Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all parties to the meeting and asked them to introduce themselves.

The Committee is requested to note that Councillor Tessa Fitzjohn was appointed

as Chair of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee for 2022/23 Municipal Year by Annual Full Council at its meeting on Tuesday 24^th June 2022.

It was noted that Councillor Tessa Fitzjohn had been elected Chair of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee for 2022/23 Municipal Year at the annual meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 24^th May 2022.

The Committee is requested to note that Councillor John Goulandris was

appointed as Vice-Chair of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee for 2022/23 Municipal Year by Annual Full Council at its meeting on Tuesday 24^th June 2022.

It was noted that Councillor John Goulandris had been elected Vice-Chair of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee for 2022/23 Municipal Year at its meeting on Tuesday 24^th May 2022

The membership of this Committee is as follows:

Councillor Tessa Fitzjohn (Chair)

Councillor John Goulandris (Vice-Chair)

Councillor Jude English

Councillor Lily Fitzgibbon

Councillor Paul Goggin

Councillor Jonathan Hucker

Councillor Philippa Hulme

Councillor Tim Rippington

Councillor Andrew Varney

Councillor Chris Jackson to act as substitute if required

The membership of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee for 2022/23 Municipal Year was noted as follows:

Councillor Tessa Fitzjohn (Chair)

Councillor John Goulandris (Vice-Chair)

Councillor Jude English

Councillor Lily Fitzgibbon

Councillor Paul Goggin

Councillor Jonathan Hucker

Councillor Philippa Hulme

Councillor Tim Rippington

Councillor Andrew Varney

Councillor Chris Jackson to substitute for the Labour Group if required

The Terms of Reference of the Committee  and the Scheme of Delegation  (Appendix A) are attached for approval by the Committee.

RESOLVED – that the proposed Terms of Reference and Scheme of Delegation be approved.

The Committee is requested to note the dates of meetings already approved for 2022/23 Municipal Year:

(all at 2pm)

Monday 20th June 2022

Tuesday 27th September 2022

Tuesday 31st January 2023

Monday 20th March 2023

The following meetings of Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee were agreed for the remainder of 2022/23 Municipal Year:

(all commencing at 2pm)

Monday 20th June 2022

Tuesday 27th September 2022

Tuesday 31st January 2023

Monday 20th March 2023

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Paul Goggin, Councillor Philippa Hulme, Councillor Jonathan Hucker and Councillor Tim Rippington (Councillor Chris Jackson substituting).

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th January 2020 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5pm on Tuesday 14^th June 2022.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12 Noon on Friday 17^th June 2022.

The Committee noted the written responses which had been provided to the following sets of questions:

Q1 – Alan Preece

Q2 – Philip Bird (St George Active Travel Group)

Verbal supplementary questions and answers were made as follows:

Q1 – Alan Preece

Supplementary Question 1 – Since less than a year ago it was obvious that the fence would obstruct routes and entrances, the relevant officer has been requested to collect the relevant evidence of this before the area in question became inaccessible. Has this been done?

Answer: Yes the evidence had been collected. A further assessment would shortly be made.

Q2 – Philip Bird

Supplementary Question 1 (for Written Question 1) – How often are Public Rights of Way checked to ensure they are free of obstruction and why is there apparently no accurate record of how long this PROWG has been obstructed?

Answer: Officers tried to ensure paths were inspected as regularly as possible and contractors had been requested to do this approximately every three years. A regime was now in place to ensure these inspections took place on a regular basis. Instructions were picked up as they came in and referred to the relevant Liaison Group, comprising of the Chair and various other interested parties, such as Ramblers Groups.

Supplementary Question 2 (for Written Question 2) – What progress, if any, has there been since I received the answer to this question in November, and why is progress not included in the report at Agenda Item 12?

Answer: The actions taken by officers depended on progress with each case since these were complicated issues. In certain cases, officers were wating for applications to come through before they could proceed with them.

Supplementary Question 3 (for Written Question 3): Where can I and members of this Committee, see the current list of cases being acted upon by the enforcement team>

Answer: Officers could provide this to the Committee, including a list of currently obstructed paths. ACTION: Officers to provide this information in an update report for the next meeting – Duncan Venison

Supplementary Question 4 (for Written Question 4): What action is the Council (in their role as Highway Authority) currently undertaking to “assert and protect the rights of the public to the use and enjoyment” of PROWG BCC/381?

Answer: Inspections were in place to tackle the backlog of work including via the Liaison Group.

Members of the Committee received Public Forum Statements in advance of the meeting. The Statements were heard before the application they related to and were taken fully into consideration by the Committee.

Anne Nugent introduced this report and made the following comments:

·       There was one application outstanding for Stoke Lodge

·       Bristol City Council had spent £7,000 for external costs, probably related to Inspector’s costs

·        The Inspector would give his recommendation to the Commons Registration Authority

·       A significant amount of work had already taken place on this

·       The Inspector was currently considering the submissions and significant amount of paperwork involved

·       The Inspector had observed the site

·       Anne Nugent indicated that she would shortly be writing to the Inspector and would be updating the Committee on the situation ACTION: Anne Nugent

The Committee agreed that, following an informal briefing of the Committee by officers, it would be helpful to visit the Stoke Lodge site, if possible with other interested parties from the school and transport (growth and regeneration) Action: Jeremy Livitt to seek legal advice from Anne Nugent on the conduct of the site visit

It was also noted that the local Plan Working group were examining green sites (which might include this one) and that issue needed to be considered.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.

Duncan Venison introduced this report and made the following points concerning some of the applications listed in Appendix A (Applications for Modification of Definitive map and Statement):

·       Claimed footpath at Argyle Place, Cliftonwood – This had been a very complicated case with legal action having been taken. One it has become public land, it had stalled and the claim being investigated

·       Claimed footpath at South Hayes and Parkside Gardens, Lockleaze – Public access was still available through this route. However, this was the top priority case to deal with

·       Claimed footpath from Machin Rd to Crow Lane, Henbury – This matter had been initially resolved in 2019. However, following a legal challenge from the landowner, it had been considered by the Secretary of State which had delayed it for a long time

·       Claimed footpath at Ridgehill, Henleaze –Despite repeated attempts, officers had been unable to contact the landowner in this case. The footpath, however, remained open to the public and was being used. If the landowner continued to be difficult to contact, more detailed investigations would be made. There had never been a situation when the landowner had not been able to be contacted. It was noted that during COVID records had been closed which had created problems in applications where they were required

·       Claimed footpath from Blackberry Hill (south of Frome Bridge) to FP153 – Whilst this had open access, it still remained to be validated.

·       South Purdown, Lockleaze route B-C – This route remained open

·       Claimed footpath Trymwood Close, Henbury Hill to Arnall Drive – The route remained open. This was Council owned land

·       Claimed footpath Fishponds Road to Laburnum Grove – This was being further investigated and might need to be placed as an application with a high priority

·       Claimed footpaths West Dene to Stoke Lodge, Cheyne Rd to Druid Hill, Cheyne Rd to Stoke Lodge, Cheyne Rd to West Dene – This application had previously been discussed under Public Forum and was a high priority

·       Claimed footpath Penpole Lane to Public Footpath BCC/565 – This was a high priority application

·       Claimed footpath Woodgrove Road to Public Footpath BCC/21 – no work had been carried out on this application yet

ACTION: that Duncan Venison/Theo Brumhard provide a timeline and reprioritised Appendix A list for the next meeting

In relation to Appendix B ( Miscellaneous Rights Of Way Orders, Agreements and Legal Proceedings), Duncan Venison made the following points:

·       Most of the work relating to Public Path Orders was delegated to officers to bring the definitive map up to scratch

·       A further three cases were being submitted through the legal team following some information brought to the team’s attention via a Community Group

In relation to Appendix C (Legal Event Modification Orders), he made the following points:

·       There was a backlog of 166 cases from between 1966 and 2008 which needed to be put on the definitive map.

·       The recent appointment of a part time Rights of Way and Greens Officer would ensure the map was up to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The next meeting is scheduled for 2pm on Tuesday 27^th September 2022 in a Committee Room, City Hall, College Green, Bristol.

It was noted that the next meeting was scheduled for 2pm on Tuesday 27th September 2022 in a Committee Room, City Hall, College Green, Bristol.