Agenda item

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

Members noted the draft Terms of Reference for a Consultative Committee. Expressions of interest to be invited as soon as possible, with the first meeting of the Epping Forest Consultative Committee to be organised for Autumn 2017. The Epping Forest Consultative Committee is to meet half yearly initially. After the first three sessions the Consultative Committee will review these existing terms and may put forward proposals for amendments to this Committee for consideration. The Consultative Committee will comprise of 22 members and will include representation from Chairman, Deputy Chairman and four Verderers all drawn from the Epping Forest and Commons Committee.

Officers confirmed that the meetings would need to be held in public unless there was a reason for items to be considered in non-public. The Town Clerk clarified that although it would be a public meeting it would not be a meeting for members of the public to speak; any questions would need to be raised at the meeting by Consultative Committee members only, unless the Chairman gave discretionary permission otherwise. Members also agreed that the Chairman or his/her representative would chair the meetings which would take place a minimum of 3 times per year.

The Committee will be supported by the Town Clerks Department and will consider reports provided by the Superintendent and his Senior Managers. Other Committee members will also be welcomed. The remaining 16 attendants must be nominated members of groups holding a specific interest in the Forest, either with large membership, a broad geographical spread across the whole Forest and with knowledge or interest in the themes of heritage, environment, conservation, recreation/sport or voluntary and friends groups. Groups should be formal, constituted organisations, or, with discretion, working to achieve a constitution within a fixed time frame.

Members agreed with option 1 – to schedule the first meeting of the Epping Forest Consultative Committee with terms laid out herein, to commence in autumn 2017, with the Consultative Committee itself to review terms and make recommendations after its third meeting.

Resolved – that Members

· Approve the Terms of Reference for a representative Epping Forest Consultative Committee

· Approve the commencement of a selection procedure for the creation of Epping Forest Consultative Committee meetings as outlined herein.