MINUTES of the Meeting of the Exmoor Consultative and Parish Forum Held on Thursday, 23 November 2017 at 10.30Am at Winsford Village Hall
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EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY EXMOOR CONSULTATIVE AND PARISH FORUM MINUTES of the meeting of the Exmoor Consultative and Parish Forum held on Thursday, 23 November 2017 at 10.30am at Winsford Village Hall. PRESENT Steven Pugsley Exmoor National Park Authority and Chairman of the Forum John Addicott Beagles John Anson Cutcombe Parish Council Keith Branfield Withypool & Hawkridge Parish Council Dr Teresa Bridgeman Old Cleeve Parish Council Kevin Connell Winsford Parish Council Ian Cowling Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust Andrea Davis Exmoor National Park Authority and Devon County Council Martin Dewdney Exmoor National Park Authority and West Somerset Council Richard Edgell Exmoor National Park Authority and Devon County Council Roger Ferrar Invitee Roger Foxwell Cutcombe resident Roger Hall Porlock Parish Council Bruce Heywood Exmoor National Park Authority and West Somerset Council Ivor Jones Exmoor National Park Authority and West Somerset Council Eric Ley Exmoor National Park Authority and North Devon Council Malcolm McCoy Porlock Parish Council Sir Richard Peek Exmoor National Park Authority and North Molton Parish Council Martin Ryall Exmoor National Park Authority Richard Scott CPRE Devon Rachel Thomas Exmoor Society Nick Thwaites West Somerset Council & Dulverton Town Council Vivian White Exmoor National Park Authority and Cutcombe Parish Council James Wilmoth Wootton Courtney Parish Council 1. Apologies for absence were received from: Liz Bulled North Molton Parish Council Sarah Cookson Brushford Parish Council Marilyn Crothers Nettlecombe Parish Council Simon Derby Invitee Mike Ellicott Exmoor National Park Authority and Exford Parish Council Molly Groves Exmoor Uprising Michael Hankin Exmoor Natural History Society Nigel Hester National Trust Suzette Hibbert Lynton & Lynmouth Town Council Nick Holliday Exmoor National Park Authority Graham Lamacraft Dunster Parish Council Baroness Mallalieu Invitee Karen Mills West Somerset District Council Frances Nicholson Exmoor National Park Authority and Somerset County Council Fred Rawle Exton Parish Council Alastair Rodway Lynton & Lynmouth Town Council Evelyn Stacey Exmoor National Park Authority Katherine Williams Exmoor Hill Farming Network Pat Williams Withypool and Hawkridge Parish Council 1 National Park Authority staff in attendance: Sarah Bryan, Chief Executive David Wyborn, Head of Planning & Sustainable Development Heather Harley, Conservation Officer (Farming & Land Management) Anne Walker, Moorland Mapping Assistant Thomas Thurlow, Historic Buildings Officer Philip Kiberd, Funding Officer 2. MINUTES: The minutes of the Forum meeting held on 14 September 2017 were agreed as a correct record. Matters Arising Leader 5 North Devon – Mr Cowling advised the meeting that Lynton & Barnstaple Railway have had an expression of interest accepted for the North Devon section of the line, which already has planning permission, to help with rebuilding the Railway Bridges which are estimated to cost £223,000. In response to a query as to what might happen if planning permission is not forthcoming for the National Park section of the line, Mr Cowling confirmed that the North Devon section would operate anyway. Planning Issues – David Wyborn advised he has briefly spoken with Mr Lock and is hoping to attend one of the Young Voices evening meetings in the near future, and has recommended Mr Lock speak with the Housing Department at West Somerset Council, as a number of the issues raised are for the Housing Authority. The Chairman advised that Young Voices are scheduled to make a presentation to West Somerset Council in January. 3. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR: Exmoor Hill Farm Network: Richard Edgell advised the meeting that the Exmoor Hill Farming Network had made a presentation to North Devon Council the previous evening, which was extremely well received and much appreciated. Roadside Vegetation: There was concern that maintenance of roadside vegetation is not occurring as quickly as it should and is causing vehicles to move across the central line to avoid hitting it. It was reiterated that foliage above a certain height is the landowners responsibility rather than the various Councils. Andrea Davis advised it is easy to report any issues in Devon via the link on the Devon County Council website. Sir Richard Peek advised that North Molton Parish Council has raised money through its own precept and have taken on virtually all of the safety or sightline hedge cutting in the Parish this year. 4. HISTORIC BUILDINGS OFFICER: Thomas Thurlow provided a presentation on the role he took up in August 2017. The role is being part funded for 3 years by Historic England, who are tasked with protecting the historical environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, ancient monuments and advising central and local government. The Authority has statutory duties to undertake certain work such as Building at Risk surveys and Conservation Area Appraisals every 5 years. 