37.1    The Chair welcomed John Dodwell, Chair of the Montgomery Canal Partnership and Marc Rue and Debi Stopforth from All Terrain UK to the meeting.

37.2    Apologies for absence had been received from Lee Chapman, Sarah Faulkner, Ruby Hartshorne, Nigel Pocock and Mark Weston

37.3    Mr Carr updated members on a visit by the Chief Executive of the Ramblers Association.  He advised that she had visited a P3 group and had been very impressed with the work that was being carried out, and that she would be using Shropshire as an example of best practice in a request to the Secretary of State for funding to establish P3’s nationwide.

To receive any questions from members of the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Shropshire Council Procedure Rule 14.  The deadline for this meeting is 10.00am on Friday 8 June 2018.

38.1    The were no public questions

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.

39.1    There were no declarations of interest made

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2018 are attached for confirmation.

40.1    The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2018 had been circulated

40.2    Resolved:

That the minute of the meeting of the Shropshire Great Outdoors Strategy Board held on 19 March 2018 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

John Dodwell, Chair of the Montgomery Canal Partnership will present the progress to date and aspirations for the renovation of the Montgomery Canal.

Following the presentation Members of the Strategy Board are asked to discuss the aspirations for Montgomery Canal and agree how the Strategy Board may be able to assist.

41.1    Members received a presentation from John Dodwell, Chair – Montgomery Canal Trust which updated them on the work that the Trust was carrying out.  He informed the meeting that the trust relied on volunteers for a lot of their work and that they relied on gifts and legacies to fund their work as well as applying for funding from the usual agencies.

41.2    In response to a question Mr Dodwell confirmed that there was a 10 year plan in place to extend the canal from Llanymynech to Welshpool but that this was dependant on gaining the necessary funding. He informed members that an application was being made to gain funds from the Mid Wales Growth Fund.

41.3    Mr Carr commented that there was a direct economic benefit from the Canal

41.4    Ms Picton commented that there may be money available from the Local Enterprise Partnership.

41.5    The Outdoor Partnerships Manager commented that her team would give the Trust as much support as it could.

The Shropshire Way Main Route has now been defined and the southern section has been launched. Members will receive a presentation about the new route and the Shropshire Way Association.

42.1    The meeting received a presentation from the Active Volunteering Co-ordinator which updated them on work carried out to update the Shropshire Way.  She confirmed that the main route had now been defined and that the southern section had been launched in September 2017, and that it was hoped to launch the northern section soon in September 2018 but that there was still work to be carried out in marking the route and some other issues to be resolved.  In closing the Active Volunteering Co-ordinator advised that the Shropshire Way Association had developed a new website.

Marc Rue and Debi Stopforth will give an update on the activities of the Shropshire branch of All Terrain UK.

More about All Terrain UK can be found on their website: http://www.allterrainuk.com/newsite/about

43.1    Marc Rue and Debi Stopforth from All Terrain UK gave a short presentation on the work of their organisation which represented all motorised users of byways.  They stated that All Terrain UK promoted the safe and considerate use of byways by motorised users and would like to work with the Council on this and other matters.

Draft revised policies are attached.

Members are asked to suggest any amendments prior to agreeing that the Draft Policies are presented to Shropshire Council as part of Shropshire’s Great Outdoors Strategy

44.1    Details of revised polices for Rights of Way, Country Parks and Heritage Sites had been circulated.

44.2    The Outdoors Partnership Manager advised the meeting that new policies had been developed covering Public Rights of Way Enforcement, and Providing Easier Access and that many of the existing polices had been updated.

44.3    Members welcomed the policies and made the following comments: -

·                The first paragraph on the Drone and Model Aircraft policy was unenforceable and should be amended to say that they cannot be operated from Shropshire Council sites without specific permission

·                With regard to the ploughing and cropping campaign this should be done in conjunction with partner agencies

44.4    The Outdoor Partnerships Manager thanked members for their comments and asked that if they had any further comments they should feed them back to her as soon as possible.

To receive updates on the following:-

•           Shropshire’s Great Outdoors Strategy consultation- progress to date

•           Walking Forums- proposed changes to the forums

•           Wild Teams and Walking for Health- no funding from April 2019

•          Planning Policy- update on progress with Open Space Needs Assessment and proposals for new Supplementary Planning Guidance for green space

•           Nesscliffe Country Park- conflicts between users

45.1    Members received the following updates: -

            Shropshire’s Great Outdoors Strategy consultation

The Outdoor Partnerships Manager confirmed that the Shropshire Great Outdoors Strategy had been published for consultation and to date 32 responses had been received

Walking Forums- proposed changes to the forums

The Outdoor Partnerships Manager informed the meeting that Liz Evans had left the Council and that Helen Foxall was now acting as Walking for Heath Co-Ordinator for the whole of the County and was working to make groups more self-sufficient.  She added that there was no capacity within her team to organise the walking forums and that she was looking for volunteers to help.      

Wild Teams and Walking for Health- no funding from April 2019

The Outdoor Partnerships Manager reminded the meeting that currently these schemes were funded with money from the Public Health Budget but that from 2019 there would be no money from this source and that she was currently exploring other methods of funding the schemes.   Members expressed concern regarding the future of these two important schemes and it was agreed that the Chair should write to the Portfolio Holder and the Director of Public Health expressing the Board’s concerns.

Planning Policy- update on progress with Open Space Needs Assessment and proposals for new Supplementary Planning Guidance for green space

            The Outdoor Partnerships Manager advised the meeting that work on these documents was progressing.

Nesscliffe Country Park- conflicts between users

The Outdoor Partnerships Manager advised members that the Nesscliffe Advisory Group were meeting to look at the issues raised.  She added that a new Management Plan was being developed for the area,

To receive short updates from Members on key activities/ priorities/ issues

46.1    Mr Carr advised the meeting that the launch of the new Telford T50 trail would take place on 16 June 2018.

Members are asked to discuss key priorities for future meetings.

47.1    The following items were suggested for consideration as future agenda items: -

            Economic Growth Strategy

To agree dates for future meetings

48.1    Members were advised that future meeting of the Board would be held on: -

            4 October 2018

7 February 2019 and

6 June 2019