Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

Resolved – that the minutes be agreed as an accurate record.

Members are invited to note the dates for committee visits in the forthcoming year.

Resolved – that the scheudule of visits be agreed for the ensuing year.

Report of the Superintendent of Burnham Beeches & the Commons.

Members received a general update on issues across the nine sites within ‘The Commons’ division that may be of interest to members and is supplementary to the monthly email updates.

RESOLVED – that the update be received.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Trustee’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2017 for Ashtead Common were presented in the format required by the Charity Commission.

RESOLVED - that the report be received.

The Trustee’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2017 for Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common were presented in the format required by the Charity Commission.

RESOLVED – that the report be received.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Trustee’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2017 for West Wickham Common and Spring Park Wood, Coulsdon and Other Commons were presented in the format required by the Charity Commission.

RESOLVED – that the report be received.

Members were informed that a fundraising appeal was organised jointly by the Kenley Airfield Friends Group and the City Corporation in 2005 to raise funds for the Coulsdon and Other Commons Charity to acquire the World War II Officer’s Mess site that adjoins Kenley Common (the Kenley Fund).

The local community donated generously to the appeal, but the bid to acquire the site was unsuccessful. Some money was subsequently returned to the donors, but many people wanted their donation kept by the Coulsdon and Other Commons charity for ongoing work on Kenley Common.

The Kenley Fund has not been used at all in the intervening period. Gift Aid was claimed to enhance some donations by 28%, but interest has never been paid on the balance.

RESOLVED – that Members:

· Agree to credit to the Kenley Fund the interest that would have been accrued to date, debiting the West Wickham and Coulsdon Commons local risk budget by the amount that the City could have attained for this fund, namely £3,315.03 to 31 March 2017.

· Instruct the Superintendent of The Commons to seek a suitable project (or projects) to be funded by the Kenley Fund, in consultation with the Kenley Airfield Friends Group.

Report of the Superintendent of Epping Forest.

Members received a summary of progress with the work programme at Epping Forest across October and November 2017.

Of particular note was further progress on the passage of the City of London Corporation (Open Spaces) Bill; continuing high levels of fly tipping averaging 55% up on the previous year; the completion of the surfacing of the Woodford Green wayleave; continuing Operational works majoring on tree safety and wood pasture restoration, together with a successful series of visitor events and very positive publicity for the 800 year celebrations for the Forest Charter through both national media and the Lord Mayor’s Show.

RESOLVED – that the update be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members were informed that following the resignation of Richard Morris OBE who has served as a Verderer of Epping Forest since 1998, the Committee is asked to note the vacancy for one northern Forest Parish Verderer and, taking into account that the septennial elections are not scheduled to take place until 2020, approve the commencement of an appointment process to result in the selection of a new Verderer of Epping Forest.

In accordance with Section 30(7) of the Epping Forest Act 1878, the Committee must make a recommendation to the Court of Common Council in respect of the appointment of a Verderer of Epping Forest who will serve as such until the septennial elections in 2020 when all four of the Epping Forest Verderers will be elected.

Officers sought the Committee’s approval in respect of a number of practicalities relevant to the appointment process, specifically the appointment of a Working Party to oversee the interview stage of the process and which will make recommendation to this Committee on a preferred candidate for appointment as a Verderer.

The report additionally sets out the timetable for the appointment process and Members’ views are sought on the proposed timescales.

RESOLVED – that Members:

1. Noted the vacancy for a Verderer of Epping Forest.

2. Approved the commencement of an appointment process to select a northern Forest Parish Verderer of Epping Forest (in line with the requirements of the Epping Forest Acts 1878 & 1880) for a tenure of Office to conclude in 2020 ahead of the septennial elections of all four Verderers of Epping Forest.

3. Approved the composition of a Working Party to consider applications for the position of a Verderer of Epping Forest.

4. Approved the proposed timetable for the appointment process.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Trustee’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2017 for Epping Forest were presented in the format required by the Charity

Commission.

RESOLVED – that the report be received.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

Members noted that the national trees and woodlands protection charity, the Woodland Trust (WT), is developing a Trees Outside Woods (TOWs) Project across England & Wales for a Stage 1 bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and other funders during 2018.

