26.1    The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced David Morgan who had expressed an interest in joining the Committee.  Mr Morgan informed the Committee that he was  interested in walking and tourism and that he was a volunteer at Lyth Hill and with is local P3 group and also with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust

26.2    Apologies for absence had been received from Gareph Boxley, Lee Chapman, Stewart Pickering, Jim Stabler, Stuart West, and Mark Weston

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 21 April 2016.

28.1    The minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2016 had been circulated.

28.2    Mrs Robins referred to paragraph 15.4 and commented that she had also referred to the digitisation of the highways maps and asked for an update on this.  The Mapping & Enforcement Team Leader advised her that there was no progress to date.

28.3    RESOLVED:

            That the minutes of the meeting of the Shropshire Local Access Forum held on 21 April 2016 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

28.4    Concern was expressed that National Rail were closing routes without making the necessary changes to the definitive map.  It was agreed that the Mapping & Enforcement Team Leader should write to Network Rail to remind them of their obligations. 

To receive any questions or petitions of which notice has been received from members of the public

29.1    There were no questions from members of the public.

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

30.1    There  were no declarations of interest made.

Clare Fildes, Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager, will give a presentation outlining the key achievements and challenges for the team and the latest update from Shropshire Council.

31.1    Members received a presentation from The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager (copy attached to the signed minutes) which outlined the teams work and achievements over the past 12 months.

31.2    The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager reminded the meeting that over the past three years the budget had decreased by half and that work was ongoing to try to increase income generating opportunities.  She added that work was being carried out with colleagues from the Public Health Department to develop jointly funded projects.

31.3    The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager stated that there was a need to develop the “outdoor economy” and that she was looking into obtaining some funding to enable work to be carried out to work out the value of the “outdoor economy” to Shropshire.  Mr Carr commented that this may fit with a piece of work the Ramblers Association was carrying out and that he would look into this further.  Mrs Robins commented that The British Horse Society had done a lot of work with respect to the contribution of horse riding to the local economy.

31.4    The Chair thanked the Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager and her team for all the work that they had done.

Clare Fildes will present a proposal to update the LAF (paper on the proposal attached).

32.1    The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager advised Members that it was proposed to change the LAF to create the Shropshire Great Outdoors Strategy Board.  She stated that the Strategy Board would take on the role of the LAF as well as having a wider role and that the membership would comprise of representatives of user groups, landowners and occupiers, Council representatives, other organisations with relevant interests as well as individuals with specific expertise which may be of use to the Board.

32.2    The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager stated that it was proposed that there would be a number of sub groups made up of members of the Strategy Board and that these groups would be tasked to look at specific topics such as fund raising and income generation.

32.3    Several Members expressed broad support for the proposals and stated that it was an opportunity to work in a different way.

32.4    Mrs Robins expressed concern that the proposals would move the LAF away from its original aims, and suggested that the Strategy Board could work alongside the existing LAF.  She also stated that legislation stated that the membership of the LAF was drawn from individuals rather than representatives of organisations as stated in the proposals.

32.5    After further discussion it was RESOLVED:

That the proposals should be progressed and a draft constitution be brought to the next meeting of LAF for approval (4 votes for the proposition and 3 abstentions)

Shona Butter, Mapping and Enforcement Team Leader, will update on the result of the latest ploughing and cropping campaign

33.1    Members received a presentation from the Mapping & Enforcement Team Leader (copy attached to the signed minutes) which gave an update on the ploughing and cropping campaign held in 2016.

33.2    The Mapping & Enforcement Team Leader advised members that in March letters had been sent to Landowners who had not reinstated rights of way after cropping or ploughing and that the majority of these landowners had been in the north of the County, and that these letters had resulted in approximately 50% of the paths being reinstated or partially reinstated, and that further letters had been sent out in May and June where routes were not reinstated satisfactorily.  She stated that further inspections were carried out and thanked volunteers who had undertaken the inspections. 

33.3    The Mapping & Enforcement Team Leader advised Members that six legal notices had been served and that in five cases immediate action was taken to resolve issues.

33.4    Members congratulated the Mapping & Enforcement Team Leader on what had been a very successful campaign.

Peter Carr, as a member of the Shropshire Way Association, will give an update on the development of the Shropshire Way Main Route

34.1    Mr Carr advised the meeting that the consultation into the preferred main route for the Shropshire Way had been concluded and that the preferred route was a figure of eight with Shrewsbury at its centre.

34.2    The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager informed Members that new way markers for the main route would be needed and that to avoid confusion existing way markers would need to be removed.

10.1    Items for Information/Update

            Shooting over Footpaths

AONB Partnership proposal to become a Conservation Board

10.2    The following minutes/papers are provided as updates for members:

(i)     Central Walking Forum                                              

(ii)    North Walking Forum                                      

(iii)  South Walking Forum

(iv)  Shropshire Riding and Carriage Driving Forum 8 February 2016

(v)    Shropshire Riding and Carriage Driving Forum 6 June 2016

10.3      Future Meetings

(a)  Members are asked to suggest agenda items for the next meeting.

(b)  Members are reminded that the next meeting will be held at 10.00am on Thursday, 19 January 2017

35.1    The Mapping and Enforcement Team Leader advised that a code of good practice for shooting over rights of way had been developed and was being circulated to members of the CLA, BASC and NFU.

35.2    The Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager advised the meeting that a proposal was being developed to change the way the AONB was managed by setting up a Conservation Board which would work independently of the Council.

35.3    Members received and noted the following: -

The minutes of the following meetings:

(i)     Central Walking Forum                                              

(ii)    North Walking Forum                                      

(iii)  South Walking Forum

(iv)  Shropshire Riding and Carriage Driving Forum 8 February 2016

(v)    Shropshire Riding and Carriage Driving Forum 6 June 2016

35.4    Mrs Robins commented that there was no way of identifying land with higher access rights on maps.  The Mapping and Enforcement Team Leader agreed to seek clarification from Natural England

35.5    Mr Carr advised Members that Telford & Wrekin Council had finally put in place funding for the production of a definitive map.

35.6    Mr Carr informed Members that the owners of Weston Wood which was the subject of a bridleway claim and a number of other issues were putting in place a woodland management plan.

35.7    Members were reminded that the next meeting would be held at 10.00am on Thursday, 19 January 2017