2 The main objectives of the role are to: Provide advice to planning officers and to owners regarding applications to listed buildings and non-designated heritage assets. This is a free service to encourage early consultation and to ensure works are carried out in a way that respects the past and the buildings affected. Look at under designation Conservation Areas across the Park. Light touch approach, conversations with parish councils. Assess the park as a whole for areas which meet the criteria “Area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.” Consider the designation of Listed Buildings. Exmoor is under designated, most buildings in the country built before 1840 are listed, Exmoor has numerous examples from before 1600 which are not listed. If these are still in a condition which merits listing then they should be put forward. Carry out Building at Risk (BAR) surveys to identify potential trends of decline or improvement in condition from the street. This can be used to guide future advice/information made available. The last assessment showed that the buildings are in general in a good condition but there is a growing risk from outside interests wanting to make their mark. Work with the owners to improve condition before they decline so much that enforcement is need as no one wants to go down that route. Promote Exmoor’s heritage assets for those visiting the park so they have a better sense of place. Forum discussion: o The key thing to emphasise is that the role is there as much to offer advice to property owners and Parish Council’s as to the Authority’s planning team. o It was suggested that Parishes provide Thomas with the details of any good local craftsmen they are aware of. o In response to a query from Mr Ley about replacement doors and windows, Thomas confirmed where there is an original door/window in place, the preference would always be to repair, if possible. If replacements are required, then in general terms they should try and match the original where possible, but each situation would be looked at on a case by case basis. o In relation to a query about whether Churches come within the role’s remit, Thomas confirmed that he consults with churches and it was noted that the interiors of churches are subject to Diocese controls, whereas parts of the exterior could additionally require planning permission. David Wyborn advised that Churches have signed up to a scheme called the Faculty Jurisdiction Measures, which means they do not need to apply for listed building consent, but need a faculty / grant from the Diocese which covers this regime but may still require planning permission. 5. MOORLAND MAPPING SURVEY The Chief Executive advised the Forum that despite numerous discussions regarding the decline in the condition and character of our moorlands, particularly the loss of heather, it was acknowledged there was a lack of evidence about exactly how bad that decline was. Anne Walker has spent the last 18 months looking at historic records / aerial photos to try to understand how vegetation has changed in some key moorland sites, to provide more 3 evidence to incorporate into the State of the Park Report and feed into work by the National Park and other interested bodies Two methodologies were used – QGIS and ERDAS - using Winsford Hill, Porlock Common & Allotments and Brendon Hill as examples 1st Methodology - QGIS – is a geographic information package which maps at 1:4000 scale and the mapping is based upon aerial photography from 1977 (forced infra-red) and 2015 (true colour) and maps the dominant vegetation (over 50%). The research had shown:- Winsford Hill - a total area of 908 ha was mapped 1977 heather cover was 333 ha 2015 heather cover was 186 ha This equates to a 41% heather loss Porlock Common & Allotment – a total area of 852 ha was mapped 1977 heather cover was 493 ha 2015 heather cover was 386 ha This equates to a 21% loss 2nd Methodology - ERDAS – this computer package analyses aerial photography on a pixel scale and is trained as to which colours to look for before the results are refined. It is very time consuming but produces a tremendous amount of detail. Brendon Common – a total area of 1824 ha was mapped 1977 heather cover was 1049 ha 2015 heather cover was 685 ha This equates to a 35% loss In summary, both methodologies confirm there is heather loss on Exmoor, with an increase in gorse, bracken, scrub and purple moor grass. The data will be incorporated into the State of the