Agenda item

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2016.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2016 be approved as an accurate record, subject to the following changes:

“It was confirmed that the Freedom of Information request submitted by the Kennel Club was in relation to the reporting of enforcement action against dog owners.”

To become

“It was confirmed that the Kennel Club were seeking a change to the legislation to allow for data in relation to enforcement action against dog owners to be the subject of Freedom of Information requests.”

Matters Arising

Heath Hands Age Profile

The Chairman of Heath Hands provided a detailed response to a question posed at the previous meeting. Of the 170 active Members, those under the age of 25 made up 14%, those 26-40 made up 24%, those 41-55 made up 23%, 54-65 made up 28% and 65+ 11%. This represented a significant shift towards younger volunteers from previous years; since April 2015 those under the age of 55 had risen from 39% to 44%. It was felt this was in part due to the age profile of those involved in the successful “Wild about Hampstead Heath” Project.

Drones

A Member (Highgate Society) queried whether the City of London Corporation would need to be granted permission to fly drones on the Heath. It was confirmed that the City or an appointed contractor would need to apply for Civil Aviation Authority permission to carryout commercial drone activities such as aerial survey, aerial photography or facilities inspections.

Walks

The Superintendent confirmed that the Heath and Hampstead Society had been contacted about expanding and collaborating on the 2017/18 walks programme. It was proposed that the City’s walks would be complimentary to the Society’s programme. The potential for joint walks was also being considered, however administrative issues such as the Society’s charging policy would first need to be resolved.