Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were received from John Elfes and Sara Randle.

Changes in Membership

The Chiltern Society

John Coombe, the Chiltern Society, has advised he would like to stand down from the Forum. John was thanked for many years of active service on behalf of the Forum. Andrew Clark has been appointed to represent the Chiltern Society and was welcomed to the meeting.

Cyclists Representation on the Forum

Peter Challis term of office expired on 1 July 2013 which brings to a close his membership of the Local Access Forum. The Forum thanked Mr Challis for his contribution and interest in the Forum over the last few years. Sara Randle, of the Cyclists Touring Club, has been appointed to represent cycling issues.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 2 July 2014 were agreed as a correct record.

None

Martin Hartup

Martin Hartup, Head Ranger of Burnham Beeches was welcomed to the meeting.

Mr Hartup explained that his background includes 20 years in farming, work as a ranger and work in conjunction with Rights of Way and Country Parks.  He has been the Head Ranger at the City of London Burnham Beeches for five years.

The Beeches was bought by the City of London Corporation in 1880 and has been a valuable recreation amenity for local people and visitors for over 130 years. The site covers approximately 220 hectares (540 acres) and is a special area for conservation. Each year there are around 585,000 visits to the Beeches.

The site is used by a wide range of people i.e. walkers and cyclists.  A large proportion of the visits are made by dog walkers.

In 2003 Burnham Beeches introduced a voluntary dog walker code. Following the introduction of the dog control order (DCO) on open spaces outside of London as a secondary authority on the 30^th April 2012, Burnham Beeches was subsequently chosen as a pilot site because of its long history of voluntary approach to dog management, but still a high incidence of dog related issues.

The trend has been an increase in incidents with dogs (on average 250 per year).  This includes 20/30 serious incidents where prosecution has been threatened and the police have been involved. These figures are always substantially under estimated by 10-20% as the figures only include incidents witnesses or reported by Rangers.

Consultation has taken place with the Kennel Club about ongoing issues with dog control.

Surveys carried out in relation to dog management issues have shown that 44% of visits to the Beeches are to walk dogs. Manchester Metropolitan University has been analysing data about visitors to the site for 20 years.  The key outcome was that 22% of people felt their visit was spoilt by dog issues i.e. fouling or unwanted approach which is worrying.

Results from the survey have shown that those who do not have a dog welcome an area where dogs are kept under control.  When a dog is off a lead it is always possible to have an unwanted approach. Dog owners are always given the opportunity to correct an offence i.e. pick up faeces.

Engagement took place with South Bucks District Council (the Primary Authority), Farnham Royal and Burnham Parish Councils, Natural England, the Kennel Club, Thames Valley Police, Burnham Beeches Consultation Group, Epping Forest and Commons Committee as well as visitors and residents.

The Buckinghamshire Local Access Forum has not been approached formally as the Forum is not seen as a statutory consultee because of the way the City of London owns Burnham Beeches.

The statutory consultation period of 35 days was extended to approximately 75 days as an objection was received.

Organisations against the Schedule 2 were;

Natural England Position, the Kennel Club, the Open Spaces Society, the British Horse Society, South Bucks District Council, Bucks County Council and the majority of dog walkers.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Claire Hudson, Definitive Map Team

Jonathan Clark, Strategic Access Advisor

Joanne Taylor, Operations Team Leader

Members had received the Rights of Way Group Report.

Claire Hudson took Members through the Definitive Map Applications determined by Committee /Orders Made, during which the following updates were noted;

Item 1 – Great Missenden – Order upgrading Public Bridleways No’s 52 and 55 (part) to Public Byways Open to all Traffic has been confirmed by the Secretary of State.

Item 2 – Order upgrading Public Bridleways No. 1 Great Missenden and No’s 45 and 61 Wendover to Public Byways Open to All Traffic – has been confirmed by the Secretary of State with the modification of Bridleway 45 remaining as a bridleway.

Item 3 – application to record the route from River Road to Amerden Lane as a Public Bridleway – following a public inquiry, the Order was confirmed with modification.

Item 4 – High Wycombe – application to record the route from Burnham Close to Whitelands Road, High Wycombe as a Public Footpath – a public inquiry was held in October.  A decision from the Secretary of State is awaited.

