Chief Officer’s Report

th Presented to the Executive Committee – 15 September

High Speed 2 Railway

HS2 has remained a high profile issue. There have been many public meetings (Gt. Missenden, Longwick, Wendover, , Lacey Green, , Princes Risborough, Speen, Hughenden Valley and Fairford Leys near Aylesbury).

A summary leaflet explaining the general concerns about HS2Ltd has been sent to all MPs. Several have responded with a small number expressing opposition or scepticism. The same leaflet is now being sent to all members of the House of Lords. The chairman has written to several relevant Secretaries of State (Caroline Spelman, Danny Alexander, Chris Huhne and Vince Cable). To date none has replied. In June a letter was received from Phillip Hammond, the Secretary of State for Transport. He said he planned to visit the area in the autumn and would meet us during his visit. There has been no further correspondence from him and the date of the visit is not yet known.

A meeting was held with local MPs Cheryl Gillan and David Lidington in July. They gave a great deal of advice on how our case can been promoted, especially valuable in view of the difficulties they have in representing our interests as members of the Government.

The Govt. has announced the terms for its Exceptional Hardship Scheme. They are better than the draft proposal (Farms and rural businesses now qualify) but generally have not been well received as being too restrictive and unclear on eligiblity.

The HS2 Ltd had their terms of reference amended by Phillip Hammond, the new Secretary of State for Transport, to include a review of creating links to both Heathrow and HS1. Lord Mawhinney has presented his report which suggested there was a case for linking to Heathrow but this could be achieved by going via Old Oak Common and using the planned extension to Crossrail. He didn’t believe a dedicated link should be created until the high speed route was extended beyond Birmingham.

It has emerged, via a Freedom of Information Act request by a local group, that DfT intend to allocate £1.2 billion in the next 4 years to developing the proposal for HS2. Natural , which has not felt able to make any public statement on the railway, had planned to commission consultants to analyse the environmental impacts. However, it is understood that they will not now do so as the necessary approval was not given by DEFRA which is now vetting some of their spending commitments.

The Board has commissioned Reading University to prepare computer generated maps of the visibility of the preferred route - a so called “viewshed”. This work has still to be completed but will give a very useful indication of how visible the route will be within a 5 kilometre wide corridor.

The Board is also undertaking a full survey of landscape features which will be directly affected by the construction works. As part of the Chilterns Ancient Woodland Survey, the Chiltern Woodlands Project has been commissioned to survey all ancient woodlands on or near the preferred route.

The Chief Officer chairs a co-ordinating group of all local organisations including local authorities. This group is helping to ensure that the network is effective, to avoid duplication and forge working relationships. The group is now meeting on a monthly basis.

The Chief Officer attended a meeting with HS2 Ltd arranged by The Amersham Society. The Chief Executive explained that, at present, they had only been instructed to continue working on Route 3. (Chalfonts to Wendover). They are proceeding with plans to undertake initial public consultation in the New Year. It is likely there will be further consultation as the detail of the route is prepared. It is unlikely that either DfT or HS2Ltd will publish an environmental impact assessment. They will only do so when the final route is selected. This will mean that the public will have to submit comments without full knowledge of the environmental impact.

As previously reported members need to be aware that the scale of effort currently committed to HS2 is having an adverse impact on other areas of work. This has declined slightly over the past couple of months but is likely to increase again in the autumn if the original plan to hold a public consultation goes ahead early in the New Year.

Aircraft Noise

The Chief Officer and Planning Officer attended a meeting with the CAA on behalf of the National Association of AONBs. The working group is addressing the problem of conserving tranquillity. The initial meeting was very positive as it appears that the CAA is now taking this issue very seriously. A follow up meeting has been called by the CAA for late October.

Informal indications that NATS may re-consult on its plan for the air=space over the Chilterns have not proved reliable. At the time of writing there is no indication when the public consultation may re-start.

DEFRA Review of membership of National Park Authorities and AONB Conservation Boards

As some members may have heard directly from DEFRA, the department is reviewing the basis of membership of National Park Authorities. It was decided to add Conservation Boards to this process and, pending the outcome, it has been decided to only extend terms which end in December 2010 by 15 months to April 2012. This will affect the normal process for filling the vacancy created by Sir John’s retirement in December 2010.

Luton BC has replaced Cllr Don Worlding with Cllr Sheila Roden as its appointed Board member.

Web Site

In July 2010 there were nearly 18,000 visits representing an annual increase of 27% on the previous April – not all the increase was due to the popularity of pages on HS2. Over 3,400 leaflets and documents were downloaded, mostly to do with local walks and attractions.

Ancient Woodland Survey

The Board, in partnership with Natural England, Forestry Commission and several local authorities will be managing the survey to identify all the ancient woodlands of the Chilterns (i.e. those which have been in existence continuously since 1600). The survey will cost £63,000 and last until the end of 2011. The field survey work itself is being undertaken by the Chiltern Woodlands Project. The survey will accurately identify all ancient woodland which receives considerable protection from national and local policies. The problem has been that, to date, the maps have not been accurate.

The survey will include a full coverage of the HS2 corridor to which Chiltern DC has contributed funds.

Chiltern Cycleway

th The cycleway was launched on 18 June at Ashridge by Forumla1 racing driver Mark Webber (also a local resident). The event, well covered by local media, was a great success with the Board, The Chiltern Society and CTC showing how effective this type of partnership can be. The involvement of expert volunteers and financial support of the LEADER programme were essential. The guide book for the cycleway was also published on the same day and is being sold at £8.99. To date over 300 have been sold. Future priorities are to promote route and build links with local businesses.

