – Development Manager, Wellbeing Directorate
Ms Nicola Lewis – BCBC Reach
Mr R M Loosmore - Observer / Cllr M Thomas
Dr Geoff Hobbs – County Ecologist
Mr Ieuan Sherwood – Tourism and Countryside Manager
DISTRIBUTION: All Members of Bridgend LAF, all observers at meeting,
Plus Corporate Director – Communities, Group Manager – Highways &
Transportation, Principal Officer Parks and Playing Fields, Property
Manager, Assistant Chief Executive – Legal & Regulatory Services,
Members Services, Forestry Commission Wales, Safer Bridgend
Partnership, Bridgend Equality Forum.
WRITTEN BY: Rights of Way Section / DATE: 20/10/14
AGENDA
1. Apologies2. Declarations of Interest
3. Rural Development Plan – A verbal report from the Rural Development Team
4. Agreement to draft notes of previous meeting – 12th May 2014
5. Matters arising - not already included on Agenda
6. Bridgend Coastal Access Programme – a report by the Appointing Authority
7. National Access Forum – 1st July 2014 – A verbal report by the Deputy Chair
8. Love2Walk Festival – A verbal report by Sarah Harris
9. Investigation of Applications for Definitive Map Modification Orders (DMMO’s) – a
report by the Appointing Authority
10. Bridgend Environment Programme Board – a verbal report by the Chair
11. Ministerial Statement – Access & Outdoor Recreation
12. LAF Conference – 31st July 2014 – A verbal report by the Chair & Deputy Chair
13. AOB
14. Agenda items for next meeting
NOTES OF MEETING Continuation sheet / ACTION /
Item 1
/ ApologiesCllr Marlene Thomas was the only Member who had given her apologies.
In addition apologies were received from the following observers: Dr Geoff Hobbs and Mr Ieuan Sherwood.
Before the meeting continued the Chair advised Members of the sad news that Mr Phillip Fairclough, a regular observer at the LAF meetings, had recently passed away.
Item 2
/ Declarations of InterestMeryl Wilkins had received advice to declare an interest in regard to land issues within the County Borough.
Item 3
/ Rural Development Plan 2014 - 2020Members of the Rights of Way team received a verbal update from Ms Nicola Lewis of the Council’s Reach Rural Development team on the Rural Development Plan proposals for 2014 – 2020. The main areas of the proposals were explained and Ms Lewis confirmed that the Council’s strategy had to be submitted to the Welsh Government by the 30th September 2014 with the aim being to launch the plan in January 2015.
In response to various questions Ms Lewis confirmed the following:
· There is likely to be £1.8 - £2 million of funding available,
· There are no details available on how much each group can apply for but it could be up to £500,000,
· There are other aspects of the RDP associated with Glas Tir that Ms Lewis is not dealing with so there could be more money available,
· The Reach Action group is still active,
· The Community Fund is open to local authorities and can be used to fund statutory work. Safe Routes in Communities is one possible area of work that could be funded and that is currently being investigated,
· Renewable energy projects could be eligible for funding but these would have to be community based and not large scale wind farms for example,
· Whilst the authority will in the main deal with projects in its own area there will be times when it would be useful to work collaboratively with adjoining local authorities.
The Chair thanked Ms Lewis for her update.
Item 4
/ Agreement to draft notes of previous meetingThe Chair took Members through the draft notes of the meeting held on 12th May 2014. No issues were raised so the Chair signed the minutes as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Item 5 / Matters arising
Item 5 – p.7
The Deputy Secretary, Mr Tuck, advised Members as to the discussions that took place during the Volunteers Network meeting that he attended. In particular he had been asked to determine whether there was any scope for the various volunteers to carry out work on the Rights of Way network. Unfortunately, it seemed that each organisation that attended kept their own volunteers and that the main purpose of the meeting was to make sure that events and activities organised by each group did not clash. There did not seem to be much scope to undertake rights of way work as each group of volunteers tended to remain with the organisation they originally volunteered with.
Mr Wheeler was disappointed to hear the outcome of the meeting and thought that part of the problem was that volunteers perceived rights of way work to be a statutory duty which they don’t feel they should be doing.
Mr Meredith enquired if there was an intention for the Rights of Way section to create a volunteer group. The Secretary advised Members that this would require a volunteer co-ordinator and that without one the Rights of Way section could not provide such a group with the time and attention required. The Secretary confirmed the Rights of Way section does use volunteers e.g. Parc Slip volunteers wherever possible but this is only done where they have their own supervision.
The Deputy Secretary informed the Group that Valeways who carry out work on the Rights of Way network in the Vale of Glamorgan had recently been in touch with the Rights of Way section although no specific reason had been provided for the contact. The Secretary would follow this up and advise Members at a later date of the outcome of any discussions.
Mrs Harris enquired whether funding might be available through the new round of Rural Development Plan funding for a volunteer co-ordinator. Ms Lewis indicated that although the Guidance will not be published until January 2015 she would discuss the matter with colleagues.
Item 6 – p.8
Information about railway safety was fed back to Natural Resources Wales in respect of the Draft Wales Coast Path Safey Code.
Item 7 – p.9
The list of RoWIP projects outstanding from last year was sent to LAF Members by email on the 15th may 2014.
Item 8 – p.9
Information about the Welsh Government event on the 30th June 2014 was sent to LAF Members on the 30th May 2014.
