Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

The Committee received a report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest which provided Members with a summary of the Epping Forest Division’s activities across April to May 2019.

A Member of the Committee expressed concern with regard to the increase in OPM numbers within Epping Forest and questioned if monitoring inspections which had taken place in June were sufficient. The Superintendent explained that OPM was an significant issue for Epping Forest and was being addressed by scientific moth trapping to understand numbers followed by survey inspections, leading to spraying and the mechanical removal of moths centred on popular areas within the Forest.  In addition, replying to a query raised by a Member of the Committee, the Director of Open Spaces confirmed lessons learned were shared across different City Corporation Open Spaces as well as other Local Authority Open Spaces.

Replying to a Member’s query the Superintendent explained that the use of new software to help record the contribution made by volunteers. A Member highlighted the potential issues GDPR compliance issues holding this data could cause. 

A Member asked for further information on the methodology used by the Epping Forest Department to resolve issues with rough sleepers. The Superintendent explained that a Problem Resolution in a Multi-Agency Environment (PRIME) approach was used, working to the ‘No Second Night Out’ (NSNO) principles, where the Epping Forest worked closely with all the relevant local and enforcement authorities, in addition to homelessness charities, to achieve positive outcomes for rough sleepers and the Forest.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted.