Reports from Members (12.25 - 12.45)
All
Minutes:
Mike Taylor reported on the restructuring of services taking place at Cheshire East Council. The Greenspaces Service had moved from Health and Wellbeing, with the Public Rights of Way Team and Countryside Ranger Service becoming part of Highways and Transportation and Parks/Openspaces moving to Streetscene. The staffing structure was not known as present and he did not have any indication if there would be changes.
Kath Wurcbacher reported that Richard Benyson MP, Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries, had urged all local authorities to allow horse riders to use cycle trails, routes and any other ways where it was in their powers to do so and encouraged that permission or dedication happened where is was not in their power.
Neil Collie reported that a new group – Peak District Green Lanes Alliance, had been established to campaign again the use of green lanes by motor vehicles and the damaged caused by them.
He also reported that East Cheshire Ramblers had carried out a footpath inspection in their area and that the number of paths graded C and D had increased. The results would be shared with the Cheshire East Public Rights of Way Team.
John White reported that Defra had asked Natural England to develop and run a new grant scheme called ‘Paths for Communities’, which would be launched in April 2012. It would be a competitive scheme, supporting proposals which offered best value for money. Local communities would be able to bid into a central fund to create new public rights of way or upgrade existing ones for horse and bike use, to enable the path network to become easier to use, better publicised and better integrated with local transport, services and popular destinations.
He also reported that the Independent Panel on Forestry had published a progress report on 8 December 2011. The Panel had received 42,000 responses to their call for views and was working towards making recommendations which would increase the benefits to the public from access to forests in England. The recommendations would be made to the Government in spring 2012. The progress report could be viewed on the Defra website.