Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Deputy Alex Deane.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record.

Matters Arising:

The Director informed Members that they had worked with colleagues in the Public Relations Office and banners had been position at the roadside and on roundabouts along the Tour De France route

In relation to the membership of the Epping Forest Management Plan Steering Group, the Town Clerk clarified that Verderer Richard Morris had been elected to serve on the steering group.

To receive a verbal update from the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee received the following update from the Superintendent of Epping Forest:

Staff Changes

A gardener, litter picker & maintenance worker had retired in the past two months.  The Branching Out Project Manager had also left to join Royal Parks, 5 months before the project closure.  An interim Senior Forest Centres Officer and Branching Out Project Manager had been appointed.  North London Open Spaces were providing a senior manager to temporarily cover the role of Head Keeper and recruitment for the role of Head of Visitor Services was continuing.

Dry Weather

Both May and June were a 1 degree Celsius warmer than the last 20 year average. While May saw average rainfall, June had seen rainfall amounting to half the monthly average leading to very dry conditions across the forest.

Fire Severity Index

In response to the very warm and dry weather the Fire Severity Index as measured by the Meteorological Office had ventured into 4 (very high), on a scale of 1 to 5, much earlier in the year than normal.

Ladies Day

The weather was kind for Ladies Day, where 60 guests enjoyed walks on Fairmead Plain and The Warren.  In a very welcome break with tradition the Lord Mayor attended the pre-lunch estate walk to observe progress with the grazing scheme.

Football Season

The Football season ended on the 10^th/11^th May.  1,808 games were played between September and May generating £66,500 in income.  A further 28 school sports days and 12 summer football matches and a summer soccer school were also held.  Unusually 6 weekends were cancelled due to poor weather in January and February and the Superintendent’s delegated powers were used to extend play for 3 weekends to 10/11^th May.

The FA Chairman’s England Commission Report

The Chairman’s 84 page report had been

Report of the Chamberlain and Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee considered the joint report of the Chamberlain and Director of Open Spaces which compared the revenue outturn for the services overseen by the

Committee in 2013/14 with the final agreed budget for the year. Members noted that in total, there was a worse than budget position of £398,000 for the services overseen by the Committee compared with the final agreed budget for the year.

Officers informed Members that the 2013/14 latest approved budget for the services was received in November 2013 was £4,255m. This budget was endorsed by the Court of Common Council in March 2014 and subsequently updated for approved adjustments.

Members noted that the actual net expenditure for the Committee's services during 2013/14 totalled £4.665m, an overspend of £398,000 compared with the final agreed budget.

In response to a query from Members, Officers clarified that the Epping Forest logo now included the tagline “registered charity”. The webpage content was being expanded to include information about the registered charity status of Epping Forest.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest which informed Members that the Questionnaire Survey provided the opportunity for visitors to express their opinions of Epping Forest and how it was managed. It was available at the Forest Centres, online and through face to face interviews conducted by the Visitor Services section, Forest Keeper section and volunteers.

Members noted that the total number of visits to 24 of the geographically distinct sites could now be calculated using data from 2010 - 2013. The results helped Officers estimate figures for the remaining six sites not yet surveyed. Other recorded statistics, such as visitor centre statistics and football pitch bookings, were included to develop a more accurate picture of the actual number of visits to Epping

Forest. The estimated total number of visits to Epping Forest in 2013 based

on data from 2010-2013 was 4.4 million per annum. A more accurate picture

would only be available at the end of 2014 when all of the 30 sites had been

surveyed.

In response to a query from Members, Officers said the total volunteer time for the whole project was in excess of 400 hours in 2013. This included collecting and inputting the data from both the Observation Survey (384hrs) and the Questionnaire Survey (48hrs).

Members discussed the possibility of undertaking the visitor survey exercise at various times of the day to ensure the results showed a balanced ethnicity spread of forest visitors.

Members agreed that use of the Temple by the public should be encouraged. Officers assured Members that action plans using the results of each survey and encouraging public use of the Temple would be included in the Community Engagement Officer’s action plan.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest and Members noted that land surrounding Epping Forest continued to be subject to intense development pressure. Officers informed Members that in order to protect the context and setting of Epping Forest and its overall environmental condition, the Conservators continued to object to planning applications which are considered to pose significant threats to the Forest environment, and to lobby LPAs for the full

representation of Forest interests as they revise their Local Plans.

Members noted that some 91 planning applications had been considered on the Committee’s behalf. Objections were made to 28 applications. From these applications 28% were refused or withdrawn, 32% were granted permission, four

applications remained undecided and the remaining three applications were for

pre-application advice. The 28% refused or withdrawn level compares with

national statistics for 2012/2013 which show a 13% refusal rate.

