Apologies were received from Elaine Mason, Robert Boyd and Wanda Hollingworth.

- to receive the minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2012.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2012 were accepted and agreed as an accurate report of the meeting.

·         Members requested investigations as to whether other LAFs have a standard framework when considering planning applications.

·         The Chairman advised that Hilary Winters would be willing to undertake a development session.  Members welcomed the offer and expressed a preference for Wednesday evenings with the session being an interactive visit possibly to Maidencombe or Brunel Woods.

·         Bob Harvey provided an update on the Ash tree die back situation and advised that there hadn’t been any reported incidents of Ash die back in wild areas of Devon.

Brixham Co-ordinator

Mick Lear

·         Currently no issues.

Torquay Co-ordinator

Margaret Forbes-Hamilton

·         Advised that a footpath at Torre Abbey Meadows had been widened in contradiction to the restoration plan for Torre Abbey.

Paignton Co-ordinator

Ian Doggett

·         Requested an update on the right of way that had been closed at Oldway Mansion.

James Nicholas advised that the Oldway Mansion path that had been closed was not a registered right of way.  James also advised of other rights of way applications that had been submitted such as Queensway Road through the Grammar School to Hawkins Avenue.

Outside of Torbay

Bob Harvey

·         Circulated literature from ‘Torbay’s Urban Forest’ conference which was held on 1 March 2013.

·         Bob was working with Plymouth Local Access Forum to see if they would be interested in a joint meeting with Steve Jenkinson from the Kennel Club.

The Forum considered three open areas of Council Land which had been proposed for disposal.  The areas of land were:

·         Land adjacent to 4 Plym Close, Torquay;

·         Land adjacent to 45 Stanley Garden, Paignton; and

·         Land off Alpine Road, disused playground, Torquay.

Members raised no objection to the disposal of the three areas of land as there were no explicit access issues and the steps and paths were being retained at the Alpine Road site.

Action: A letter to be drafted, to this affect, with the content being agreed and signed by the Chairman.

Members considered a planning application in respect of Land at Churston Golf Course.  Members raised objections to the application on the grounds of:

·         changes to access and possible interference with existing rights of way;

·         the development would impact upon the enjoyment of the access;

·         the affect the landscape quality and natural beauty of the area; and

·         the affect on land management, due to potential loss of agricultural land.

Action: Mick Lear to draft a response which will be circulated to all LAF members for comment and signed by the Chairman.

The Forum had no objection to the submitted application.

Members noted the information sharing sheet and agreed to receive the information on a monthly basis via email.

The Forum noted that Jane Yates had become the Forum’s Natural England local contact and requested their thanks be conveyed to Dot Isgrove.

Action: Secretary to invite Jane Yates to the next meeting of the Local Access Forum.

i)     Frequency and timing of meetings: members agreed the LAF would continue to meet on a quarterly basis, on Thursday’s at 6 p.m.

ii)    Coastal Paths: James Law of Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust advised that surveys of the coastal path were undertaken every three months.  The main issue was uneven footpaths between Wars Hill and the Palace Hotel.  James futher advised that the section of coastal path at Oddicombe would be diverted.

Thursday, 12 September 2013 from 6.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. at Paignton Library, Great Western Road, Paignton.

The Forum noted the date of the next meeting:

Thursday, 12 September 2013, 6.00 p.m. at Paignton Library.