ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – FOOTPATHS COMMITTEE

Wednesday, August 16^th 2023

A meeting of the Footpaths Committee was held on Wednesday, August 16^th, at 7pm at Eccleshall Community Centre.

Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chair)             Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor D. Hill                             Councillor S. Perren

Councillor S. Mifflin

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

Observers: Cllr. A. Reid (from 7.15pm)

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Mr. Cole. Mr. Davenport was absent.

2).    Election of Chair and Vice Chair.

Cllr. R. Taylor took the chair for the election process.

Cllr. Ros Taylor was duly re-elected as Chairman of the Committee, and Cllr. Chris Wilkins re- elected as Vice-Chairman.

3).    To approve the minutes of the meeting held on May 3rd, 2023.

The minutes, which had been previously circulated, were agreed and signed.

4).    Review of current maintenance schedule, work completed to date and any new issues to consider.

The updated maintenance schedule was circulated for information prior to the meeting and works are ongoing. It was noted that Footpath 13 does have a large overgrowth of nettles which have been cut back but will recur without weedkiller. However this may require specialist qualifications for application in public areas and care needs to be taken around what chemicals are used.

5).     Footpath Walks leaflets

• To provide an update on the circular walks project: The brochure has been printed and is now in circulation.
• To note completion of the Bishops Wood signposting project and consider a proposal to install an information board at a key footpaths junction: The signposting works have been completed, thanks to the Amey volunteer programme, which was organised by a County Council Rights of Way officer following a site meeting with Parish Council representatives. It was agreed that the Clerk and Cllr. Wilkins would work on a proposal and obtain costings for an information board. The upcoming meeting with the Forestry England ecologist may help to provide additional interesting information to add to the board to complement the route map. It was also agreed to look into provision of etched signpost discs to clarify the different footpath route numbers.
• To consider any interest in the opportunity to develop a town trail via the TrailTale app

Circular Walks Project:- It was agreed that the Clerk would contact the TrailTale representative to discuss what they can offer and obtain a quote, to report back to the committee at the next meeting.

Further projects:- it was suggested that the next project could be the production of a Heritage Trail, which could link into information available from the Ecclian and Historical Societies. Members were in favour of this idea and Cllr. Wilkins will progress the preparation of a draft document.

6).   Update on Keep Eccleshall Tidy Team (KETT) and ongoing concerns.

The KETT works are ongoing. Members will be contacted as a ‘keep in touch’ exercise to progress any activities.

7).    Correspondence:

There was no correspondence for consideration.

8).   Items for next meeting

Items can be forwarded to the Clerk. Members raised the issue of an uneven pavement by Bishops Court and this was referred to Enhancements as it was a pavement not a Right of Way. It can also be raised at an upcoming meeting with Highways, if a report number can be provided to the Clerk.

9).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 8^th November 2023, at 7pm, Eccleshall Community Centre, prior to the Planning committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 7.27pm.