Minutes:
Ros Mills, DCC, said the network had been very busy and this had been noted by councillors. Wardens were endeavouring to keep paths cut back to help social distancing. The DCC PRoW website pages were being used to convey important messages to the public. Other issues were managing people, pop-up car parks and camping but these were not the responsibility of the PRoW team.
The new PRoW Framework contract was being rolled out and contractors were being asked to register with ACDC to ensure health and safety and insurance matters were managed properly.
The wardens used approximately 1/3 of the revenue budget for annual grass cutting. Hedges were the landowner’s responsibility. Budgets for the current and following year are good. A secondee from the Engineering Group was assisting the team with big capital projects such as the resurfacing of off-road trails and advising on engineering works.
The DCAF support for the Stover Country Park Heritage Lottery Fund bid had been appreciated. Gary Prescoed, Project Manager, is procuring advice from consultants to explore the development part of the project before putting in a bid for part two, the delivery project. DCAF support for this would be helpful later in the year. Jon Avon, Stover Park Manager since 1990, was moving to a new job and the post was being advertised.
The Grand Western Canal was being well-used as people discovered local places on their doorstep.
In answer to a question about whether ACDC could be used by P3 and volunteer groups such as the Trail Riders’ Fellowship, Ros Mills said she would discuss this with Steve Gardner, PRoW.
Helen Clayton, DCC, explained that the PRoW Team had recently restarted consultations, following the relaxation of ‘stay at home’ / ‘stay local’ restrictions, which had had an impact on the ability to comply with statutory requirements for advertising and could have put the Council at risk of legal challenge. The Definitive Map Review Team was therefore now able to publish informal consultations and legal orders but there would be a knock-on effect on the parish review progress and production of reports to the next PRoW Committee meeting in July.
The first Planning Inspectorate blended Inquiry in Devon would be held in East Down on 15 June. Blended Inquiries had been held elsewhere in the country, but this is possibly the first one in a rural area. A local venue with facilities for people to participate would be available plus online options. The Inquiry may be available to view on Youtube and will be advertised early in May. It will also be publicised on the DCC ‘Have Your Say’ webpage with links to all documents. It was not known whether Planning Inquiries will be online in future but having electronic copies of documents had been useful, although time consuming to scan. A paper copy would still have to be made available for inspection. People were often more willing to speak at an in-person inquiry.
A number of planning applications had been received for temporary planning, such as camping sites. These created additional work.
There had been an increase in section 31(6) applications from landowners and greater awareness of this process, probably due to the increased use of the countryside during the pandemic.