SURREY HILLS BYWAYS WORKING GROUP
Notes of Meeting held on 12 February 2018
Warren Farm Barns
Attending:
David Wright, Chairman Surrey Hills Board and Guildford Borough Council
Mike Nash, SCC Partnership & Intelligence Officer
Steve Mitchell, Surrey County Council
PCSO Dave Sadler, Mole Valley Neighbourhood Team
Stuart Boreham, Surrey GLASS
Gail Brownrigg, Horse Rider
Graham Butler, Vice Chairman SCAF
Brian Cohen, Trail Riders Fellowship
Ron Lumley, Trail Riders Fellowship
Stuart McLachlan, Capel Parish Council
Alan Pryor, Buckland Parish Council
Zoe Channon, Surrey Wildlife Trust
Pennie King, Surrey Hills AONB Unit (Administrator)
Item / Action1 /
Introductions/Apologies
Introductions: PCSODave Sadler, Mole Valley Neighbourhood Team;Zoe Channon, Surrey Wildlife Trust; Ron Lumley, Trail Riders Fellowship;
Apologies:Glen Boxall, FC; Chris Clare, NT; Paul Redsell, NT; Mark Richards, NT; Duncan Ferns, Buckland Estate; George Chapman & Edward Cheevers, Wotton Estate
2 / Notes of Last Meeting
The notes of the meeting held on 23 October 2017 were agreed and will be posted on the Surrey Hills website. / PK/CP
3 / Matters arising not on the Agenda
There were no matters arising not on the Agenda.
4 / Reporting on illegal activity (SM)
4.1 / A meeting had been held with the Forestry Commission, Claire Saunders, SCC, and the Wotton Estate regarding Wolvens Lane, where illegal activity had been damaging ancient banks, a National Trust gate had been broken and Forestry Commission land had been damaged. Stumps that had been put in by the Forestry Commission had been ripped out. Zoe Channon, SWT, reported that the Wildlife Trust was suffering from similar illegal activity and damage to their land, including SSSI sites. SMcL said there are known circuits, with people coming from abroad to use them.SB suggested putting something out on social media showing the damage that had been caused by illegal use as he felt sure this would cause public outrage. SB will liaise with Caroline Price on this. / SB/CP
4.2 / DS reported that a “night of action” is planned by Sgt Mike Mann, Mole Valley Neighbourhood Team, for a Friday or Saturday night in the near future, with a view to apprehending offenders. DW thanked the Police for taking this matter seriously and for being pro-active and asked DS to take back the message that the Surrey Hills AONB Board was fully supportive of such action.
4.3 / DWstressed the need to do something effective but with very little money. SMcL said the Parish Council would definitely help with finance if SM instigated a TRO. SMcL reported that some legal 4x4s have got stuck on Wolvens Lane due to the damage caused by illegal use and its condition was deteriorating.
4.4 / MN suggested using SelectaDNA beads and relevant signage on the areas where people who are using the BOATS legally do not go, e.g. the banks. DW offered to find the funding for the DNA beads (in the region of £300 - £400) through the Surrey Hills project fund. Other steps that can be taken to prevent illegal use are the installation of reinforced bollards, either wood or concrete, andtrenches runningdown the sides of the BOAT. RL said that unfortunately this had not stopped vehicles going into the “play area” off Hogden Lane, as they now came in from the other end. The National Trust wants a TRO put on Hogden Lane. It was agreed to make a start on the problem by stumping, signing and using SelectaDNA. A quote for the stumps needs to be obtained and then the landowners could be asked if they would be prepared to put them in. / PK
4.5 / SMcL gave details of an organisation called GLEAM which is trying to have the legislation on BOATS changed as what was thought to be appropriate when BOATs first came into being is now inadequate to control the damage wrought by today’s large 4x4s.
4.6 / SMcL reported that Natural England was working up a project around vehicular use on Byways. It has a TRO Working Group but it was not known at this stage whether this will lead to any new legislation. SM said he had asked for the papers from this meeting but to date had not received them.
4.7 / GBro suggested putting something on neighbourhood alert and social media about any successful prosecutions. Brian Cohen reported that he had seen someone driving illegally so he had phoned 101 to report it but no-one had answered. SMcL said Country Watch had been pro-active whereas Neighbourhood Alert was simply a reporting system. DS suggested reporting crimes using Facebook and Twitter and to tag the Mole Valley beat. ZC stressed that people need to call 101 to ensure all illegal activity is logged by the Police. DS said that Laura Rowley is now the Police Wildlife Officer, based in the contact centre and all rural issues were passed to Laura. DS is currently the only Rural Officer but recently a volunteer, Sue Wales, had been recruited. PK to invite Sue to come and talk to the group at the next meeting. / PK
4.8 / Off Road Motorcycles
DS reported that he is currently the only Police Officer available to ride the off road motorcycles but it is hoped that other officers will be trained to ride them in the future. He stressed how expensive the training course is.
