To receive apologies for absence

11.1    The Chairman welcomed Adrian Cullis and Chris Naylor to their first meeting of the Partnership.  He also welcomed Richard Keymer who was representing the Middle Marches Community Land Trust, David Howard from Stretton Climate Care and Paul Hayward form the Environment Agency.

11.2    Apologies for absence had been received from Sonja Belchere (Visit Shropshire Hills), Sarah Bury (CPRE), Alison Caffyn (Individual Member), Carol Griffiths (NFU), Rhona Goddard (Butterfly Conservation), Lizzie Hulton Harrop (Middle Marches Community Land Trust), Mark Hughes (Individual Member), Emma Johnson (Natural England), Hazel McDowall (Natural England) and David Mills (Town & Parish Council Rep).

The note of the meeting held on 11 June 2019 is attached for confirmation

12.1    The minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2019 had been circulated

12.2    Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership held on 11 June 2019 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman

12.3    The AONB Partnership Manager informed the meeting that the amended terms of reference had been approved by both Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council

13.1    Appointment of Chair

The AONB Partnership Manager advised that one nomination had been received for the position of Chair.

Resolved:

That Mr James Williamson be elected Chair of the Shropshire Hills Partnership.

13.2    Appointment of Vice Chairs

The AONB Partnership Manager reminded the meeting that there were 2 Vice Chair positions, one for a Unitary Councillor and one for a non-councillor.  He advised the meeting that two nominations had been received.

Resolved:

That Cllr Cecilia Motley and Ms Hilary Claytonsmith be appointed Vice Chairs of the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership.

13.3    Appointments to Seats on the Strategy and Performance Committee

The AONB Partnership Manager advised the meeting that there were 6 vacancies for seats on the Strategy and Performance Committee and the 4 nominations had been received prior to the meeting. 1 nomination was received at the meeting. 

Resolved:

That Lady Veronica Cossons, Cllr Heather Kidd, Mr John Long, Cllr David Turner and Mr Andrew Wood be appointed to serve on the Strategy and Performance Committee.

The AONB Partnership Manager advised the meeting that the Committee could co-opt to fill the vacancy and that if any one was interested on serving, they should contact him or the Chairman.

13.4    The AONB Partnership Manager advised the meeting that there were currently 2 vacancies for trustees on the AONB Trust, one appointed by the Partnership and one for a non-Partnership Member.  Members were asked to contact him if they were interested.

This paper provides a summary of the Glover Review final report and some topics for initial discussion.

14.1    Members received the report of the AONB Partnership Manager which provided a summary of the Glover Review final report.

14.2    Members generally welcomed the content of the report and asked how responses were to be made.  The AONB Partnership Manager stated that he would feed comments to the NAAONB to enable a national response to be made but that there was no reason why the Partnership could not make an individual response as well.

14.3    Mrs Kidd asked whether Shropshire Council would be making a response as there was quite a lot in the review that could be built into the draft local plan proposals.  The Interim Head of Culture and Leisure advised members that officers had regular meetings with the Director of Place.

14.4    The Chairman asked Members to feed any further comments to the AONB Partnership Manager as soon as possible so that they could be included in the response.

This paper sets out:

·         background on national and local declaration of emergencies

·         draft recommendations to the Councils from the AONB Partnership on nature recovery; on farming and land management; and on development, energy, transport and tourism.

·         questions for a workshop to identify priority actions.

15.1    Members received the report of the AONB Partnership Manager which set out the background on national and local declaration of emergencies and some draft recommendations to the Councils from the AONB Partnership on nature recovery; on farming and land management; and on development, energy, transport and tourism.

15.2    The Interim Head of Culture and Leisure drew attention to the recommendations contained in the report and suggested some amended wording.  Members generally accepted the amendments after making some minor amendments.

