New Forest National Park Authority Meeting NFNPA 481 /15 16 July 2015 Chief Executive’s Report NFNPA 481/15 NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY AUTHORITY MEETING – 16 July 2015 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REPORT Report by: Alison Barnes, Chief Executive Summary: This report covers the period since the Authority meeting on 26 March 2015. The report has been formatted to accord with the ‘Protect, Enjoy, Prosper and Aiming for Excellence’ themes from the 2011-15 Business Plan, summarised below: Protect Enjoy Prosper Our priorities: Our priorities: Our priorities: . Enhancing the Forest’s . Enabling high quality . Supporting a distinctive landscapes and experiences of the local economy habitats National Park . Improving affordable . Achieving excellence in . Improving understanding housing provision development and of the special qualities of planning the National Park . Promoting sustainable transport . Conserving strong local . Agreeing positive distinctiveness and the recreation management . Encouraging character of the historic sustainable living environment . Leading on education about the New Forest . Encouraging environmentally sustainable land management Aiming for Excellence In all we do: . seeking to provide the highest quality of service . working closely with others in championing the Forest . achieving an efficient and high performing organisation Recommendation: To note the report Contact: Alison Barnes Tel: 01590 646633, Email: [email protected] Equality & Diversity Implications: There are no equality or diversity implications arising directly from this report. New Forest National Park Authority Meeting NFNPA 481/15 16 July 2015 Chief Executive’s Report NFNPA 481/15 NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY AUTHORITY MEETING – 16 July 2015 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REPORT Report by: Alison Barnes, Chief Executive INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW The New Forest Land Advice Service, which recently saw its fifth anniversary, has helped over 200 commoners submit their applications for the new Basic Payment Scheme. Often working late into the night, the surgeries helped people through the complicated online system. Due to the unusual method of rearing and managing livestock in the New Forest, the new criteria pose some rare challenges. Many commoners own or rent small parcels of land, below the minimum amount needed to claim payments, as they mainly use the common land of the New Forest to graze their stock. Some also don’t have access to broadband or computers to complete the application process, so the Service’s assistance has been invaluable in supporting commoners to get onto the new scheme. The formal consultation for the Management Plan, the final stage of a wide number of discussions across the Forest received around 30 comments, many of which were supportive of this strategy document which guides the work of many organisations across the National Park. Our focus now turns to updating our planning policies in light of many changes in Government policy and in the planning system, with the consultation process starting off at the New Forest Show on the 20 key issues we have identified. Our education officers held a successful conference for primary school teachers from nine local schools, sharing ideas on learning outside the classroom and how wild play can help children understand their natural surroundings. Secondary age pupils from local schools are attending their own ‘Our Forest, Our Future’ conference on 10 July, which we are hosting, supported by the New Forest Association. Since the beginning of April more than 450 people have taken part in our guided cycle sessions using adapted bikes suitable for people with a range of disabilities. Now known as PEDALL, the project is developing its own not-for-profit organisation and trustees are currently being sought to drive this further in the future. The current year of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund work has focussed on supporting bus services through visitor spend. Working with bus operators, the summer season has seen the launch of three new services (Forest bus, Forest bus baby and a service from Southampton to Paultons Park) plus the existing three New Forest Tour services and the Beach Bus. These services give both residents and visitors a wide range of options to travel car-free, helping reduce congestion and emissions while supporting the local economy and bus services. 2 New Forest National Park Authority Meeting NFNPA 481/15 16 July 2015 Chief Executive’s Report DELIVERY OF NATIONAL PARK PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS The report has been formatted to accord with the ‘Protect, Enjoy, Prosper’ objectives from the Business Plan, a summary of which is set out on the first page. In addition, a fourth section, ‘Aiming for Excellence’, summarises those activities that support and contribute overall to all our work, and the final section lists Members’ activities and events. 1 Protect 1.1 Enhancing the Forest’s landscapes and habitats New Forest Landscape Partnership, Our Past, Our Future The Our Past, Our Future Landscape Partnership Scheme round two application was submitted to Heritage Lottery Fund on 22 May 2015. The Scheme involves the following partners: New Forest National Park Authority, Forestry Commission, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Natural England, National Trust, New Forest Centre, Land Advice Service, Commoners Defence Association, Freshwater Habitats Trust, Hampshire County Council and Beaulieu Estate. It includes 22 projects with an overall budget of £4,371,781 which will attract an HLF grant of £2,828,000. A decision will be made at an HLF committee meeting on 22 September 2015. If successful, work on the projects will commence shortly afterwards. Undergrounding of high voltage pylons at Hale Purlieu National Grid and their consultants have been working on a technical feasibility report over the last three months and have called a meeting to discuss the final report on 6 August in Lyndhurst. The invitees are representatives of Natural England, National Trust, the Verderers, Forestry Commission and ourselves. The decision whether to take the Hale Purlieu section of transmission line to the next stage of shortlisting will be taken by National Grid’s Stakeholders Advisory Group in September, based on the technical feasibility report prepared by National Grid. Tranquillity Mapping The final tranquillity map has been agreed with the steering group and is now available on our website. Our GIS system support team is preparing the digital data so that the mapping can be placed on our GIS system as a layer for use by our officers. It is anticipated that the Development Control and Recreation Management and Learning teams will find the mapping particularly useful as well as Planning Policy and other teams. The GIS system support team will be liaising with the Forestry Commission, New Forest Association and New Forest District Council to share the digital data. Electronic documents of the mapping have already been distributed to our partner organisations. Community Wildlife Plans Project The volunteer group is busy working on the River Blackwater to continue to remove Himalayan Balsam after the project began last summer. Two corporate groups have also been involved. Stream sampling training has been completed with the group so that they can collect data about the quality of the water and biodiversity in the river. 3 New Forest National Park Authority Meeting NFNPA 481/15 16 July 2015 Chief Executive’s Report We are continuing to work with Lymington and Pennington Town Council at Priestlands Pond to enhance the habitats in and around the wetland. A Bioblitz event at Woodside Park in Lymington attracted approximately 20 people who recorded 130 species on the day. New Forest Land Advice Service The team have been extremely busy assisting commoners with their Basic Payment Scheme applications which are complicated in the case of the New Forest commoners. By the deadline for application submission Tracé Williams and Rhys Morgan, and to a lesser extent Julie Melin-Stubbs, had advised 209 commoners. Growing the Forest and Ecology Work commenced by Defra consultants on the valuation of ecosystem services (the benefits nature provides for society) across the Park. Staff have supported the research and are providing feedback on initial findings. This is part of a national pilot assessing a number of protected areas. We have continued to facilitate the New Forest Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Strategy; a partnership project to assess the status and distribution of smooth snakes (the Forest’s rarest and most important reptile) has been progressing since the award from the Sustainable Communities Fund. Training events for volunteers in partnership with the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust were held during the period and work has commenced to establish the surveys on the ground. The topic of reptiles was covered during a staff Discovery Day to assist understanding of this type of work. We continue to be a key partner and co-host of the local catchment partnership. This is facilitating work to achieve good ecological status for the rivers and streams in the New Forest catchment. During the period we hosted a meeting with regional Environment Agency Manager Mike O’Neil which provided useful and positive feedback. Our support for the catchment partnership has resulted in over £22,000 being awarded to the catchment for this year from the Agency. The Partnership has also developed a project ‘Living Waters’ to the Our Past, Our Future Heritage Lottery Fund bid.