TIMBER Project

The Board has been invited to join this EU funded project which will investigate ways of promoting the wood fuel supply chain. Other local partners will be Bucks CC, Wycombe DC and NGage Solutions Ltd. EU partners will be from Stockholm, Cracow, Cadiz and a local authority in northern Netherlands. It is a short programme running from May 2010- Sept 2011. The local partnership will receive grant of approx 120,000 Euros (75%). The board will have to provide £9,000 as its share of match funding.

The project has begun and consultants have been commissioned to work with owners of the larger woods (those over 20 hectares) in the Chilterns to determine how the local market for wood fuel and the supply of wood chip from locally harvested timber can be enhanced.

Commons

The Board’s Stage 1 bid to the HLF was successful and a grant of £34,000 was awarded to help develop the stage 2 bid (approx £500,000). Rachel Sanderson was appointed as the Development Officer on a 9 month contract to Feb 2011 (Rachel was formerly the Chilterns Special Trees and Woods Project officer). Ecological specialists have been appointed to prepare assessments of what might be done to enhance the wildlife value of those commons which could be included in the final bid.

Natural England Grant aid

Following the election and immediate cuts in government expenditure, Natural England reduced its grant aid for this year by 5%. In June the Board approved the reversion to the original budget for the year based on 95% of that awarded in 2009-2010. Natural England has advised that they may cut its grant-aid by 30+% in the next three years, but have also advised that they are under some pressure to buffer the depth of cuts that the reduction to their own budget may otherwise require. The Comprehensive Spending Review (Oct 21st) will give a much clearer indication of the scale of cuts required, but it may be several weeks before the Board is told by NE what the specific cuts will be made.

NE has also indicated that, to accommodate their anticipated budget reduction, they are likely to disband their regional offices - the direct consequences for the Board are not yet known. It is likely they will also cut back on access and people related activities, concentrating on biodiversity and Environmental Stewardship grant schemes. According to the national press there is some speculation that even that may be scaled down despite being funded in large part by the EU.

Events

The summer and early autumn is always a busy time for major public events.

th th Herts County Show- 29 and 30 th May Spring Watch, Aston Rowantth – 5 June (joint event with Natural England) Archaeology Fun Day – 18 th July Sounds Like Summerst – 24 July (joint event with Natural England) Thame Show – 31 th July Bucks Show – 26 th August Henley Show – 11 Sept th Chilterns Countryside Festival -26 Sept (joint event with the National Trust)

Assessing Landscapes for Designation as National Parks of AONBS

Natural England has consulted the Board on its proposed guidance for assessing landscapes for designation as AONBs (or National Parks). The guidance will be issued, presumably in the New Year. NE has long indicated that it will take a fresh look at this issue, which would influence the review of any boundary. There has been a moratorium in place since 1990.

“When we are considering designating new AONBs or National Parks, or changing the boundaries of existing designated areas, we are required, by statute, to consult with all affected County, District and Unitary Authorities and Parish Councils. This means that, potentially, any local authority or Parish Council in England could be invited to provide comments on a new designation proposal, or a boundary variation proposal.

Natural England has prepared draft guidance that sets out how we will assess whether land is suitable for AONB or National Park designation. ! http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/NEBBR1801Annex%201_tcm6-15133.pdf

Shaping the Nature of England

DEFRA has issued a discussion document on how, as a nation, thwe want to shape the future of the natural Environment. th The deadline for responses is 30 October- a paper will be presented to the Board on 20 October with a draft response. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/documents/newp-discussion-260710.pdf

Richard Benyon MP, Environment Minister

The chairman wrote to Richard Benyon MP, the new environment minister responsible for AONBs, inviting him to visit the Chilterns. He has accepted the invitation and possible dates will be suggested by his office shortly.

Saunderton – Amersham Cable

Wycombe DC has granted planning permission for the construction of a data storage facility on the site formerly occupied by Molins Ltd. at Saunderton in the Bradenham Valley. This business will require a very large amount of electricity - equivalent to tens of thousands of houses. The provision of electricity was an issue identified at the time the planning application was approved. However no specific details of the supply was considered at that stage.

More recently Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE Ltd) has begun notifying the local authorities of its intention to use permitted development rights to install, underground, a high voltage cable along a 14 kilometre route between the Mop End Transmission station near Amersham and Saunderton. The work will involve digging a trench 1.4 metres deep and require the soil and vegetation to be removed from an 8 metre wide strip. A further strip of 8 metres will be required for vehicle access. The project would take approximately 18 months

SSE Ltd has not consulted the Board but very recently its ecological consultants have. The Board has written notifying SSE Ltd of its duties under the CROW Act 2000 which applies to utilities. They are required to give regard to the special qualities of the AONB when undertaking their activities. The Board has sought an explanation from SSE Ltd on how it has discharged this duty including an assessment of less damaging options and routes.

As the route would also require 45 ancient hedgerows to be damaged the permission of the local planning authority will be required. It will also affect at least 10 roads and 20 public rights of way.

Board Offices

The renovation of the outbuilding has been completed and provides much needed high quality storage. Mathews of generously donated over 2,000 bricks worth £1,200.

Board Tour Dates

Eight board members took part in the summer walk inth July along the Gade Valley - still flowing well. The Board member’s autumn tour is on 24 September.

Steve Rodrick 6.9.2010