Item 12 – p.11
Members were advised that Network Rail (NR) had confirmed that CCTV cameras had been installed at various rail crossings in Maesteg to look at usage of the crossings and also to determine the amount of trespass that is occurring NR had also advised the Secretary that it was their intention to undertake a number of events, exhibitions, presentations to various bodies, groups, communities, etc in the near future and that details of these would be passed on in due course.
With regard to the South Wales mainline Gareth Yates of NR had advised that a complete asset list of all structures and crossings on the route was currently being compiled. There are approximately 90 overhead structures on the route from the Severn Tunnel to Swansea together with 12 tunnels, 8 viaducts and 33 level crossings.
Due to the dangers associated with level crossings The Office of Rail Regulation has instructed Network Rail to work towards permanently closing as many as possible. A national campaign has been launched and to date this has enabled the closure of approximately 30% on the network in Great Britain
Mr Yates further indicated that due to the reconstruction of a large number of bridges it is likely a number of rights of way will be affected by either temporary or permanent diversion but this will be conducted through engagement with local authority rights of way departments and the LAF.
Item 13 – p.11
Report on DMMO’s included on the Agenda for the meeting. / Secretary
Ms Lewis
Item 6 / Bridgend Coastal Access Programme
The Coastal Access officer provided Members with an update on progress since the last meeting including an update on works completed at Rest Bay, Merthyr Mawr and a proposal to divert the Wales Coast Path at Sker Point. The most recent counter data was also provided to the Forum.
As a result of the update Members raised a number of queries and made various comments as follows:
· Mr Wheeler wondered why the figures for the M4 counter were occasionally very high and he was informed that sometimes mice managed to chew the wires thereby causing a surge in the numbers recorded.
· Concern was raised by Members about the quality of the finish on the newly replaced concrete section of the coast path at rest bay; the fact that some of the edging boards need some maintenance; and, the need for a handrail on the seaward side of the Boardwalk because of steep drops in certain locations. The Coastal Access officer confirmed that the Council’s Quantity Surveyor had inspected the route and they were satisfied with the work. Arrangements had already been made for the edging boards to be repaired. With regard to the handrail it was confirmed that the boardwalk had undergone a safety audit during the design and this did not highlight the need for a handrail on the seaward side of the structure. Furthermore there had been no comments or complaints on this matter since the Boardwalk was originally installed and there had been no change in levels since then.
Members noted the report.
Item 7 / National Access Forum – 1st July 2014
Mr Pittard provided Members with a report of the meeting and no comments were received.
Members noted the update.
Item 8 / Love2Walk Festival
This year the Festival had been moved to earlier in the year (21st – 29th June) and had returned to its nine day format after being a smaller weekend event last year. The Festival had been organised by Sarah Harris and the Rights of Way section with support from the LAF. RoWIP funds had been used to market the event. In that regard the Festival booklet did not provide the flexibility required so this will be reviewed in the future with probably more reliance next year on web-based promotion. The Walking Festival was a low cost way of getting people out and about.
In response to a query from Miss Giddings the Secretary confirmed that approximately 200 people attended the Festival. Mrs Davies advised Members that whilst she had enjoyed the LAF walk she was unable to attend all walks because they were a family with limited mobility. She also requested that future Festival walks should include routes such as the cycle paths for people with limited mobility.
In addition Mrs Davies advised Members that her son was finding it difficult to obtain information on longer walks for his Duke of Edinburgh award that would be suitable for people with disabilities. Furthermore she was finding it difficult to obtain information on hiring a wheelchair that could be used across country.
The Secretary confirmed that the Council does not, unfortunately, have any information on the Rights of Way web site that would provide specific details of walks that would be suitable for people with disabilities. The Chair suggested that this could be something the LAF might like to be involved with. Mr Golunski agreed, although he was concerned that the cycle tracks do have barriers that are not always suitable for all mobility vehicles. The Secretary reminded Members of the work done on the Ogmore Valley Cycle Track where all the barriers had been replaced with bollards. He also indicated that the Council would be looking to roll this out to other routes when funding became available.
Members noted the report.
Item 9 / Investigation of Applications for Definitive Map Modification Orders (DMMO’s)
As a result of a request at a previous meeting, Members were provided with a report from the Appointing Authority regarding the Investigation of Applications for DMMO’s. The report indicated, and this was agreed by Members, that following the prioritisation process 85 DMMO applications remained to be investigated. Members were also advised that RoWIP funding had been used in 2013/14 to undertake investigations into 20 applications and this had resulted in 3 applications being determined and waiting for Orders to be made; 1 application being completely rejected; 1 application being partly rejected resulting in an Appeal; 2 applications still being investigated; 12 applications awaiting determination; and 1 application having been determined but waiting for instructions to be issued to the Legal Department to make an Order.
In response to the report Mr Wheeler said that it was very disappointing that so many applications from 2013/14 had not yet been determined. He also suggested that even when the 20 applications had been determined to have 65 outstanding was unacceptable. He further commented that he thought the current procedure was going to be slick but felt that other bottle necks were now delaying the process.
The Secretary confirmed that there were a number of delays in the Legal Department and that DMMO’s were not the only Orders being delayed. There was also an issue with the Delegated Powers process whereby these needed to be amended to enable additional officers to make decisions.