To receive apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received..

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

There were no named substitutes.

To receive declarations of interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2024.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and be signed by the Chairperson.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

A document containing a question received from a member of the public and the response given, plus a supplementary question and the response given, is attached at Appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

No questions were received from councillors.

To provide an update and overview of Herefordshire Council's Public Rights of Way (PROW) Service.

[Papers to follow]

The Chair introduced and gave an overview of the item including the four main areas for discussion as covered off within the report:

-          Understanding the size of the public rights of way network in Herefordshire.

-          Accounting for the current state of repair of the network.

-          Exploring the current and proposed models of management and operational delivery, including the role of the Parish Paths Partnership including the Herefordshire Local Access Forum.

-          Exploring opportunities to develop greenways through the county.

The Chair suggested that initially officers should discuss the report and that it would then be opened up for debate with the committee members and attendees.

Size of the network

1.    The Chair invited officers present to cover off the size of the PROW (public rights of way) network, the various elements that made up the network and any specific features within the county - such as bridges and topography - which presented officers with challenges.

·         The Head of Highways and Traffic drew the committee’s attention to paragraphs 2 and 3 (including Table 1) within the main report, which detailed how Herefordshire’s Public Rights of Way network was comprised of Footpaths, Bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic. To give an understanding of the size of the network, it was highlighted that - at 3014km in length - the footpath network within the county was larger than the road network.

·         The Head of Highways and Traffic pointed out that the size and accessibility of the network, and resources available to manage it presented challenges. In particular the remoteness of certain sections made them difficult to access and maintain.

·         It was pointed out that there were currently 29 bridges within the network that were recorded as being damaged.

·         The Head of Highways and Traffic noted that the complexity around certain legal issues relevant to the network could present issues and challenges for the council.

·         The Service Director Environment and Highways described how the right of way team within the council had reduced in size over recent years.

·         The river running through the county was not necessarily a problem, but maintaining discrete structures bridging remote small streams was a challenge for the team.

·         The rights of way of team was small, and covering over 3,000km of network was a difficult and revenue expenditure-dependent activity.

2.    The committee enquired if there were any features specific to Herefordshire, such as topography that made it more challenging to deal with compared to other counties.

·         The Service Director Environment and Highways stated that there was nothing specific to Herefordshire presented unique challenges. The topography and land stability issues within the county were similar to those experienced by other counties.

3.    The chair opened up the discussion to other attendees.

4.    The Herefordshire Local Access Forum representative noted that the foot path network was larger than the road network, and emphasised the importance of encouraging and promoting walking tourism within the county, as it was valuable means of generating revenue for local businesses  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

To provide updates on developments and activity relevant to the committee’s remit, including updates on executive responses to committee recommendations.

The Committee received and discussed Executive responses to recommendations it had made regarding River Water Pollution and Implementing the Environment Act 2021.

The Committee was satisfied with the responses received in relation to the Environment Act 2021, but had concerns regarding several of the Executive responses it had received in relation to River Water Pollution. It was unanimously decided it might be useful to contact and meet with the Cabinet Member Environment to discuss the recommendations that had been partially agreed.

Resolved:

That the Chair of the Committee would write a letter to the Cabinet Member for the Environment, seeking clarity as to whether they would reconsider the responses to recs a), b) and e) in relation to River Water Pollution and enquire whether they could move towards what was the intention of the three recommendations.

To consider the draft work programme for the Environment and Sustainability Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2024/25.

The Committee discussed the work programme for the year ahead and voted unanimously to make the following change:

Resolved:

That the River Lugg water quality item be rescheduled from the Committee’s March 2025 agenda to the January 2025 agenda.

Monday 23 September 2024, 10.00am

Monday 23 September 2024, 2pm