Discussions ensued regarding the relationship between City Corporation and Epping Forest District Council colleagues. In response to a query, Officers clarified that although colleagues from Epping Forest District Council were invited to Ladies Day many were unable to attend following a major restructure after the Chief Planning Officer’s retirement. Officers informed Members that initiatives were underway to expand the local Liaison group to include colleagues from Epping Forest District Council.

Members agreed that following the outright elections in neighbouring London Boroughs, Officers should seek to build relationships with the relevant Cabinet Members and Leaders of the Councils. The Superintendent informed Members that he had already written to the new Leader of the London Borough of Redbridge. It was noted that the Chairman of Policy and Resources Committee regularly met with the Leaders.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest which informed Members that the Whipps Cross Roundabout was a major element of the A104/A114 highway infrastructure on Forest Land.

Members noted the large scale changes proposed by the current Highway Authority responsible for the dedicated land, the London Borough of Waltham Forest (LBWF). LBWF had been successful in securing a major grant award totalling £30 Million from the Mayor of London which involved the construction of a cycle “Super Highway? along the Lea Bridge Road (A104) and the redesign of the Whipps Cross Roundabout with protected cycleways and priority traffic lights on Forest Land.

Members were informed that the current proposals were contained within the existing dedicated land so impact on the City of London would be limited to some disruption experienced by Forest users and members of staff during the construction of the new junction. The new junction would be significantly different to the existing roundabout and would result in easier access to the Hollow Ponds and Snaresbrook areas of the Forest for both pedestrians and cyclists residing in LBWF.

In response to a query from Members, Officers clarified that the positioning of the leverage road was subject to further discussion and more detailed would be submitted to the Committee for consideration at a later date.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest. Members noted that there had been 227 licences issued for various events, activities and temporary use of Forest Land which together have raised a total of £66,235. The most popular licenses were Filming (73) 32%; Community Events (32) 14% and Fitness Events (27) 12%. A further 485 horse riding licences, including annual, weekly and replacement licences, were also issued raising a total of £17,092.00.

Members noted that students filming in the Forest paid a nominal charge which in turn bought down the overall average in relation to the number of licences issues.

In response to a query raised by a Member, Officers clarified that the annual Donkey Derby was a very popular event and an important local fundraiser. Members agreed that the licence should continue to be issued to the event and should include permission for organised gambling activities, which are forbidden under the byelaws but are traditionally central to the event.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest and Members were informed of the progress with the implementation of the Epping Forest Volunteer Strategy, which was adopted on 8 March 2010.

A total of 21,186 hours of volunteer activity were donated during financial year

2013/2014, which includes 10,884 hours from volunteers managed by the City

of London; 5,595 hours by the Epping Forest Centenary Trust and 4,707 hours

by the Epping Forest Conservation Volunteers. This represents a 2.56%

decrease in total volunteer hours on 2012/13. Members noted that at the end of March 2014, 227 people were volunteering for Epping Forest. A further 311 people have participated in mass volunteering days. 26 new volunteers were recruited during the year.

Members were informed that the annual Volunteer Party in February 2014 staged at Butler’s Retreat was a great celebration. The Chairman awarded the following medals: Nine Gold (600 hours), seven Silver (300 hours) and seven Bronze medals (150 hours); £14,317 was spent on volunteer materials, equipment, travel and

expenses in 2013/14, excluding training course fees. City of London volunteers contributed time equivalent to more than six full time staff and provide vital match funding for the Heritage Lottery funded Branching Out Project.

The Committee thanked the volunteers for all of their hard work and continued support.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest and Members were informed of the quantity of litter and rubbish removed from Epping Forest in the year 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014. There had been 666 fly tips recorded on Forest land which vary from a single black sack of house waste to lorry loads of builders waste; it also includes fly tips of hazardous waste such as asbestos and tyres.

Members noted that over 325 tonnes of waste had been removed from the Forest comprising of over 160 tonnes taken to London waste, over 100 tonnes of general waste disposed of in skips, over 50 tonnes of mixed recycling and 4.6 tonnes of tyres. The total cost of removing waste from Epping Forest in this reporting year was

£212,213.58 made up of £36,156.06 for general waste, £5,066.26 for recycling,

£8,602.88 for hazardous waste and £162,388.38 in staff costs.

The Superintendent informed Members that new sentencing guidance had been issued on 1^st July 2014 which increased the fine up to £3million for companies and £95,000 for individuals caught fly tipping. He confirmed that compensation costs and fees were sought following a prosecution.

Members agreed that the reward scheme offering rewards to anyone who reported a successful prosecution relating to fly tipping must be widely advertised to encourage members of the public to report the crime.

