ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – FOOTPATHS COMMITTEE MINUTES

May 7^th, 2025

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

Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chair)               Councillor S. Mifflin

Councillor D. Hill                                  Councillor D. Hall

Councillor S. Perren                            Councillor C. Wilkins

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

Mr. G. Cole (until 7.10pm)

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Mr. Davenport.

2).   To approve the minutes of the meeting held on February 5^th, 2025.

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:

• Various items along Walk 10 – to do as/when resources allow.
• FP94 broken stile – outstanding due to the need for volunteer support to move materials and equipment. The Clerk will again request help from the Rights of Way team, along with support for the addition of a post along fp49.
• New items:
  • Loose stiles on footpath 5. Mr. Cole advised that although they are loose, there is good alternative access via unpadlocked gates, and the route is not well used. It was agreed to leave for now due to the alternative access available.
  • Collapsed stile and leaning fingerpost FP21. The collapsed stile has left a gap which can be easily accessed by walkers, so will leave for now. Mr. Cole to re-site the fingerpost.
  • FP94 missing fingerpost (Woodwall Green end). Will add to the list for Mr. Cole to replace.
  • FP13 is overgrown – Clerk to request TGM to undertake the first of the vegetation cutbacks.
  • It was noted that the Eyeswell path will soon need additional cutting back – Cllr. Wilkins will advise when to request the works.

(Mr. Cole left the meeting).

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

• From the 26 people currently on the team, only 10 have been engaging with Cllr. Wilkins’ emails.
• 16 bags of litter were pledged as part of the recent Great British Cleanup.
• Hill will email her Drake Hall contact to link with KETT and look at litter picking opportunities to support the existing team.

5).   Littering – discussion about signage options and other ideas

Members discussed options for signage and the key areas of concern. They were also provided with a research article that highlighted the most impactful signage had positive reinforcement messages or stated that individuals were being watched. It was noted that a lot of littering is on road verges, where anti-litter signage is not usually placed/unlikely to be approved or read. It was agreed to continue to monitor for now as there is no need to install signs if they are not in the right areas.

Councillors felt that incidences of littering were reducing slightly but dog fouling is an increased problem. One area of concern is regular fouling on the corner of the pavement opposite the school, which is an area of high pedestrian usage. The Clerk will contact the Borough Council with this information to see if they will support patrols or signage in this area.

6).    Correspondence:

• A resident has contacted us with concerns about an electric bike travelling at speed along the cut through path on the Southwell estate. As this is a highways area, the Clerk has reported it to the County Council, who advise the resident to report it to the police as this is an offence. The resident has been advised accordingly. Any action to install staggered gateways would need to be requested of the new County Councillor.

7).   Items for next meeting

Any other items can be forwarded to the Clerk.

 9).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 13^th August 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.