15.3    Resolved:

          That the following recommendations be made to Shropshire Council and the Council of Telford & Wrekin -

          Recommendation 1 - Nature recovery:  

Nature decline is as threatening an emergency as climate change and both are inextricably linked.  Nature recovery and restoring resilient ecosystems also provide some of the essential solutions to reaching zero carbon emissions, as well as addressing many other factors vital for our survival and quality of life.  These are not just distant global issues, they are the main challenges now for the Shropshire Hills.  It is strongly recommended that the Councils include nature recovery in their formal declarations.

Recommendation 2 - Farming and land management for zero carbon and nature recovery:  

The Councils have an important role shaping and influencing the future of their areas, as well as directly providing services.  While they have less direct involvement in land management than some other factors, making change in this area will be vital to achieving net zero carbon emissions and nature recovery.  It is strongly recommended that the Councils play an active part in this and consider increasing their capacity to do this, including training of members and senior officers.

Recommendation 3 – Development, energy, transport & tourism for zero carbon and nature recovery:

In these areas the Councils have a greater lead.  Net zero and nature recovery cannot be achieved if the political and corporate focus is on economic growth at all costs.  It is strongly recommended that the Councils build the goals of net zero and nature recovery into their visions at the highest levels.  Doing this can deliver better quality of life for people as well as new forms of economic activity which are truly sustainable.  On energy and transport we need to talk about managing demand as well as changing supply.  This may mean people consuming less and travelling less.  This future is not unthinkable and can benefit people. 

15.4    The meeting broke up into 3 workshop groups covering, nature recovery, farming and land management for zero carbon and energy, transport and tourism for zero carbon.  The AONB Partnership Manager advised that feedback from the groups would be used to guide further work on the subject.

The meeting will receive an update from Paul Hayward, Environment Agency

16.1    The AONB Partnership Manager reminded members that there was a Judicial Review regarding the government’s failure to deliver Habitats Directive obligations on the health of freshwater sites in the UK including the Clun Catchment.

16.2    The meeting received a presentation from Paul Hayward which gave an update on a study carried out in the Clun Catchment area to assess the extent of the problems and to look at possible solutions.

16.3    Members commented that whatever solution was employed it would be hard to overcome all the problems identified.

This paper proposes a planning policy Development Plan Document (DPD) for the Shropshire Hills AONB.

17.1    The meeting received the report of the AONB Partnership Manager which proposed a planning policy Development Plan Document (DPD) for the Shropshire Hills AONB.

17.2    The AONB Partnership Manager reminded Members that local authorities were required to give special consideration to AONBs as part of the planning process and that a DPD specifically for the AONB area had the potential to reduce conflict and the large workload associated with contentious site allocations and major planning casework.  He drew members attention to the DPD for the Arnside & Silverdale AONB which had recently been adopted by Lancaster City Council and South Lakeland District Council.

17.3    Members welcomed the proposals and agreed that the production of such a document would strengthen the protection of the AONB from inappropriate development.

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This paper provides an opportunity for a brief discussion on the Ironbridge Power Station redevelopment proposal.

18.1    Members received the report of the AONB which provided an update on the Ironbridge Power Station redevelopment proposal.

18.2    The AONB Partnership Manager advised members that the AONB Partnership had submitted a response to the Strategic Sites Consultation, and that he had held meetings with senior officers to discuss the concerns of the AONB Partnership.

18.3    Mrs Kidd commented that part of the proposal was for the removal of sand and gravel and that there was often opportunity for community gain as part of this and she wondered whether the AONB would be able to benefit from this.

This paper sets out a process of youth engagement for the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership.

19.1    The meeting received the report of the AONB Partnership Manager which set out a process for youth engagement for the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership.

19.2    The AONB Partnership Manager advised the meeting that as part of the Resilient Heritage Project, the Partnership was exploring opportunities to embed youth involvement more widely in the work of the AONB, and that a contact had been let to the South Shropshire Youth Forum to carry out a consultation process with young people to examine what form of youth involvement or representation could be developed.

19.3    Members commented that the work with the John Muir Award had been very successful and hoped that this could be built on.

20.1    The AONB Partnership Manager advised the meeting that dates for future meetings were in the process of being set and that members would be informed of the dates when they were to hand.