For this “umbrella? bid WT is currently seeking 10 to 15 local partnership schemes that it would incorporate into this overall project. These partnership schemes would help TOWs achieve the aims of increasing the canopy cover of trees outside woods, thereby enhancing the biodiversity and landscape of towns and countryside and providing greener accessible corridors for people across England & Wales. These

aims match those of the Green Arc partnership, which the City of London Corporation (CoL) has strongly supported for 15 years, and would also fit the remit of the OneEppingForestLocal Strategic Partnership (LSP) Green Taskforce workstrand of which the City Corporation is a board member.

An Expression of Interest has been made to WT by the Local Strategic Partnership,

OneEppingForest, for a joint local scheme in the Epping Forest Green Arc area to be considered for inclusion as part of the larger TOWs project. This report, therefore, requests permission for your officers to work with partner organisations from OneEppingForestand Green Arc, with the aim of compiling a project proposal. The project details would need to be worked up during 2018 for submission under a WT?s TOWs Stage 1 bid (or bids) – provisionally targeted for the end of 2018. The project proposal would seek to enhance the natural environment of the Green Arc around Epping Forest. The details of the proposal would be reported to Grand Committee for scrutiny before the Stage 1 bid submission.

RESOLVED – that Members approve the joint development, with OneEppingForest and other partners, of a draft project

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

Since 2008 funding has been received as grants from the government’s Entry and Higher Levels within the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS). Over the life of this ESS (2008-2018) these grant monies will have brought in a total of over £1.77 million in revenue, providing vital support for approved habitat conservation work under the Epping Forest Management Plan (EF Plan). This funding been used to support EF Plan prescriptions for undertaking essential maintenance and restoration of the internationally and nationally-important habitats throughout Epping Forest.

The agreement with Natural England under ESS terminates in October 2018. The successor scheme to ESS is the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), which is aimed at continuing to provide similar focused support for essential biodiversity conservation in England.

Epping Forest remains a priority site for Natural England and it is proposed to apply to this grant scheme to ensure the continuity of the conservation programme.

The preparation of the application would be undertaken until mid-summer 2018, during which period the Management Plan Steering Group would be consulted on the application, for approval by Grand Committee in July 2018. If approved the application would be submitted to Natural England and if accepted the CSS agreement would commence on 1st January 2019.

RESOLVED – that Members:

 note the application preparation process (‘Proposals’ section).

 give approval for officers to make a formal request to enter the CS Scheme’s application process to Natural England by mid-spring 2018.

 approve the consideration of the CSS application by the Management Plan Steering Group during spring/summer 2018 prior to seeking approval from Grand Committee for its submission to Natural England.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

The charity Froglifeis proposing a bid the Heritage Lottery Fund for funds to enhance toad and other amphibian habitats around London. In addition to restoring

habitats, Froglifeaims to inform and involve local community and volunteer groups

through its project. Working with your officers at Epping Forest, Froglifewould like to

put forward Cow Pond, Leyton Flats, as one of the seven ponds that it is looking to

restore as part of its project.

Should the bid be successful this would see a £30,000 contract being awarded for

the restoration of Cow Pond, involving its re-excavation and re-shaping within its current area. The funding would ensure that no costs would be incurred by the Epping Forest local risk budgets for achieving this restoration. This would represent

a significant enhancement of the Forest ponds network in line with the existing

Forest Management Plan vision. This would also help to enhance the favourable

condition of the Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Leyton Flats area as well as

maintaining an historic pond location.

RESOLVED – that Members:

 approve and support the bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund by Froglife for funds

for the restoration of Cow Pond, Leyton Flats for amphibians and other pond

wildlife; and

 Instruct City Solicitors to assist in drawing up or overseeing agreements with

Froglife in relation to the proposed works and monitoring on Forest Land.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

This Committee, on 20 November 2017, considered a request from the London

Borough of Waltham Forest (LBWF) for the dedication for highway purposes of

approximately 66m2 of Forest Land. This report is necessary as your Committee

refused the request and asked for additional information which is contained within

this Report.

The dedication would enable the relocation of an existing bus-stop on Forest Land at Woodford New Road and the provision of a footway from the bus-stop to connect to a new signalised pedestrian and cyclist crossing.

