Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Chris Gordon and Andy Dunn

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2013.

The minutes (copies of which have been circulated) of the meeting held 10 January 2013 were approved as a correct record.

A representative of the Corporate Director, Place Management and Regeneration, reported that consultation in respect to alley gating schemes was expected from the government.

Verbal report of the Corporate Director for Services to Place

A representative of the Corporate Director, Place Management and Regeneration reported that the policy for the maintenance of bridleways by the Council would be revised. The current policy meant that the Council would maintain bridleways to a standard above the legal requirement with contributions to the cost from residents. However, whilst the Council had followed this policy no contributions from residents had been received, which meant that the Council had had to meet the costs in full. It was proposed that the new policy would state that bridleways would only be maintained to the standard that the law required.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• Concerns were raised that responses to residents’ complaints would have to be carefully worded to avoid private maintenance which could be inappropriate, such as tarmac.
• Residents might not be aware what their rights are with regards to their access to the bridleway.
• It was expected that the policy would be in place by January 2014 after a potential period of consultation, in which the Forum would be invited to participate.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Verbal report of the Corporate Director for Services to Place

With the consent of the Forum, this item was considered in conjunction with Agenda Item 8 ‘DMMOs Backlog’

A representative of the Corporate Director, Place Management and Regeneration, circulated a report detailing the progress made on Definitive Map Modification Orders (DMMOs) claims, including those that had been completed and orders created.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• Concerns were raised that orders were not processed as quickly as they could be. It was confirmed that there were limits to the resources that could be used for this.
• Claims should be dealt with as quickly as possible as evidence could become unavailable – ie key witnesses could be lost.
• Objections could delay the process as the order could not progress until replies to enquiries were received and the investigation of objections completed.
• It was noted that a great deal of progress had been made in a short timeframe, as some of the completed orders had been on file for several years.
• An objection to the Paradise Farm DMMO would be raised by local interest groups as it was not felt that the order covered the whole section that had been claimed.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That  the Corporate Director, Place Management and Regeneration and the Corporate Director, Corporate and Support Services be requested to produce a joint report detailing the progress of all claims, including the date the claim was made, its status, the work that would be necessary to complete the order and how long this is predicted to take.

Verbal report of the Corporate Director for Services to Place

A representative of the Corporate Director, Place Management and Regeneration, circulated a report containing details of a proposed policy to boost opportunities to local economies.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the report be circulated with these minutes.

Presentation and verbal report of the Corporate Director for Services to Place.

A representative of the Corporate Director, Place Management and Regeneration, reported that the second phase of consultation on the planned A6 to Manchester Relief Road Scheme had begun and would continue until 19 July 2013. It was hoped that a bridleway would be incorporated as much as possible with the intended pedestrian and cyclist routes. Members of the Forum were encouraged to submit both individual responses.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• Walking groups would not have concerns with pedestrian routes which were combined with bridleways but would have concerns if they were combined with cycling routes.
• Planning permission for the route would be sought from the three local planning areas concerned in September 2013. Once this was granted, side road orders would be applied for and it is expected that this would take place in October 2013.
• The first phase of consultation had received over 9,000 replies which contained useful feedback.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

This item has been added to the agenda at the request of the Chair.

Report of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services.

The Chair reported that the item in respect of ‘DMMOs Backlog’ had already been considered in conjuction with item 5.

This item has been placed on the agenda at the request of the Chair.

Verbal report of the Corporate Director for Services to Place

The Chair reported that at a recent meeting of the local Walking & Equestrian Group the use of the pedestrian path on Vale road by horse riders was discussed. The representatives of the equestrian group had reported at the meeting that their members wished to use the path as it was unsafe for them to ride in the road, however the path was too narrow for them to use safely.

A representative of the Corporate Director, Services to Place confirmed that the path was created from a field designated for grazing and efforts were made to ensure that as little of the field was used as possible, which made the path narrow. The creation of the path was funded from the Public Realm budget to protect the most vulnerable users on what was felt was a dangerous corner for them on Vale Road and therefore was specifically created for the use of pedestrians and cyclists.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• It was confirmed that whilst the path was created at the same time as the Connect2 Project it was not part of the project.
• It was noted that the road did not usually have heavy traffic, however this meant that motorists took the corner at speed which made it dangerous.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That members of the Forum be requested to feed the report back to their user groups.