Item 2

MINUTES of a MEETING OF THE YATELEY COMMON MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE held in the Rose Rent Room, The Tythings, Reading Road, Yateley on 17 February, 2004.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: A.P. Collett (Chairman); J.W. Stocks

Yateley Town Council

Councillors: D.T. Benham; R. Harward; Mrs R. Jenkins and D. Murr

Observer

Mr. P.J. Tipton

The following officers were also in attendance:

P.W.A. Allen, Northern Area Team Leader

A.S. Davidson, Site Manager

A.T. Smith, Assistant Head of the Countryside Service

I. Parker, Head of Estates Practice

G. Summers, Gypsy Liaison Officer

A.R. Knight, Chief Executive's Department

Miss N.K. Hetherington, Senior Ranger

Archaeologist

Ms. C.E. White

44 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 October, 2003 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon :

A copy of the model byelaws for the Common was circulated to Members. An advanced copy of the new byelaws was to be circulated when available, and be presented to the Management Committee before finalisation.

45 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman reported that the Section 52 Agreement (now Section 106) which had been the subject of long previous discussions with the owners of the airfield had not yet been concluded. Difficulties have been encountered in the past in enacting the Trust document. Members were anxious that this matter be concluded as soon as possible and suggested that a further meeting be convened with the four parties required to make the agreement i.e. the County Council, Hart District Council, British Car Auction and Yateley Town Council. It was suggested that these matters might be referred to the full County Council and Hart District Council to add impetus, if necessary. It was understood that the Solicitor for BCA had removed the time bar, and officers undertook to progress this matter.

The status of the bridleway at Stevens Hill/Heathlands Cemetery had caused delays in changing its status to an all purpose highway, effecting an acceptable surface for traffic transiting to and from the Cemetery. It was hoped that a way forward had been identified to achieve this expeditiously. If successful, a report could be made to the next meeting and it would then be possible to seek sources of finance for appropriate surfacing work.

Enforcement action was to be taken by Hart District Council in the Magistrates Court on the 12 March in respect of Heath End, after which the planning issues relating to access to the Flats would be progressed by the Legal Section.

46 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

47 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS

The Committee received a presentation by Carol White on archaeological works undertaken and future plans.

Ms. White introduced her role on the Common and her background and spoke about the particular nature of the Common, where there were no landscape features or activities such as burials or enclosures. Surface material had been found and identified and use of the site had been dated to Mezolithic times. Small artefacts such as cutting tools were handed round for examination. Work would continue on the Common into its past archaeological history. Ms. White was thanked for a fascinating presentation to the Committee revealing many unknown facts about the Common's early occupation.

48 YATELEY COMMON SITE MANAGERS REPORT - NOVEMBER 2003 TO JANUARY 2004

The Committee considered the report of the Site Manager (Item 6 in the Minute Book) outlining work undertaken since the last meeting.

The travellers who had been illegally occupying the site off of Vigo Lane in October/November 2003 had left the site. The clearing up after the incident had taken 100 hours of staff time and cost in the region of £9,000. A party of travellers occupied a grass verge adjacent to Blackbushe Business Park in December, and it was established that the land they occupied did not form part of the Country Park.

Several incidents of fly-tipping had occurred in the Heathlands Cemetery Car Park. Efforts were being made to resolve the drainage problems following repair work to the A30.

Following further problems with bikers on the Common it was understood that when the Byelaws were displayed, Police would adopt a higher profile on the Common in association with Site Management Staff.

Sites had been identified for the erection of the "D-Boards" and copies of the byelaws would be included on the reverse of these Boards in a prominent position. All display signs together with copies of the existing byelaws would be displayed by the end of September.

There had been extensive consultation on the proposed diversion of a number of bridleways on the Common east of Cricket Hill. The next stage will be to take the final proposals to the Regulatory Committee in its capacity as Highway Authority. It was accepted that it would be more positive to remove potential problems and objections before they were considered by the Committee. It was possible that a report would be considered by the Regulatory Committee at its meeting on Wednesday, 12 May, 2004, if all matters have been satisfactorily concluded.

A big increase in school visits had occurred during 2003 being particularly noticeable after the Hampshire Wood Week event.

The usefulness of volunteer working on Yateley Common was much appreciated. This included the Yateley Society, the Bracknell Conservation Volunteers and Berkshire Conservation Volunteers, who would continue to clear scrub and undertake other tasks on the Common.

A request had been received to plant a memorial tree near Wyndhams Pool. Members supported the proposal to plant a sapling English Oak Quercus robur which would be without any accompanying plaque enabling it to blend into the surrounding woodland.

49 YATELEY ANCIENT OAKS INITIATIVE - DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL STUDY

The Committee received an oral update on the study by Mr. Peter Tipton, who reported that many of the trees were not as old as had been expected, but that the 8 objectives of the initiative had been achieved. He identified 2 ancient specimens, one the Kingsley Oak of 1488 which was located by the Church and Gastor Oak of 1661. The aim of the study was to achieve a better understanding of timber used in the construction of buildings around Yateley and would enable Tree Preservation Order criteria to be applied to appropriate specimen trees. Mr. Tipton was thanked for his work on the project.

50 THE SITUATION IN RESPECT OF TRAVELLERS

The Committee received an oral report by Mr. Ian Parker, Head of Estates Practice and Mr. George Summers, Hampshire Gypsy Liaison Officer on the situation in respect of travellers. The current legal requirements and considerations relating to gypsies/travellers were detailed. The presentation was given in response to the continuing problems which were being experienced at Yateley by gypsies and travellers resorting illegally to the Common. A widely experienced problem impeding a solution in many areas of the county, including possibly Yateley, was that local people continued to employ casual labour offered "door to door" by gypsies and travellers, resulting in problems of waste disposal of material cleared from properties. It was then difficult to obtain evidence for prosecutions when local residents were consequently unwilling to provide it. Mr. Peter Tipton spoke about the severe penalties available for the protection of SSSI's and Special Protection Sites including the possibility of £20,000 fines and custodial sentences.

Local Authorities already have to consider other factors when seeking the removal of gypsies and travellers expeditiously due to the necessity for them to conduct needs assessments of the gypsies and travellers and other legal requirements. In order for the Police to use enhances powers under the Anti Social Behaviour Act to regain possession, local authorities would also be asked for alternative accommodation. This may include the provision of temporary stopping places. Local authorities in Hampshire, working together in the Local Authorities Gypsy and Traveller Panel, are investigate alternative provision in the County to provide temporary stopping places. However, this work is at a formative stage and will require the support of each individual District, City or County authority and also require planning consent when the usual consultation will be available.

It was pointed out that the Courts were not a cost effective way of dealing with these problems, and 90% were resolved by negotiation before commencement of legal processes.

Legal advice would be sought to explore whether the remedies outlined by Mr. Tipton could be applied to the removal of travellers and gypsies on the Common in the SSSI and special protection sites.

Mr. Parker and Mr. Summers were thanked for their very comprehensive presentation.

51 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

Tuesday, 29 June, 2004 at 7.00 p.m. in The Rose Rent Room of The Tythings, Reading Road, Yateley.

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