Agenda and minutes
Venue: MS Teams Virtual Meeting
Contact: Christina Beevers
Media
Webcast: View the webcast
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Apologies for Absence Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from:
Mr J Elfes - Ramblers Association, Mr G Thomas - Independent, Cllr L Clarke OBE - Buckinghamshire Council, Cllr N Naylor - Buckinghamshire Council, Cllr A Lambourne – Parish Councils.
Changes in Membership-
Mr J Clark confirmed Cllr N Naylor and Cllr A Turner were made new members on the Local Access Forum following the new Buckinghamshire Council coming into being on 1st April 2020. As an independent body, the Local Access Forum remains otherwise unchanged.
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Declarations of Interest To disclose any Personal or Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
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Matters Arising Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
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Aylesbury Garden Town and Garden Way PDF 489 KB To be presented by Mrs U Diallo, Aylesbury Garden Town Project Lead. Additional documents:
Minutes: Ms Ulrika Diallo, Aylesbury Garden Town Project Lead, Buckinghamshire Council gave an overview of the presentation appended to the minutes.
The masterplan link: https://www.aylesburygardentown.co.uk/masterplan
It was outlined the Garden Town Project in general:
1) Aylesbury had been awarded Garden Town status in Jan 2017 and the Garden Town team had now developed a Masterplan to 2050 (to be circulated after the meeting) and a governance structure was also in place;
2) Garden Town status aimed to develop Aylesbury as a more sustainable and ‘green’ town;
3) The Garden Town Strategic Board oversaw the project, with representation from Councillors, NHS, Homes England, Parish Councils, Town Council, and Local Enterprise Partnership;
4) Ms U Diallo sat within a Project Delivery Team, which included officers from transport, property and planning, while ‘working groups’ sat under that group;
5) Homes England funded the project via central government, which included 50 similar Garden Town projects across England;
6) The Garden Town Masterplan sought high level targets including (i) 50% of land as public green space in new communities, (ii) an increase biodiversity net gain of 20%, and (iii) at least 50% of trips originating by sustainable modes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All high ambitions, but achievable;
7) Headline projects included: (i) Garden Way, which had been drafted on a plan by urban design specialists and landscape designers, aimed to connect existing and planned blue and green infrastructure, walking and cycling routes (bridleways, footpaths and Gemstone cycling routes; (ii) Town Centre Action Plan (includes a socio-economic study looked at why Aylesbury fell short of similar market towns to attract visitors and shoppers); (iii) an Infrastructure Supplementary Planning Document sat under the new Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) that focused on a design guide for Aylesbury; (iv) a link road network that removed traffic from the town centre, with the Garden Way sitting inside the link roads; and (v) community projects would include a food growing network, Friends of Aylesbury Station to improve the arrival experience (installing hydraulic bike stands and revamping the station, such as hanging basket).
Communication and engagement would take place, to emphasie feedback, collaboration and ownership by the public. The existing Market Square and Kingsbury Square development projects would work in parallel with the Garden Town teams. A ‘Design Charette’ would take place (an extended workshop) to include Aylesbury residents. Initial ‘capacity funding was through Homes England to develop strategies and design principles, but future funding bids would be needed thereafter. Visual design examples were noted in the presentation slides.
The following points were raised in discussion:
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Public Spaces Protection Order PDF 488 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Mr J Clark gave an overview of the report provided:
Cllr Lesley Clarke OBE, local member for Desborough Road, was due to speak in support of renewing the 3-year closure order, but was unable to attend the meeting. Cllr L Clarke’s recommendation was to renew the closure order. The existing order was due to expire in October 2020 and covered a public footpath in Desborough Road, which was closed by gates at either end. Objections to renewing the order had already been registered by the Ramblers, Open Spaces Society and Chiltern Society.
Mr J Clark was happy to formulate a response on behalf of the Bucks Local Access Forum following discussion of their recommendations.
The following points were raised in discussion:
RESOLVED: The forum AGREED in favour of the access closure.
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Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2020 - 2030: Action Plan PDF 596 KB To be presented by Mr P Fox, Interim Definitive Map Officer. Additional documents: Minutes: Mr P Fox gave an overview of the Action Plan appended to the agenda. An updated document was appended to the minutes.
Buckinghamshire’s Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) was adopted in April 2020 and the next stage is to produce an Action or Delivery Plan, a draft of which had been circulated in advance. The action plan translated the aims and objectives of the main ROWIP into actions with a timetable, in the context of resources and priorities, and which partners could help deliver the actions?
The following points were raised in discussion:
ACTION: All Members
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Rights of Way Group Report PDF 581 KB To be presented by Mrs C Hudson, Definitive Map & Land Charges Team Leader; Mr J Clark, Strategic Access Officer; and Ms J Taylor, Operations Team Leader. Additional documents: Minutes: Ms C Hudson, Mr J Clark and Ms J Taylor gave an overview of the report provided.
The following points and questions were raised in discussion:
Mr J Clark confirmed HS2 construction had formally started and included a number of footpath closures. An additional footpath link to South Heath from Great Missenden had recently been reopened having been previously been closed by HS2’s contractors. This was a particular problem for visitors unfamiliar with the area. New diversion signs had been agreed. Significant closures would be in place around Calvert and Steeple Claydon. The website would update both HS2 and East West Rail closures in detail. The Dorney Rowing Lake closure would reopen once fencing had been constructed. The two donate-a-Gate projects (Ramblers and Chiltern Society) had been on hold in the last 6-months as work parties were cancelled. All were now back up and running, but with limited capacity in some areas due to social distancing restrictions and vulnerable volunteers remaining shielded.
Ms J Taylor provided BVPI figures for 2019 and confirmed the ‘paths easy to use’ measure should have been 66%. Capital Project delays were experienced during lockdown as contractor’s stayed at home. Denham Bridleway 52 had been closed due to a bridge failure. A temporary structure was in place at Fawley alongside the Thames. Two additional clearance teams were employed over the summer of 2020 and most jobs were now complete. Officer inspections were suspended during lockdown, so some catch-up works were still being undertaken. Covid-19 resulted in a big increase in users reflected by an increase in landowner concerns reported. Around 50 complaints were received due to signs erected stating footpaths were closed (or similar). The volunteer crews from the Chiltern Society and Ramblers were also suspended due to Covid-19 which had reduced gate installations significantly.
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LAF Members' Report PDF 489 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The forum NOTED the report. |
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Any Other Business Additional documents: Minutes:
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Dates of Next & Future Meetings - 3rd March 2021 - 14th July 2021
Additional documents: Minutes: 03 March 2021 - venue to be confirmed. |