Agenda item

The Superintendent of the City Commons to be heard.

The Committee received an update from the Superintendent of City Commons, and Members noted the following points:

Storms

Christmas storms caused damage to trees across City Commons, consequently, the Rangers on duty were very busy making the sites safe and clearing fallen trees.  The Ranger team should be congratulated for their commitment over this period having to do a series of zone 1 tree safety inspections each time the wind exceed 45MPH.

Byelaw Enforcement

A prosecution under the byelaws in relation to a dog not under effective control on Riddlesdown is progressing.  The court hearing has been deferred and we are waiting for a new date to be announced.

Bridleway 38 – Ashtead Common

The surfacing of Bridleway 38 from Craddock’s Avenue to Lady Howards Crossing has been successfully completed taking advantage of a very dry spell of weather in late November early December.

Holmefield Road – Coulsdon Common

Posts have been installed successfully alongside Holmefield Road, the intension of these posts is to prevent vehicles encroaching onto the Common.

Cattle

The last of our breeding cattle left Farthing Downs in December.  Some were sold and 16 have moved to Epping Forest for over wintering.  The 13 one-year old calves are grazing Lower Woodplace Farm Field on the west side of the Downs, having moved there from Kenley Common on New Year’s Eve.  The two-year old cows are in our barn at Merlewood and have been blood tested before being moved to Epping Forest in late January.  This will allow space to house the one-year old calves in February & March.

Sheep

Some of our sheep are grazing Tollers Field on the east side of New Hill where they are likely to be joined by sheep from Kenley Common and Riddlesdown later in January.

Volunteer numbers

By the end of December volunteers have contributed 8019 hours this is 5% up on the same point last year.

Events

The Rangers organised 13 guided walks during November & December and I pleased to report a big increase in participation in the Health Walking Scheme in the first week of January.

Kenley Air show

The organisers of the Kenley Charity Air Show have postponed the event for 2014 and have indicated their intension to apply for a licence to hold an air show in September 2015.

Kenley Revival Project – Kenley Common

The part time, fixed term contract Project Development Officer has been appointed final arrangements are in hand and late January start date is expected.  The first Project Board meeting has been booked for the 20^th January 2014.

Staff Changes

On the 6^th January 2014, the Superintendent of Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common took on responsibility for the seven Commons in Surrey and South London.  Bob Warnock has started a two month period shadowing the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath and will take on responsibility for Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queens Park on the 1^st March 2014.

A Ranger based in the Coulsdon Commons team left at the end of December to dedicate her time to her young family.  In addition, a Ranger will leave at the end of January to take up a new position with the National Trust as an Area Ranger in the Lake District, based in Coniston.

Restructure

The Superintendents are consulting staff on the restructure at City Commons.  This will conclude tomorrow and a final report will be presented to the Director of Open Spaces and the Human Resources Business Partner as the proposals fall within the Directors delegations.

The structure aligns and clarifies the roles and responsibilities for the three Head Rangers, together with a supporting Senior Ranger to the tree charities Ashtead Common, Coulsdon Commons and West Wickham Commons.

The proposed structure creates four specialist Ranger posts the focus of these posts will be woodland, livestock, conservation and information to help ensure consistency across the Division.

The proposals include changing five job titles, updating job descriptions and person specifications across the Division and include the position of an Apprentice Ranger based in the Ashtead team.

The proposals are cost neutral and the aim is to implement the new structure on the 1^st April 2014.

Budget 2013/14

We have completed the budget monitoring for end of December based on 75% of the fiscal year lapsed.  At this point the Ashtead Budget shows 83.50% spent and the combined Coulsdon Commons and West Wickham Commons 77.50% spent.

Work Programmes

Work programmes for 2013/14 are on track.

The Management Priorities and work programmes for 2014/15 have been prepared and are being presented to the three Consultative Committees in January & February 2014.  These will then be presented to the Epping Forest & Commons Committee in March 2014.

Green Flag and Green Heritage Applications for 2014 were being progressed and the deadline for submission was the end of January 2014.

On behalf of the Committee the Chairman thanked the staff at all of the sites for their hard work in such difficult conditions.