Members noted that a covert camera set up to catch fly tippers had recently been stolen. The Superintendent said the camera was not insured and Officers were now investigating different designs of covert cameras and hiding their battery packs in a more discreet manner. Members noted that although CCTV was available in the forest, often it was very time-consuming to search through the films to catch the crime being done.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest and Members noted the charges for the sport facilities that are provided at Epping Forest. The proposal was to increase the charge by 2.5% (3.5% for adults and 2.5% for juniors) and to hold the Sunday published tariff charges at current levels. The City had held Sunday prices for the past 5 years, while it had increased Saturday prices by 10% for the past 2 years. The Sunday price differential was now considered to be in balance. After 5 years of holding Sunday prices during the recession a moderate increase of 2.5%, which represented the current retail price index is considered proportionate.

In response to a query from Members, it was clarified that the Wanstead Flats

Playing Fields Committee strongly supported the pricing differential that kept

junior and youth football as affordable as possible.

RESOLVED: That Members:

·       Approved that the proposed charges for sports facilities in Epping Forest for 2014/15

·       Approved that the Superintendent retained delegated powers to discount or waive charges for trial periods in order to develop both new pitch configurations and offpeak and out-of-season use, and to help target underrepresented groups identified in the Sports Development Plan.

·       Approved that the Superintendent retained delegated powers to revise the current sport charges terms and conditions and retain the deposit arrangement for clubs “block booking? pitches in advance that was introduced four years ago.

To receive an update from the Superintendent of Burnham Beeches, Stoke Common and City Commons.

The Committee received the following update from the Superintendent of Burnham Beeches, Stoke Common and City Commons, and noted the following:

Staffing

·        The Head Ranger of West Wickham Commons had retired. A new post of ‘Support Services Manager’ was created as a direct replacement. This would bring cohesiveness to the administration of the division and allow the remaining three Head Rangers to concentrate on their staff and sites. The post should be filled by October 2014.

·        Recruitment of an Information Ranger at City Commons was imminent with interviews being held in July for the 18 month contract. This role would ensure a closer focus was given to this aspect our work and the successful candidate would work closely with the Burnham Beeches team.

Visits

·        The Lord Mayor visited Burnham Beeches for the annual pollard visit on 9^th June. The visit appeared to be very successful and widely appreciated.

·        The Committee had visited Spring Park and Stoke Common, and Consultative Committee site visits were also underway this month.

Dog Control Orders

·        The Statutory Consultation Period for the Dog Control Orders at Burnham Beeches would draw to a close on 14^th July. The Kennel Club had an active national campaign regarding the orders.

·        Most respondents so far were dog walker’s and comments were largely based around the publicised Kennel Club briefing.

·        Local Support from Farnham Parish Council, District Council, Consultative Group and local’s contributing to the survey. There was active lobbying of Member’s, local politicians and various groups to not support the orders.

Heritage Lottery Fund

·        Kenley Airfield Heritage Lottery Project was progressing well.

·        A concrete conservation workshop was hosted at the Merlewood Estate Office and expert attendees attended from Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, Friends of Kenley Airfield and other interested parties. The group considered how best to conserve

Report of the Chamberlain and Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee considered the joint report of the Chamberlain and Director of Open Spaces and Members noted that in total, there was a better than budget position of £161,000 for the services overseen by the Committee compared with the final agreed budget for the year.

Members noted that it was proposed to carry forward £217,000 of this underspend. These requests would be considered by the Chamberlain in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Resource Allocation Sub Committee. Underspends in The City Surveyor’s Additional Works Programme would be available to spend in subsequent years of the scheme.

There were no questions.

There was one item of other business that the Chairman considered urgent in relation to a petition that had been received by the City of London Corporation.

The Director informed Members that she had received on behalf of the Chairman a petition addressed to this Committee from a delegation representing the ‘Save the Tea Hut’ Campaign.  The petition based on www.change.org started on 17^th June and had secured 7,493 signatories by the time it was presented at Irish Chambers on 27^th June 2014.  This was a lower figure than the claimed 8,002 signatories.  The Director informed Members that it was important to make members aware that the online petition now stood at 8,367 signatories.

Members noted that the petition was addressed to the ‘City of London Corporation, the Open Spaces Committee and the Superintendent of Epping Forest and read as follows:

‘On this day, the 27^th June in the year of 2014.  We the people petition the above to leave the “Bikers” tea hut in High Beach Epping Forest alone.  Do not put it out to tender and recognise this place as part of local history and to start listening to the people that use the forest’.

At 6.30 am of this day the current total of “we the people” stands at 8,002 and rising.  We are comprised on many local residents to High Beech, Motorcyclists, Horse Riders, Cyclists, walkers and general users of this unique business.  Unique by the nature of its historical presence in Epping Forest, its service provided and as a focus for the community that uses this as its central hub.

For the many views and evidence of the community and its support I urge you to view the social media page “save the tea hut” and to view the website savetheteahut.com as

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting.

Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee considered the report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest

There were no questions.

There was no urgent business.