ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – FOOTPATHS COMMITTEE

Wednesday, November 8^th 2023

A meeting of the Footpaths Committee was held on Wednesday, November 8^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

Co-opted members:

Mr. N. Davenport

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

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

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Mr. Cole.

2).    To approve the minutes of the meeting held on August 16^th, 2023.

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

3).    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.

It was noted that following recent heavy rains, Footpath 13 (Church St. end) has a trough in the centre of the path which is causing problems for pedestrians. It was agreed that the Clerk will discuss this with the County Rights of Way teams to explore remedial options. Members will provide photos to aid the discussion.

4).     Footpath Walks:

• Feedback on the recent meeting with the Ecology officer at Bishops Wood was included in the Clerks Report of 18^th October 2023.
• The Clerk is progressing the proposal for additional signage where a number of bridleways meet in the centre of Big Bishops Wood, and the possibility of signage at the start of the routes. Conversations with the forester are ongoing as to whether the signs at the entrances are allowed within their lease agreement and clarification is pending.

5).    Opportunities and costs for development of Heritage Trails within digital applications:

Members were provided with a summary of 2 different applications for the development of app based Heritage Trails.  There are clear differences between the costs of each package, as one offers a bespoke app for each customer, whilst the other is part of a national set of trails. Trailtale offers the production of a set of heritage trails within a main app and is probably a better fit for the scale of the parish. Members were keen to explore more up to date methods of providing walks but also noted there may be a limited number of heritage walks available in the local area, and the online and printed availability of existing walks. The original Trailtale quote mentioned 5 trails, with 4 or 5 points of interest per trail. Members agreed for the Clerk to ask if Trailtale would consider quoting for one trail to include the town centre area as a trial.

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

• Taylor has contacted all team members and 32 of 36 have confirmed they are willing to continue as volunteers. Concerns were raised about litter in locations where there is no pavement, so is not feasible for volunteers to work in those areas. The Clerk will contact the Borough Council to see if they would support the volunteer team with their own litter pick of areas to include Green Lane, Chester Road, Shaws Lane, Newport Road, Horsley Road and Horsley Lane.
• The Borough Council have kindly provided a number of additional litter pickers and vests, but there is still a need for a small stock order. The committee resolved to recommend the purchase of 6 x litter pickers, 6 x gloves and 5 x handihoops at a cost of £139.89 plus VAT.

7).    To consider future activities for financial year 2024/25 to advise budget planning

It was agreed to allocate £4,000 to the footpaths budget next year, to cover ongoing maintenance, repairs and the production of a new heritage walks booklet.

8).    Correspondence:

There was no correspondence for consideration.

9).   Items for next meeting

Items can be forwarded to the Clerk.

10).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 7^th February 2024, at 7pm, Eccleshall Community Centre, prior to the Planning committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 7.25pm.