Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of the Forum for 2015/16.

RESOLVED – That Mr Nigel Bennett be appointed Chair of the Stockport Local Access Forum for 2015/2016.

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the Forum for 2015/16.

RESOLVED -That Dr Stephen Watkins be appointed Vice-Chair of the Stockport Local Access Forum for 2015/16.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2015.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 20 October 2014 were approved as a correct record.

Members and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Members and Officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration will report at the meeting.

This item relates to the most recent Public Rights of Way Network Survey undertaken and the difficulties subsequently encountered including the lack of structured action plan.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration provided a verbal report to members of the Forum.

The report provided members of the Forum with details of the most recent Public Rights of Way Network Survey that had been undertaken and the difficulties subsequently encountered including the lack of a structured action plan.

The following comments were made/issues raised:

·         Members considered that the survey needed to be ongoing and continuous.

·         Members questioned whether volunteers and accredited users could provide some input into the survey. 

·         Members acknowledged the lack of resources that the Local Authority had to devote to this and felt that this strengthened the case for volunteers being allowed to assist.

RESOLVED – (i) That the report be noted

(ii)  A meeting was to be arranged between the Council and user groups to discuss volunteers collecting data in relation to the Prow Network Survey.

(iii) Officers to provide a projected timescale for an update on the Rights of Way Improvement Plan to the next meeting of the Forum.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration will report at the meeting.

This item relates to issues being reported by user groups which are then not dealt with promptly.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration provided a verbal report to members of the Forum.

The report related to issues being reported by user groups which are then not dealt with promptly by the council.

The following comments were made/issues raised:

·         Members of the Forum expressed their frustration at reporting issues to the council and then failing to receive a response.

·         Members felt that they were reasonable people and if they believed that they were being listened to then they would respond accordingly. 

·         Members considered that they had a right to use certain paths and highways and that they should not have to wait for the council to resolve issues.

·         Some of these issues would be highlighted by the report that legal services are providing.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration will report at the meeting.

This item relates to enforcement action that has been taken against landowners relating to the removal of obstructions and how to ensure these are complied with within agreed timescales.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration provided a verbal report at the meeting.

The report related to enforcement action that has been taken against landowners relating to the removal of obstructions and how to ensure these are complied with within agreed timescales.

The following comments were made/issues raised:

·         Members questioned Officers with regard to how effectively they can respond when there is an issue with a Right of Way.

·         User groups felt that lack of resources was not an adequate response, and that the Council’s legal obligations needed to be met.

·         Members of the Forum acknowledged that it would be helpful if applications were submitted with the correct paperwork.  User groups offered to help applicants with this.

·         Members stated that they would like to make a formal request to legal services for updates to be provided at every meeting of the Stockport Local Access Forum.

RESOLVED – (i)  That the report be noted.

(ii)  That the Chair of the Stockport Local Access Forum to formally request that a report be brought to the next and subsequent meetings of the access forum detailing the situation regarding both obstructions and diversion orders.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration will report at the meeting.

This report relates to the need to create a register of Public Rights of Way issues and the maintenance of this as a working document.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration provided members of the Forum with a verbal report.

The report related to the need to create a register of Public Rights of Way issues and the maintenance of this as a working document.

The following comments were made/issues raised:

·         Members considered that the survey needed to be ongoing and continuous.

·         Members questioned whether volunteers and accredited users could provide some input into the survey. 

·         Members acknowledged that lack of resources that the Local Authority had to devote to this and felt that this strengthened the case for volunteers being allowed to assist.

RESOLVED – (i) That the report be noted

(ii)  A meeting was to be arranged between the Council and user groups to discuss volunteers collecting data in relation to the Prow Network Survey.

(iii) Officers to provide a projected timescale for an update on the Rights of Way Improvement Plan to the next meeting of the Forum.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration will report at the meeting.

This item relates to the timeliness and consistency of support in the handling of Definitive Map Modification Orders.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration provided members of the Forum with a verbal report.

The report related to the timeliness and consistency of support in the handling of Definitive Map Modification Orders.

The following comments were made/issues raised:

·         Members of the Forum expressed their frustration at the way the Local Authority was handling claims and felt that this was unsatisfactory.

·         User Groups have gathered a great deal of information and this was not yet being used by the council. 

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration will report at the meeting.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration provided a verbal report for members of the Forum.

The report provided details of how the Local Authority wished to improve its website and make it more effective at providing the information it needed to.

RESOLVED – (i) To note the report

(ii)  Officers to talk to web developers regarding improving the Local Access Forum’s visibility on the Council’s website.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.

The report sets out the Regulatory Framework within which the Local Access Forum operates and the statutory requirements to which a Forum must adhere in the conduct of its affairs and seeks to ensure that the activities of the Forum are compliant with the relevant Regulations.

The Local Access Forum is requested to recommend that the Council pursues the actions identified in Section 4 of the report.

The Democratic Services Manager had provided a report (copies of which had been circulated) which set out the Regulatory Framework within which the Local Access Forum operated and the statutory requirements to which the Forum must adhere in the conduct of its affairs and sought to ensure that the activities of the Forum were compliant with the relevant Regulations.

The following comments were made/issues raised:

·         The Forum acknowledged that it needed to be reinvigorated and to attract more members.

RESOLVED – (i)  That the report be noted.

(ii) The Local Access Forum recommended that the Council pursues the actions identified in Section Four of the report relating to the Constitution and Administration of the Local Access Forum.

The Local Access Forum is recommended to agree the dates for future meetings.

RESOLVED – That the next meeting of the Stockport Local Access Forum be held on 23 November 2015 at 2.30pm.