The relocation of the bus-stop allows for the reinstatement of 32m2 as Forest Land.

The resultant net loss from dedication would therefore be 34m2 prior to completion of negotiations regarding suitable compensatory land from LBWF which would seek

660m2 of land to compensate for this total loss.

The LBWF has emphasized that there is a strong road safety case for the construction of a signalised crossing based upon the accident record, traffic volume

and the pedestrian / traffic ratio at this location.

RESOLVED - that Members:

 Approve the dedication to public highway of approximately 66m2 of Forest land at Woodford New Road, of which 32m2 is already in highway use, in favour of the London Borough of Waltham Forest upon appropriate terms, including the provision of suitable compensatory land, and as further agreed by the Superintendent.

 Instruct the Comptroller and City Solicitor to undertake any necessary documentation.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

To help address future continuing efficiency savings requirements, this report

proposes a feasibility study to consider the introduction of holiday accommodation on Epping Forest ‘Buffer Land’, in the form of tents, shepherds huts and/or demountable buildings. While the accommodation will be of a temporary nature, supporting infrastructure will need to be installed both below ground such as mains water and sewerage and to provide pedestrian and vehicle access.

A detailed business plan will need to be presented through the Gateway process and a tender process will be necessary. An initial forecast based on the market knowledge of one of the leading ‘glamping’ operator shows a return on investment within the second year of operation with the potential to produce a surplus for reinvestment in to the management of the Forest estimated as £67,000 net per annum.

RESOLVED – that Members:

 Agree to the proposals to further explore the introduction of holiday accommodation on Epping Forest buffer land through the City of London Gateway process and to bid for an allocation from the City Cash 2018/19 provision for new schemes, which is subject to the approval of the Resource Allocation Sub and Policy and Resources Committee.

 Agree to potentially apply for match funding of 40% from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Eastern Plateau European fund to contribute to the purchase costs of the accommodation and its installation.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

The Cripsey Brook Flood Storage Area includes a Small Raised Reservoir maintained by the Environment Agency using Forest Land at Thornwood Common,

within Lower Forest, to site the reservoir embankment, under a licence granted by

the City Corporation in March 2000 to the Environment Agency and Epping Forest

District Council.

The reservoir embankment dams a natural basin to prevent severe flooding in

Thornwood hamlet which previously occurred in 1987 following intense thunderstorms.

The crest of the embankment is presently 75cm wide and is used as a footpath with

grass slopes on either side. The reservoir is less than 25,000 m3 and therefore is not

currently governed by the requirements of the Reservoirs Act 1975.

The Environment Agency, in this case responsible for the Cripsey Brook dam, is also the enforcement agency and it has determined on a Risk Assessment basis that all of its non-statutory reservoirs be brought up to statutory standards.

Earth embankments can withstand limited overtopping if the downstream face is not

too steep. A recent safety inspection has noted that the embankment is narrow with

steep slopes and has poor vegetation, which the inspecting engineer concludes could reduce the length of the overspill path potentially resulting early failure and has recommended increase in the width of the crest. This would also make the slopes shallower, reducing overtopping velocity and overall improve its resistance.

The Environment Agency is therefore requesting permission to increase the width of

the crest to 1.5m to bring the flood defence up to the statutory standard.

RESOLVED – that Members:

 Approve the review of the terms of the licence dated the 20 March 2000 that was granted to the Environment Agency and Epping Forest District Council to enable them to carry out works within the original licenced area to widen the Page 195

There were no questions.

The Superintendent of Epping Forest bought two items to the attention of the Committee, both of which required delegated authority; Epping Forest District Council Local Plan Publication under Regulation 19 of the Town & Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, and London Borough of Waltham Forest New Local Plan Direction of Travel Consultation.

Resolved – that Members agreed to delegate authority in both cases to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

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 Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED: 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 Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

Resolved – that the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage concerning the 2018 Licence Fee review (SEF 11/18) of Woodford Golf Club.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage concerning the Lease Renewal (SEF 09/18) of Orion Harriers Running Club.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage concerning the Lease Renewal (SEF 08/18) of Butlers Retreat Café.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces and Heritage concerning the Lease Renewal (SEF 10/18) of the Original Tea Hut - Cross Roads, High Beach.