Draft Notes
Environment Working Group Meeting December 3rd 2019
Bishopswood Village Hall, Meeting room
Present Cllr Newbert Cllr Cole Cllr Dolman Ward Councillor Watson
Attending as members of the public – Cllr Evans, Bridget Vine
1. Apologies Cllr Smith Cllr Jackson Cllr Jordan
2. Declarations None
3. Public Participation Session Bridget Vine expressed her wish to join the group and the group felt that her experience and skills would be a positive addition and unanimously decided to put her forward as a member. Cllr Evans has also been asked to join the group and this was also unanimously agreed as a positive and valuable addition and the group will put her forward for approval by council at the next meeting. Cllr Cole suggested that the clerk should be consulted as to the best way to do this.
4. Update The subject of the proposed Howle Hill Memorial Garden was discussed and Bridget Vine offered to liaise with residents. Ward Cllr Watson will send information on asset transfer with reference to the Memorial Garden to The Chair and clerk. Ward Cllr Watson has already spoken to Herefordshire CC to help the process along.
5. Parish Party Good feedback was received from residents at the Parish Party on the re-cycling leaflet. The need to include similar helpful articles on other environmental issues was proposed for future issues of the parish newsletter. How re-cycling in Herefordshire was managed was discussed and was generally considered good apart from the lack of plastic re-cycling processing. A member of the public reported that some people felt the new website was difficult to navigate. Cllr Cole suggested a calendar which could include a lot of useful parish information. It was agreed to pass this idea onto the Community Engagement Working group.
6. Parish Owned Land The group has not yet received clarification of land owned by the parish council. Standing Orders require an election year audit of Land and Assets.
The group will be requesting site of this audit to clarify this. A member of the public and Cllr Cole were helpful in identifying roughly where pockets of parish land lay.
However, it will be good to have this land transposed accurately onto the parish maps supplied by Ward Cllr Watson for use by this group and for parish records.
7. Tree Planting New tree planting is dependent on land. Coughton Corner was discussed and dismissed for tree planting. Ward Councillor Watson suggested that more verges such as Coughton Corner could be given over to wild flower planting and proposed that the work done by VOW (verging on wild) should be considered as a an alternative.
Ward Cllr Watson informed the group that HCC will be publishing a statement on tree planting (Local Nature Partnership).
8. Canoe Launch Winter management & waste management were discussed. A picnic table was lost in the floods. Cllr Cole noted this and said that in future furniture and plant pots would be removed at the end of the season. Waste management in and out of season was discussed. It was debated whether having a permanent rubbish bin was the solution or if it would be better to encourage visitors to take their rubbish home with appropriate signage. Cllr Cole said he would discuss this with Charlie Baker and report back and the group would look into the types of bin available and the costs.
Permission is being sought from Natural England for works on steps and vegetation.
Discussions on resolving the toilets issue are ongoing. With a new Environment Bill imminent statutory obligations are uncertain and some decisions may be affected. Ward Cllr Watson raised the important issue of how canoeist numbers were monitored as this is currently required. The group will look into this and also look at the Environment Agency management plan which is pertinent. The repair of signage will hopefully be completed by the beginning of the new season -action Cllr Cole- costs to be approved by council.
9. Climate Emergency Several events aimed at parish councillors are taking place in January. when dates are announced they will be circulated to all councillors and will be very helpful for those who wish to learn more.
10. Elvers We have learnt that at least one water course in the parish is a habitat to Elvers. Elvers are on the IUCN red list of critically endangered species. The European Eel is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority fish species and protected by law. Cllr Newbert will contact Natural England to ask for information and advice on management of this species.
11. Dark Skies Dark Skies and obtrusive lighting were discussed. Walford Parish used to have a dark skies policy and it was agreed it would be a good idea to re-introduce this policy. This is included in the AONB management and should also be covered by the NDP.
12. PROWS Ward Cllr provided the group with a document regarding the designation of footpaths. Bridget Vine has an old map of 1840 which she is happy show to the group which would be helpful. Gates versus stiles was discussed.
13. Public Participation Session Helpful comments were received and there was discussion on all subjects.
14. Items for next Agenda Signage & Waste Management at the canoe launch.
Canoe Launch-the new season. Working Together.
15. Next Meeting Date 5th February 2020 venue TBC