Minutes of the Caithness Local Access Forum held in the Ross Institute, Halkirk on Monday 20 March, 2006
Present:
Mr Ken Butler (Chairman)
Mr William Bruce (Vice Chairman)
Mr. William Beattie
Mr. Peter Blackwood
Mr. Robert Coghill
Mr. David Hall
Mr. Chris Hobson
Councillor John Green
Mrs. Elena Koponen-Baikie
Mr. David Shaw, S.N.H
Councillor Graeme M. Smith
Mr. George Walker
In Attendance:
Mr Geoff Robson, Head of Environment, The Highland Council
Mr David Barclay, Access Officer, The Highland Council
Mrs Fiona Sinclair, Area Solicitor/Administrator, The Highland Council (Clerk)
1. Apologies For Absence
Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Steven Fraser.
The Chairman welcomed Members to the first meeting of the Forum to take place in Halkirk. He explained that Gail Baker had resigned from the Forum since its last meeting. Mr. Robson advised that it will be necessary to advertise for a new access taker/user member and reminded the Forum that the new member may not be another equestrian user.
2. Chairman’s Remarks
The Chairman enquired whether Members were happy with the pace at which the Forum is addressing matters. The Forum Members expressed satisfaction with the current arrangements and advised that they were all learning about their new role as access forum members, and agreed that matters will become more lively when the proposals for core paths are looked at in detail.
3. Minutes Of Meeting Held On 16th January, 2006
The Minutes of the Meeting held on 16th January, 2006, had been circulated with the Agenda, were held as read and were agreed subject to two typing errors. Copies of the corrected Minutes are appended hereto.
4. Presentation
Mr. Barclay explained to the meeting that he had invited the Highland Disabled Ramblers to deliver a presentation but they had been unable to do so as they do not cover the Caithness area at present. He said that Raymond Smart from Highland Visually Impaired Services will deliver a presentation with a more practical base at a future meeting.
Mr. Barclay agreed to tell the meeting about the progress of the plans for consultation on the Caithness Core Path Plan. Mr. Barclay circulated a hand-out with a list of eleven proposed venues for seventeen participatory workshop meetings throughout Caithness. He explained that it is proposed that the meetings will provide an opportunity for the public to meet Access Staff to discuss the process of core path planning at a local level. He invited the Members of the Forum to consider the proposed venues and to agree, individually, to approach relevant community bodies with a view to finding out where the participatory workshop meetings should take place. Mr. Barclay asked the Forum Members to respond to him within the next two weeks and he invited the Forum Members to attend the workshop meetings. The Forum Members agreed to make enquiries in the different areas as follows:-
Castletown – George Walker will speak to Community Council.
Dunbeath – Councillor Smith will speak to the Initiative At The Edge Co-ordinator, Eric Larnach
Dunnet – Chris Hobson
Halkirk – Peter Blackwood
John o’ Groats – Councillor Green
Keiss – Councillor Green
Lybster – Councillor Smith will speak to the Initiative At The Edge Co-ordinator, Eric Larnach
Watten – Councillor Smith
Robert Coghill pointed out that there is a strong Community Council in Bower and Mr. Barclay said that he would perhaps attend a Community Council Meeting there, rather than holding another participatory workshop.
Mr. Barclay explained that the workshop meetings will be concentrated in the month of May and that they will be advertised at the Council Service Points in the libraries, in the schools, in the village halls and in various other venues, including the Tourist Information Centre, swimming pools and supermarkets. In all there would be advertisements in approximately 100 locations.
The Chairman suggested that the Caithness Waybaggers, the Caithness Outdoor Activities Group, The Field Club, The Angling Club, the Dunbeath Heritage Centre and the Sports Council all be targeted separately. It was agreed that the notice boards of major employers within the Council area would also be targeted and that there would be articles on the Highland Council website and the Caithness.org website. There would be an article in the local paper with the dates and times of the workshop meetings, as well as a public notice formally advertising these.
Mr. Barclay explained that the amalgamated letter and questionnaire which had been circulated to the Forum Members in draft form would be finalised and inserted into the local paper in the same week as the news article giving the dates, locations and times of the meetings.
The Forum expressed satisfaction with the advertising campaign and agreed to provide Mr. Barclay with the necessary feedback within the next two weeks.
In conclusion, the Chairman drew the Members attention to an article in a recent edition of the “Caithness Courier” where “Ralph” had expressed the view that the railway track from the old Weydale quarries to Thurso would make a wonderful path.
5. Pan Highland Access Forum Meeting – 7th April, Inverness
Geoff Robson explained that approximately sixty people are attending the Pan Highland Access Forum Meeting and outlined the programme.
6. Draft Access Strategy
Mr. Robson reported that The Highland Council Planning, Development, Europe and Tourism Committee will consider a report on the draft access strategy in May. The report will take into account the thirty eight responses which have been received and will propose some fairly fundamental changes to the document. He said that the response to the consultation exercise had been disappointing and that he envisaged that there will be a more extensive response to the core path planning consultation.
7. Progress With Tasks
1. Identify Stakeholders
The Forum noted that, while no list of stakeholders had been prepared, the Access Forum stakeholders could be regarded as the consultees on the draft access strategy and the consultees on the core path plan.
2. Public Relations Strategy
Mr. Robson explained that he is pulling together a public relations strategy for the Highland Forum’s code of conduct. Fiona Sinclair reported that she had been told by the Council’s Head of Committee Service that the code of conduct which is likely to be a simple document will be considered at the meeting of the Pan Highland Forum in a future programme which is Item 9 on the Agenda. David Barclay reported that, at the last meeting, it had been agreed that the meeting in June would be preceded by a visit to various paths in Wick. The Forum agreed that Raymond Smart be invited to the outside meeting. The Forum further agreed that a speaker from the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department be invited to attend the August meeting of the Forum and asked David Barclay to progress this. The Forum noted that a limited number of free access signs are available on the Scottish Outdoor Access website. The Forum agreed that a set of the templates would be available for discussion at the next meeting of the Forum in June.
8. Any Other Business
Wick Paths - David Barclay reported that, due to erosion, the Wick clifftop path leading to the North Head has been closed between Scalesburn and Lindsay Drive. He said that the Caithness Project Officer and the Area Manager are working together with him to open the path as there is no alternative route for the section which has been closed.