Minutes:
Richard Walton, National Trail Officer for the South West Coast Path, was welcomed to the meeting. The role is now hosted by the South West Coast Path Association.
Mr Walton outlined some key facts about the SWCP.
1. The SWCP is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales, designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and had its origin in old coastguard paths.
2. It connects 1 National Park, 5 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, I Biosphere, 2 World Heritage Sites, 1 Global Geopark and 10 National Nature Reserves, as well as other designated conservation sites.
3. 220 miles of the SWCP are in Devon, out of 630 miles.
4. The highest point is Great Hangman in North Devon at 1043 feet.
5. Approximately 9 million visits are made to the SWCP, excluding daily residents’ use.
6. Path users expend more than £500m
7. In excess of 11,000 full-time jobs are sustained by income from walkers.
In budget terms, the SWCP requires an annual budget of £721,000 of which Natural England provides £464,000 and local authorities, the National Trust and the South West Coast Path Association provide the remainder. Day-to-day management and maintenance, carried out by local authorities and the National Trust, costs approximately £624,000. The National Trust own 1/3 of the SWCP area. It costs about £1000/mile to look after the SWCP. 5-10% of the path furniture needs to be replaced annually.
The Delivery Group which meets biannually includes the main financial stakeholders and the National Trust. Mr Walton said he is trying to achieve more engagement with a wider group of stakeholders, including the Devon Countryside Access Forum, through informal, regular contact, regular liaison, one to one meetings and newsletters. There are several Area Liaison Groups made up of volunteers, managers and rangers and these are very effective in determining work priorities and seeking additional investment.
The South West Coast Path Association has a role in campaigning and fundraising. The path has seen a 40-50% cut in budget over the last 10 years and local funding has addressed some of this impact.
Data from 2014/15 demonstrated the most important factors when deciding where to walk were: attractive views and scenery (98%), clear signposting (88%), away from roads (86%), information panels along the route (82%), destinations and distance on signs (81%), not overgrown (81%) and stiles, gates, steps easy to use (79%). The SWCPA hopes to get up-to-date data.
The SWCPA aimed to achieve good accessibility where possible and provide useful website information on gradients and surfacing. For example, work had been done with the National Trust at Bolberry Down. Walks were branded to include day walks, circular walks and grades of difficulty. Work is undertaken with Countryside Mobility to promote and extend opportunities for trampers which can deal with gradients of 1 in 4.
Current projects include Explore South Devon, a £41,721 project including a LEADER grant of £33,376.80. This aims to promote 19 circular walks and provide better on-site information boards, supported by improved mobile and website information. The App needs improving to provide the right level of content.
An application had been made to the Rural Development Programme for England to deliver improvements at 14 sites across Devon, plus other locations, and a decision will be known shortly. This will make them easier to use all year round.
£100,000 of legacy money had been put into the capital programme and will be used to draw down other monies.
Challenges for the SWCP are coastal erosion and the impact of climate change which increases susceptibility to cliff falls. This is a big challenge and some temporary diversions are being sought. The designation of the England Coast Path, with its area-based zones and spreading room, will help with realignment associated with coastal erosion.
The England Coast Path and the SWCP will co-exist. There may be some examples where there are slightly different routes such as in Plymouth where the England Coast Path will use the ferry route. None are known of in the Devon local authority area. This may mean some funding issues. The SWCP branding is likely to be retained with some element of dual branding.
Questions were raised by Forum members in the following areas.
1) Can Apps assist in the provision of information, for example location of toilets?
Mr Walton said a lot of work was taking place with parish and community groups, focussed around information provision. There was the opportunity through the SWCPA to get funding and seek improvement of toilets. Generally, the SWCPA was branching out in terms of its funding requests and looking also at social mobility. The SWCPA was involved in Connecting Actively to Nature (over 55s) and well as educational provision and working with primary schools.
2) Could website improvements include accessible toilets, transport links and parking information?
Mr Walton said that constant review and improvement is needed on the website. A lot of information was embedded and not necessarily easy to draw out.
3) No mention had been made of health reasons as an opportunity for funding?
Mr Walton cited Connecting Actively to Nature as an example. The local authorities had added public health responsibilities and active lifestyles are key factors to link in.
4) Would the Acorn brand continue?
Mr Walton confirmed the Acorn was the branding for the National Trails and this would be the same for the England Coast Path. There may be some subtle local branding for the SWCP.
5) What are you looking for from the DCAF?
Mr Walton stated that he would appreciate regular dialogue and direct sharing of information. He is trying to work out what works best and the synergies.
Mr Walton was asked to feed back to the Forum Officer with progress on ideas. It was agreed it would be helpful if the DCAF was included as a key partner to invite to any workshops.