Item 5 – Lower Winchendon – application to record the route from Public Footpath No 10b to Public Footpath No. 3, Cuddington as a Public Footpath – Objections have been received – the matter has been referred to the Secretary of State.

Item 7 – Westbury (Route 1) - application to record the route from Footpath No 14, Westbury (at the Oxfordshire county boundary) to Public Footpath No 11, Westbury, as a Public Footpath was accepted by the Rights of Way Committee; an Order will soon be made and advertised.

Item 8 – Westbury (Route 2) – application to record the route from the junctions of Footpath No 303, Mixbury, Oxfordshire to Fulwell Road, Westbury as a Public Bridleway was accepted by the Rights of Way Committee; an Order will soon be made and advertised.

Oxfordshire County Council will be dealing with connecting routes which will connect with those claimed in Buckinghamshire. Definitive Map Officers at BCC will deal with the parts that relate to Buckinghamshire.

Item 10 – Chepping Wycombe – the application to record the route from Elmshott Close to King’s Wood as a Public Footpath has been accepted; an Order will soon be made and advertised.

Item 21 – Great Marlow – application to divert Footpath No.21 and Bridleway No. 52 – objections were received to the Diversion Order.  A decision needs to be taken whether to proceed with or abandon the Order.

Item 34 – Wooburn – proposed Bridleway Creation Order along the former railway.  This is the first Creation Order undertaken by Definitive Map Officers at BCC; the proposal was accepted by the Rights of Way Committee.  The Order has been made and is now being advertised.

During the update, the following questions were asked;

Has an update been received about item 38 – Hughenden – land at The Field, Bryants Bottom? The Officer advised that the application needs to go to the Rights of Way Committee for a final decision.  The recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The following key points were highlighted from the LAF Members’ Report.

Open Access

A parcel of common land called Pinner Green has been fenced off along the west side of Blackwell Hall Lane, Latimer by the neighbouring landowner.  The fencing blocks access to the common land which is currently owned by Chiltern District Council.  The area in question is indicated in pink on the map on page 21 of the agenda pack.  The area in white at the bottom of the map belongs to the neighbouring landowner.

Chiltern District Council (CDC) has been approached to raise the issue of unlawful fencing and possible adverse possession by the neighbouring landowner. Their legal advice regarding the fence is that it is lawful as the public can still gain access from north-west side of the land.  CDC are happy for the fence to remain as there have previously been problems with fly tipping along Green Lane. 

The Open Spaces Society has been made aware of the issue. They have suggested the barbed wire be removed but the fence post can remain as this does not fall under the requirement for permission from the Secretary of State. The suggestion has also been made of installing bollards/rocks to stop unlawful vehicle access onto the land which also does not require permission from the Secretary of State.

During discussions, the following comments were made.

·         This is an unsafe area to ride a horse as the verge is very small due to the location of the fence.

·         The fence will not serve as a deterrent to fly tippers.  Common land should not be fenced off without consent and surely the District Council has a duty to enforce removal.

·         Could a compromise be the installation of a kissing gate on the old path to the southern edge of the common land?

·         Who would be liable if there was an accident on the piece of land in question?

·         What is legal and what is lawful?  It is the duty of the Forum to take action?

·         Highways have a duty of care around the installation of barbed wire fencing.

·         If the landowner chooses to fence of a piece of land which incorporates a verge, what legal action is possible?

Members of the Forum AGREED that a letter would be sent to the Estates Officer, Chiltern District Council, expressing it is the view of the Forum that;

·         The fence illegally fences off common land, in contravention of section 38 Commons Act 2006

·         The barbed wire is likely to be harmful to users of the highway

·         The fence blocks the route traditionally used as a pedestrian connection

·         It is the wish of the Forum that the fence and barbed wire should be removed from Chiltern District Council land

Ridgeway & Thames National Trails

Natural England has agreed to provide a grant of 75% towards the management and promotional costs for national trails.  The remaining 25% of the cost will need to be sourced or match funded.  Each trail will integrate into the wider  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

De-regulation Bill

A written update about the de-regulation bill will be circulated to John Coombe.

Action: Jonathan Clark

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 18^th March 2015, 10am, Mezzanine Room 2, County Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks.

Future meeting dates

Wednesday 1 July

Wednesday 4 November

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 18 March 2015, 10am, Mezzanine Room 2, County Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks.

Meeting dates for 2015

1 July

4 November