Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. To appoint members to the Local Access Forum for Hampshire (excluding the New Forest), Portsmouth and Southampton for the period 2008-11.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

2.1 The County Council is required to establish a Local Access Forum by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, to advise on and promote improvements in access to the countryside. The national regulations require the Forum to be re-established every three years. This report proposes the membership for the next three year term of Hampshire Countryside Access Forum, as the Local Access Forum for Hampshire (excluding the New Forest), Portsmouth and Southampton.

2.2 In carrying out the recruitment and making recommendations for membership, officers followed the process adopted by the Council in 2002 and the subsequent national regulations and guidance.

2.3 The Appendix is confidential as it contains the personal details of named individuals.

2 Recommendations:

2.1 That the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage approve the proposed membership of Hampshire Countryside Access Forum as described in this report.

3 Context:

3.1 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (`CROW Act') requires local highway authorities to appoint a Local Access Forum. The duty of the Forum under the Act is to advise the Council, and any other body which has functions relating to access over land in the area, on the improvement of public access to this land for the purposes of open-air recreation and the enjoyment of the area. In preparing this advice, the Local Access Forum must have regard to the needs of land management and the desirability of conserving the natural beauty of the area, including the flora, fauna and geological and physiographical features of the area. The recipients of advice from the Local Access Forum are required to have regard to this advice in carrying out their functions.

3.2 Locally, the duty to establish a Forum affects Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council. Following wide consultation among stakeholders, support from Councillors in all three authorities and a decision by the Executive Member in 2002, one Forum was established to cover all three authorities, known as `Hampshire Countryside Access Forum'. This joint approach has been found to be effective, and was cited in national research on Local Access Forums: "Where new (often unitary) authorities have combined with old more established authorities, as in Lancashire and Hampshire LAFS, a productive and stable relationship has been created."

3.3 Sub-groups were established in the New Forest and South Downs to provide advice on the potential National Park areas. Now that the former is in place, the New Forest National Park Authority and Hampshire County Council jointly appoint to the New Forest Access Forum which covers the wider New Forest area, incorporating the National Park and the New Forest District. Therefore the Hampshire Forum no longer covers the New Forest.

4 Work to date:

4.1 Hampshire Countryside Access Forum complies with good practice and is acknowledged as the leading Forum in the South East, with officers frequently approached for advice and information. A Forum member represents the South East on the newly-formed national Forum, "England Access Forum".

4.2 The Forum has assisted officers in forming many policies which were then formally adopted by the County Council, has responded to numerous national and local consultations and has developed its own projects. A newsletter is appended, giving examples of recent work.

5 Recruitment:

5.1 Hampshire Countryside Access Forum was established in 2002 and re-recruited in 2005, as required by the national regulations. It currently comprises 19 members of the public (including 3 vacancies), Councillor Ray Ellis on behalf of Hampshire County Council (initially representing the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage, and now also as Executive Member for Rural Policy) and a Portsmouth City Council representative. Attendance at meetings is normally in excess of 75%.

5.2 In recruiting to the Forum for its third term of three years, officers followed the process adopted by the Council in 2002, which conforms to the national regulations and the County Council Constitution and has the support of current Forum members. Applications were invited through articles in the local press and direct contact with relevant groups and individuals. A small group of officers, comprising a representative of all three councils, examined the applications and made recommendations for membership as contained in this report.

5.3 The regulations and Act together require that:

· membership should be broadly balanced between different interests, principally those of land owners/managers and those of recreational users of the land; it is a non-political body. The requirement for balance is important to ensure that fair, workable and consistent advice is given on what can be sensitive issues.

· members must be representative of users of local rights of way and Access Land, and owners and occupiers whose land comes under either of these categories.

· the Council may also appoint persons appearing to them to be representative of other interests which are especially relevant to the area, for example rural employment, conservation, or transport.

· the forum should comprise 10-22 people, including representatives of the appointing authorities.

6 Proposed membership:

6.1 The names and brief descriptions of the proposed Forum members are given in Appendix 1; Councillors are welcome to view the full application forms prior to the meeting, since it is impractical to reproduce them in full here.

6.2 Re-appointment of existing members for further terms is permitted, and indeed was found to provide valuable continuity and consistency in the national research referred to previously. Therefore, officers are keen to retain active Forum members who have reapplied; indeed, these comprise the vast majority of the proposed members.

7.3 Individuals have been chosen for their ability to represent their own interest, knowledge of wider countryside issues, ability to build consensus, and ability to disseminate information to their interest groups. A pragmatic approach and knowledge of more than one area of interest are particularly important; experience both in Hampshire and nationally has shown that this breadth of understanding assists in finding a reasonable consensus. The categories set out in the Appendix are therefore only a guide, since most members have an understanding which reaches across these categories.

7 Conclusion

7.1 The County Council is required to determine membership of Hampshire Countryside Access Forum for the next three years. It is important that the Forum is able to provide balanced, workable advice to the County Council and other bodies.


7.2 Officers have followed established methodology in recruitment and are seeking the Executive Member's approval for a membership which would allow the strong and valued work of the Forum to continue.

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