Venue:Tyneside House
Date:24/4/17
Time:2.30-4
Venue:Tyneside House
1. Present:Clare Steward/ EA,John Robinson (NCC),Vicky Cuthbertson/ GWK , Lesley Silvera/ GWK (Sec), Michele MacCallum/GWK, Lucy Mo/ EA, Karen Purvis/ NE, Danielle Anderson-Walker/ TRT, Richard Salmon/ NW, Kay Bradshaw/ GWK, Rob Carr/ EA, JennineJoncyzk/ UO.
Apologies: Steve Robson/ NW
2. Minutes accepted
Matters arising: EA cannot adopt Woolsington Pond as a Flood Risk Management area.
3. Capital Projects update:
OUS004 Woolsington Pond projects:
Owen Pugh’s work of tributary meandering, bank profiling and the field sediment trap have been completed..
Question from JR about monitoing sediment from trap, MM has commitment from Mr Potts. MM and LS need to revisit and discuss project with landowner.
MM to send photos to Board.
Press releases have been picked up regionally.
OUS008 Butterlaw:
Bank profiling work is due to begin in Year 2.
Revenue Projects update
OUS12: Rural Diffuse Pollution project: see report below.
OUS13: Water Rangers
RS will find out what take up there is on the new lower Ouseburn routes.
OUS014: Volunteering in Woolsington Pond will be put on hold April to October due to great crested newts and other amphibians.
OUS16: SUDS
Walbottle School in-school and field trip with Aitport Ecologist planned for June.
Other schools within catchment have been contacted.
Group of visiting academics led by Durham University is planned for May.
More work with Newcastle Uni undergrads is planned for later this year.
Middle and primary schools programme is planned.
OUS17: GWK to reconfigure initial bid to HLF to an ‘Our Heritage bid’, further to meeting Grants Officer at HLF.
OUS18: Catchment coordination partnership – GWK to be invited to attend meetings.
OUS019: Monitoring Project Report
The EA Monitoring Report was circulated with the Board minutes. RC added that monitoring would increase with JJ’s Urban Observatory work, with 10 extra locations. Around NW’s asset outfalls for shorter term monitoring, with spot samples in labs. JJ reported on probes from the River Eden and Belford project. Procurement is in hand and the Urban Oservatory will be in place until at least 2020.
Woolsington Pond equipment is due to be installed 10 May, live dta will be downloaded. £9K worth of Sonde instruments from Urban Observatory, there will also be rain gauges, water levels sensors. JJ will put together value of all UO input.
OUS20: Programme delivery
Evaluation report due 5th May to EA. LS to action.
Project completion report due.LS to action.
YEAR 2 projects
OUS 004: Works to Woolsington Pond to be restored to a functioning pond.
Repair weir, unblock pipes, look at inlet sluices, look at silt and desilt part of main pond. Silt has been checked and can be spread. GCN results are back and DNA tests are negative. Access track planning permission may not be necessary.
Desilting and repirs to weir are maintenance and repair not needing planning permission. Still need an abstraction license.
RC will get data from Woolsington gauge.
Need a license to spread silt (RC will investigate UK exception license). 200-500cu,m.
JJ suggested having a deeper area of silt (As future management area) and leaving the wilder area for wildlife and recreation. MM will look at data and check this idea out.
KP mentioned that ‘maintenance of pond’ could be included in FF/ Countryside stewardship and although this area is not within a holding, there is potential to include I in another holding. Issue of distribution of silt. Sustainable option would/ could go into FF with excavator costs.
OUS002: Callerton Village
Aim is to re-meander 300m and reprofile channel opposite Severus Terrace. This would have no impact on NLP/ CEG development. The site has gone through a judicial review and there is a recently appointed developer. VC ill meet the new developer. It is unlikely that developer will be in place in time to fit ith our project timescale.
VC/MM – CPD with NLP staff. Decscion by Oct 2017 on our project viability.
MM will resend updated case and plan to JR.
Ouseburn Meadow:
VC and MM met with NGP re road plan. There are issues with tributary on south side of the river.
A696 pond:
JR said that HWE could take years to make decision on this.
OUS001: Ouseburn Source :new woodland planting could fit with FF. MM to liase with DAW and DP.
A1 extra lane
There are 2 separate issues at play here –
i)the grant from HWE which was to be deployed onto a feasibility study on A1 at Ouseburn and
ii)the opportunity to influence the design of the extra lane work and how surface water is allowed to flow from carriageway. HWE need to be made aware of mitigation potential and need to clean the road run off before it flows straight into the Ouseburn.RC mentioned that there is an EA monitoring point downstream of the A1/ Ouseburn crossing. If EA calls in the extra lane work, for envt assessment, then HWE will do the minimum necessary. RC to make a pln to go forward with HWE.
Year 2 Revenue Projects are extensions of Year 1 projects.
4. Rural Diffuse Pollution Report
NE gave positive feedback. There are 39 farms involved in the Facilitation Fund including Corbridge, Whittle Dene, the Pont and Ouseburn.
The Hexham Courant covered the success of the bid.
DAW and DP have met with NE to set a programme of meetings – rural pollution, NFM, fertiliser and soils, landscape and woodland, additional issues.
2nd May is launch event – at Kirkley Hall; need to then set up the steering group, set isses, will split up the large area into catchment groups. FF is about upskilling farers. DAW will update on the project each quarter.
5. Funding update
HLF potential.
Uni match via Urban Observatory.
5. Marketing and communications
Press release have gone out and gained good coverage. More to do.
DAW will do more for FF.
Aim to retweet and increase circulation via Board members.
EA cannot tweet until 8th June.
But GWK can put info out and mention EA.
6. AOB
Partnership agreement needs signing; KB/ LM/ VC to meet
JJ to supply GWK with slides for Catchment Coord mtg.
7. Next meeting – please note change of venue -Weds 14th June, 2pm at Natural England Office, Lancaster House, (Amble 1 Conference Room).
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