Cabinet Member: Councillor Dafydd Meurig
Consider the Cabinet
Members Report
Minutes:
a) A
report was submitted by the Cabinet Member on the proposal to review and update
the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and receive the Committee's initial input to
the process. It was explained that the
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 placed a duty on authorities to prepare
and publish a Rights of Way Improvement Plan.
It was added that there was a statutory requirement to review the plan
every 10 years and Gwynedd needed to undertake a review before November 2017.
b) It
was highlighted that the Welsh Government had published a guidance for Local
Authorities which explained the procedure and steps to be taken to undertake
the review together with the preparation for a new plan. The Authority had to consider the purpose and
use of the Plan as a document that encompassed the Authority's duties and sets
priorities in the field of rights of way and access by foot, bicycle and on
horseback.
c) Since
the plan's publication in 2007, it was reported that major changes had influenced
this field, such as cuts in maintenance budgets for the network of paths, the
coming and influence of new legislation that overlapped the access field,
together with a general growth in the call for high standard paths and
facilities and a recognition of their importance to the tourism industry.
ch) The
Committee was requested to agree that there was a need and justification to prepare
a new plan for Gwynedd and to be supportive of the intention to review the
plan.
d) In
response to a question regarding the network in the County, the Senior Manager
Planning and Environment noted that the existing plan prioritised popular paths
and therefore this was where resources were placed. It was added that a review
would give Gwynedd an opportunity to look again at the priorities in terms of
network maintenance rather than prioritise the most popular paths. He added
that reviewing the plan would be a valuable task.
dd) In
response to a comment regarding equal access rights to all, it was reported that
the Equal Rights Act would be considered as part of the review and equality
assessments would need to be implemented.
e) In
response to a comment regarding the possibility of collaboration with the National
Park, although it was not necessary for the Park to be part of the review, it
was noted that discussions had been conducted with the Park for approximately
18 months. Although it was not statutory
for the Park to produce a plan, in practice it would make sense to establish a
plan that would meet with the requirements of the Council and the Park. It was added that the Park supported the
principle of preparing a joint Plan. The need to discuss resources and finance
was recognised, but with the need for specialist knowledge about the Park
network it was suggested that by working together the plan would be more robust
and practical.
f) In
response to a comment regarding how the paths would be prioritised and the need
to consider local resources to keep the paths open, it was reported that a new
plan would not give details of specific paths, but would look at putting a
framework in place to prioritise work and to try and ensure effective
operational arrangements.
ff) During the discussion the following
observations were noted:
• What
was the size of the network? Was it
possible to focus on the paths that are used mostly?
• Accepted
that a review was necessary, however they should be careful regarding how it
was implemented
• There
were insufficient resources in 2007, therefore what would the position be in
2016?
• They
had to invest in a resource that would be required in the future - important
for the tourism industry
• Was it possible to attract resources
from other sources?
• It was necessary to see that
Biodiversity was included in the discussions
It was
highlighted that any investments and improvements to the rights of way network
were likely to be totally dependent on grant monies.
The
recommendation was proposed and seconded.
RESOLVED:
a) that
the Committee support the intention to review and prepare a Rights of Way
Improvement Plan for Gwynedd and that the Regulatory Department identifies
methods of pooling resources for this work.
b) that
the Department contacts the Welsh Government to impress upon them to fund the
review.
c) that
the Cabinet Member submits a progress report to the Scrutiny Committee in
approximately 6 months time
Supporting documents: