ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – FOOTPATHS COMMITTEE MINUTES

November 6^th, 2024

 DRAFT

A meeting of the Footpaths Committee was held on Wednesday, November 6^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 member:

Mr. N. Davenport

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

Observers: Cllr. Dale (from 7.10pm)

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Mr. Cole.

2).   To approve the minutes of the meeting held on August 14^th, 2024.

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.

Items pending included:

• FP94 broken stile – outstanding due to the need for volunteer support to move materials and equipment. The Clerk has not received a response from the Rights of Way team.
• FP118 – the route requires 3 stile repairs and 2 x fingerpost repairs but the landowner has not yet been identified to ask for support in maintaining the route. It was queried as to how well used the route is. Cllr. Taylor will ask the resident who has raised the issue if they are know the landowner details, and the council will write to ask them to undertake the required repairs.
• Walk 10 (old leaflet) has various areas to tidy, and as a low priority, will be fitted in as time allows
• The fingerpost at the start of FP16a on Hartlands Road has been knocked over again. The resident of the garden the other side of the path has offered to site the post on their property in order to reduce the likelihood of this re-occurring. Mr. Sheard will be re-siting the post.
• New items:
  • Whilst issues have been highlighted on footpaths 37 and 17, further investigation has found these are paths in neighbouring parishes, and the resident has been asked to contact those councils directly.
  • Missing fingerpost at the start of fp94 (Fair Oak end).
  • Repair required to fingerpost on fp15 near to the Usulwall Close entrance.

4).     Footpath Walks:

• The new Heritage Walks Booklet has been printed and is available in the library and to download on the Parish Council website, as well as being advertised in the upcoming Winter Newsletter.

5).   Update on Keep Eccleshall Tidy Team (KETT)

• Taylor has been in contact with the current volunteers, and there may be one or two vacancies to fill, which she is waiting to confirm. It is not easy to find new recruits – it was suggested that once the vacant areas are identified, this could be advertised via social media. Cllr. Hill will also mention the opportunity at Sir Graham Balfour school, for Duke of Edinburgh participants.
• Volunteer councillor litter pickers noted that they are picking up less litter per outing than in previous years.

6).    To consider future activities and agree a budget for the financial year 2025/2026

• Current expenditure is at £2,329.20 out of a total budget allocation of £4,000, which includes the costs for the Bishops Wood signage project. As there are no large projects planned at present for 2025/2026, it was agreed to set next year’s budget at £3,500.

7).    Correspondence:

• Resident correspondence was discussed in relation to concerns about increased littering within the parish. Specific mention was made to littering from vehicles around the areas in the vicinity of Elford Heath. A councillor local to the area noted there was regular littering along Horsley Lane by an individual who throws their McDonalds meal leftovers and packaging along a stretch of the road at intervals. The council have been requested to consider any measures to help reduce the volume of litter.

Members were equally concerned about littering within the parish. Due to the source of the large proportion of the littering in those areas, it was felt that additional litter bins would have little impact on the situation. In key areas where there is no footpath, Streetscene can also be asked to undertake a litter pick. It was agreed for the Clerk to research options for anti-littering signage, to be brought back to the next meeting for consideration.

8).   Items for next meeting

Littering will be added as an item. Any other items can be forwarded to the Clerk.

 9).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 5^th February 2025, at 7pm, Eccleshall Community Centre, prior to the Planning committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 7.30pm.