5 / Update on condition of BOATS and TROs
5.1 / Wolvens Lane: An email had been received from George Chapman on behalf of the Wotton Estate which outlined their concerns on the state of Wolvens Lane. SM was asked if the SCC Team would be able to apply for a seasonal TRO on Wolvens Lane if the Byways Working Group could find the money. SM said it would have to meet the legislation and SCC’s policy and if it did, then SCC would have to find the money. He reported that there was someone in his team on a zero hours contract who could carry out the paperwork. DW said that as it is only a small section of Wolvens Lane which was affected, a seasonal TRO was unlikely to be agreed, however other practical solutions could be pursued.
5.2 / After discussion the following plan of action for Wolvens Lane was agreed:
- Installation of wooden stumps/concrete bollards in certain sections
- Installation of trenches in key spots
- Use of SelectaDNA with relevant signage on areas where legal users do not go (eg the banks)
- Police “night of action”
- Social media programme
6 / Coldharbour Common Road: SMcL reported that Highways had carried out the repairs to Coldharbour Common Road.
7 / Fly Tipping
7.1 / Mike Nash reported that there is a great deal of change occurring regarding the management of waste. The current waste carrier licence was too easy to obtain but in the future licences would be granted on a points system based on the person, the company and the vehicle and this information would be held electronically at council tips. MN said he now had contacts in Defra and the Environment Agency as both organisations wanted to work with local authorities to tackle the problem of fly tipping more vigorously. MN said that the tonnage of refuse going through tips was reducing but unfortunately the incidents of fly tipping were increasing. ZC confirmed that the incidents of fly tipping on SWT land had gone up. MNmentioned a case where a person was found guilty of fly-tipping and had received a £1,000 fine. Additional to the fine, the Judge used legislation under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 and took the offender’s driving licence away for 6 months. MN stressed that there were many good ideas to reduce fly tipping but no-one had the money to implement them. He reported on a national App to report fly tipping and a free App called “LitterGram” where photos of fly tipping could be sent to local councils. PK to agenda for discussion at next meeting. DW said it was clear that Mike was making good progress. Mike confirmed that he is contracted with SCC until the beginning of 2019. / PK
8 / Updates: There were no updates.
9 / Communications
9.1 / Byway Open to All Traffic Signs: BC reported on the TRF’s progress in installing new replacement signs. There were some minor issues, with incorrect grid references and missing posts. BC asked SM if he could provide posts and, if allowed, members of the TRF would install them. SM said he would check on the stock of posts. BC confirmed that some members of the TRF have certificates to use diggers and could even use SCC diggers with the necessary permission. SM confirmed that the signs should only go at the beginning and end of byways but that the TRF should use their discretion and put in repeater signs on long byways such as Wolvens Lane, which is 3 miles long. DW thanked the TRF for all their hard work and said that with local government receiving less money in the future it would have to rely on volunteers to carry out such tasks. / SM
10 / Any Other Business
10.1 / Buckland Lane: SM reported that until the lawyers draw up the final Order on this D road, it is still open to everyone. However from April, when the gates go in, it will only be open to horse riders, motorbikes and carriage drivers.
11 / Date of next meeting
Friday 15th June, 10:00 – 12:00, Warren Farm Barns
Circulation:
ChairmanCllr David Wright, Chairman Surrey Hills Board and
Guildford Borough Council
Support Officer:Pennie King, Surrey Hills AONB Unit
Landowner/manager:
Paul Redsell, National Trust
Mark Richards, National Trust
Glen Boxall, Forestry Commission
Chris Clare, Forestry Commission
Zoe Channon, Surrey Wildlife Trust
Duncan Ferns, Buckland Estate
SCC:Steve Mitchell, Countryside Access Team Manager
Mike Nash, Partnership & Intelligence Officer
Users:Brian Cohen, Trail Riders Fellowship
Ron Lumley, Trail Riders Fellowship
Gail Brownrigg, Horse Drawn Carriage Drivers/Rider
Stuart Boreham, Surrey Green Lane Association
Community/ PC:PCSO Dave Sadler, Mole Valley Neighbourhood Team
Stuart McLachlan, Capel Parish Council
Alan Pryor, Buckland Parish Council
Surrey Countryside
Access Forum:Graham Butler, Chairman of Surrey Countryside Access Forum
Copied for information to: Rob Fairbanks, Surrey Hills AONB Director Claire Saunders, Surrey County Council
Sheena Boyce, Buckland PC
George Chapman, Batcheller Monkhouse
Edward Cheevers, Batcheller Monkhouse
1