Draft minutes

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Proposed venue: Committee Room 'D' - The Henry Bolingbroke Room, County Hall, Preston. View directions

Contact: Garth Harbison 

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Introductions

Minutes:

The Chair, County Councillor Jackie Oakes, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Adam Briggs, National Farmers Union; Duncan Byrne, Wyre Borough Council representative; Roger Wright, Red Rose Land Rover Club; and David Goode, Public Rights of Way Manager.

3.

Minutes of the Last Meeting held on the 5 July 2016 pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2016 were agreed as a correct record.

4.

Matters Arising

Minutes:

Regarding the Local Ombudsman finding in regard to the DMMO register, Jane Turner, principal lawyer, stated that the website record would not be altered.

 

Jane Turner informed the Forum that her team was struggling to get orders off to the Planning Inspectorate. There were about 30 orders to sent off and the back log was increasing. The orders would be sent off in small numbers.

 

On the subject of Salter-Fell – Hornby Road, the Forum was informed that the gate was still padlocked on it stopping certain permissible users. A report had gone to Freedom of Information nearly twelve months ago but nothing had come back. David Goode, Public Rights of Way Manager, would be notified about this situation.

 

 

5.

Statistics of Defects on the Network

Minutes:

Linda Anderson, Public Rights of Way, informed the Forum there was a progressive rise in Public Rights of Way issues.

 

The Forum was informed that there was a longstanding issue with the footpath from Fleetwood to Thornton. The footpath was crossed often by lorries. The Forum would raise the issue with David Goode, Public Rights of Way Manager.

 

Regarding the path at Brock Valley near Beacon Fell, the Forum was informed that good work had been done on it and it was well maintained for the most part. The steps at the aquaduct on the Lancaster Canal near Garstang were iin good condition and maintained well.

6.

Wildlife and Countryside Act Claims, Highways Act Orders, Town and Country Planning Act Orders and Definitive Map Modification Orders

Minutes:

Jane Turner, Principal Lawyer, apologised for not having a report to present to the Forum. The main problem was that the officer who had worked through the applications had left and not been replaced. There were about 180 ongoing files and there had not been massive activity on these.

 

There had been teething problems with the transfer of the database to link in with the statutory register. The Forum enquired if they could access Definitive Map Modification Orders. It was pointed out there was a statutory register of map modifications website which indicated where Rights of Way were up to. A map modification number was required which could be obtained through the parish councils.

7.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

Highways England was doing a massive consultation with the British Horse Society. It was vital to flag up where bridleways had been severed by motorways.

 

Forum members expressed concerns with LCC's Mario System and difficulties finding Public Rights of Way reports. They were informed that LCC was aware of the problem and the IT Team was working on a solution for it. Forum members were informed they could contact LCC Public Rights of way online at prowreports@lancashire.gov.uk.

 

The Forum requested clarification on the capacity of the Public Rights of Way team as resources for Public Rights of way were not sufficient.

8.

Date of Next Meeting

Minutes:

It was noted that the next meeting of the Forum would be held on Tuesday 11 April 2017at 11:30am, or on the rising of the Lancashire Local Access Forum, in Ground Floor Conference Room One, Blackburn Town Hall, Blackburn.