ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – FOOTPATHS COMMITTEE – Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

A meeting of the Footpaths Committee was held on Wednesday, November 3rd, at 7pm at Eccleshall Community Centre.

Present were:-        

Councillor R. Taylor (Chair)             Councillor C. Wilkins

Cllr. S. Perren

Co-opted members:

Mr. N. Davenport                            Mr. E. Ranson

Mr Graham Cole, Footpath Operative

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

Mrs B. Partridge (Assistant Clerk)

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received by Cllrs. Leather and Mifflin.

2).   Election of Chair and Vice Chair

Cllr. Perren took the chair for the election process.

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

3).    To approve the minutes of the meetings held on January 8^th 2020 and April 7^th 2021.

The minutes of the meetings were approved and signed.

4).    Footpath Marshall reports

It was noted that there is a full complement of Footpath Marshalls at present and there is a waiting list of volunteers should any positions become vacant. Footpath Marshall reports received had been fewer recently, but this may be due to the colder weather.

5).    Review of current maintenance schedule, work completed to date and considering a forward    strategy for ongoing maintenance.

The Committee noted that there are over 150 footpaths in the Parish and that it is impossible to maintain all of them with the resources that are available. It was agreed that resources for the remainder of the financial year should be concentrated on the most used routes, which will include those routes proposed for a number of shorter, circular Footpath Walks.

6)     Footpath Walks leaflets

It was suggested the Parish Council produce and publish a booklet of circular walks and maintenance would concentrate on the routes included in this booklet. There would be two types of walks; those of 1 – 1.5 miles length, and maybe some longer 3–4-mile walks where the route could be extended. It is hoped they would be particularly useful for residents who feel less able to undertake longer walks, or who are building up gradually to taking longer walks.

Volunteers have been allocated a route to review and asked to focus on identifying the following( if appropriate to their particular walk):

• Time required to walk the route.
• Whether the walk could be extended;
• Parking provision;
• Historical facts;
• Wheelchair accessibility;
• Any hazards;
• Attractiveness;
• Focal points;
• Signage;
• Benches;
• Kissing gates;
• Stiles;
• Suitability for wheelchairs/pushchairs; and ideally photographs.

Details of the circular walks will be published on the Parish Council website in PDF printable versions. Nine of the proposed eleven circular walks have already been allocated to Councillors and volunteers to assess and take photographs in preparation for the production of leaflets. Routes 8 and 9 are still to be allocated.

1. FP 100 from picnic area + an extension to make a longer circular walk which could be 142. Allocated
2. High Street, FP 12, Castle Street, turn right to FP 15, could also add 16a. Allocated
3. FPs 149 and 115 from the school or the church plus 148 and road to make it circular. Allocated
4. Stone Road FP 17 to Blurtons Lane, turn right, to Stafford Road turn right to Sancerre Estate take made up path around houses. Could also add FPs 16a and 16b to make it circular . Allocated
5. FP 17 to Blurtons Lane, turn right, cross Stafford Road to Ellenhall FP 1, 120 to Newport Road. Allocated
6. Elford Heath, Horsley Road, Horsley Lane, FP 115, turn left FP 148 then FP 149 then FP 14 to Shaws Lane (mind sheep). Allocated
7. Slindon FPs 26, 27, 31 can lengthen to include FPs 28, 22, 23 . Allocated 
8. FPs 89, 90, 133 road 134, 88 
9. 1 FPs 8, 10, 110 and road, with shortcut 9 or an extension on 110.
10. FPs 49, 131, 130 47, Langot Lane, Bishops Wood. Allocated
11. FPs 92, 93, 98, 97 and 94 – South Croxton. Allocated

It is hoped the project will be completed for March/April 2022

In respect to ‘Bench to Bench’ walks brochure in conjunction with the Borough Council, the Chair wished to express her thanks for the excellent work that Cllr Chris Wilkins had undertaken. Twenty-four benches have been identified and photos taken. The brochures will be produced by Stafford Borough Council and available on the Borough website as well as the Parish Council’s own website.

It was agreed that the Committee would report back at the next meeting with progress on these projects and the Borough Council Bench-to-Bench brochures.

7).   Replacement Gate

Quotations for replacement of the gate at the junction of fp13 and 15, off Church St were considered as the gate is very rusty and needs replacing.  The replacement gate is a two way gate that will also improve accessibility. The gate has been modified to extend the distance from the base of the gate to the ground, so that it doesn’t catch on the banked sides of the path.

It was resolved to recommend approval of the following quotations:

• Supply of a modified 2-way accessible gate by Centrewire at a cost of £466 plus VAT
• Installation of the gate and associated groundworks by David Minshall at a cost of £446 plus VAT.

Total cost = £912 plus VAT.

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

It was reported that the new business cards were working well and were being given out and resulted in 3 new volunteers, including a young person with his carer who will be litter picking in the High Street. All routes are currently covered by volunteers.

9).   Budget requirements for Footpaths Committee projects for 2022/23:

The budget requirements for Footpaths committee projects for 2022/23 were considered. It was noted that funds will be required next year for the printing of the circular walk leaflets and for the Bench-to-Bench brochures. It is expected that the Borough Council would provide only a small number of brochures.

        It was resolved that a budget of £2,500 for 2022/23 be put forward for consideration by the P & R Committee in December.

10). Correspondence:

There was no correspondence for consideration.

11).   Items for next meeting

Items will include all the ongoing project updates from this meeting.

12). Date of next meeting:- 

Wednesday 2^nd February 2022, 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.