Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for 2019/20 (the Terms of Reference state that the appointment should be made from the Mid Devon District Council representation for 2019/20).

RESOLVED that Cllr R F Radford be elected Chairman of the Committee for the municipal year 2019/20.

(Proposed by Cllr Mrs C A Collis and seconded by Cllr A Pilgrim)

To elect a Vice Chairman for 2019/20 (the Terms of Reference state that this appointment should come from the Devon County Council representation for 2019/20).

RESOLVED that Cllr C Slade be elected Vice Chairman of the Committee for the municipal year 2019/20.

(Proposed by Cllr Mrs C Daw and seconded by Cllr Mrs C A Collis)

To receive any apologies for absence.

The following members of the Committee had sent their apologies for the meeting:

·         Cllr George Birch – Halberton Parish Council

·         Cllr David Cutts – Sampford Peverell Parish Council

·         Cllr Mrs S Griggs – Mid Devon District Council

·         Mr Graham Moore – Canal Business Group

·         Cllr Janet Rendle – Tiverton Town Council

·         Cllr Lewis Worrow – Burlescombe Parish Council

To receive any questions relating to items on the Agenda from the public and replies thereto.

Mr Eric Priest stated that he was attending as a member of the public on behalf of the Tiverton and District Angling Club. He hoped that there would be a full discussion, at the appropriate point in the meeting, on the weed situation in the canal and how this was affecting anglers.

Mr Rodney Clarke had sent in a number of questions in relation to the badger set in Wilcombe. It was AGREED that it would be more appropriate to read out his questions when the progress report was discussed later on in the meeting as to do so at this point might mean that committee members would have forgotten the questions by the time the badger conversation took place later in the meeting.

Members to consider whether to approve the minutes as a correct record of the meeting held on 5 March 2019.

The minutes from the meeting held on 5 March 2019, having been previously circulated, were approved as a correct record and SIGNED by the Chairman.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

The following matters were raised regarding the minutes of the previous meeting:

There did not appear to be anything on the agenda to do with an update on the quarry situation. The Public Rights of Way and Country Parks Manager explained that DCC were still waiting for the quarry to put together a scheme for dewatering, they had a couple of months in which to complete this task. Mr Adam Pilgrim further updated the committee by stating that he had recently spoken to Mr Clive Tompkins and that a much more workable water extraction flow level was being negotiated which would mean that water transfer would be more feasible.

To receive any announcements that the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman had the following announcements to make:

·         There had been a number of changes to the membership of the committee since the previous meeting and as a result of the District, Town and Parish elections in May 2019. These were summarised as follows:

To hear from Mrs Jane Pilgrim about the recent sad passing of Miss Jean Hall and to acknowledge the contribution she made to the Grand Western Canal Joint Advisory Committee.

Mrs Jane Pilgrim reported that since the last meeting Miss Jean Hall, who had represented the Inland Waterways Association for many years on the Committee, had sadly passed away. She had been a very long standing member of the JAC and her contribution had been much appreciated over many years. She had written several booklets on inland waterways and it was hoped her work could be carried on into the future.

The Committee held a minute’s silence in her memory.

To consider the Terms of Reference and membership of the Committee (please find attached).

Members considered the Terms of Understanding * and Membership of the Committee.

RESOLVED that the Terms of Understanding and the Membership of the Committee be agreed.

(Proposed by Mr A Pilgrim and seconded by Mrs C A Collis)

Note: * Terms of Understanding previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.

To receive a presentation from the architects and developers regarding proposals for the restoration and development of Tidcombe Hall.

The Committee received a presentation from a group of representatives in connection with the proposed restoration and development of Tidcombe Hall, Tiverton.

These representatives included the following:

·         Sam Davenport AWP

·         Dominic Clifton, Clifton Emery

·         Rob Ward, AWP

·         Niki Lathwell, Seaxburh Partners

The presentation included the following key factors:

·         Aerial photographs showing where the site was in relation to the canal, the town centre and the Eastern Urban Extension. Photographs were also shown of the south and rear elevation of Tidcombe Hall in its current state of disrepair.

·         The proposed layout of the development was shown illustrating a high quality mix of house styles and sizes together with parkland, play areas, wildflower meadows, circular walks and proposed additional parking for the wider community.

·         There had been a discussion with the Head of Tidcombe Primary School in the hope that the developers could work collaboratively with them to provide educational facilities to the school in relation to the natural environment and the canal.

·         It was explained that two large attenuation ponds would deal with surface water run off and act as silt traps. A sustainable drainage system would feed into the existing culvert which carries water run-off these fields under the canal.The area proposed for development was in flood risk zone one, meaning a 1:100 year likelihood of happening.

·         A number of improvements were proposed to improve pedestrian access along Tidcombe Lane

·         All the necessary ecology, arboricultural and historic surveys had been carried out.

·         Traffic surveys had been undertaken to assess the current speed and volume of traffic along Tidcombe Lane. A number of improvement works would be undertaken especially in relation to the approach to and exit off the Tidcombe Bridge, although it was confirmed there were no proposed changes to the bridge itself.

·         A series of landing areas with dropped curbs were proposed as well as curtesy crossing points. It was explained that the school Head was passionate about encouraging children and their families to walk and cycle more and drive less.

·         In terms of the next steps it was explained that there would be a final pre-application meeting with the planning authority next month after which a date would be set for a full public consultation, with all local residents being written to. Following this a planning application would be submitted for determination.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         A proposed jetty / slip way alongside the canal to the north which would allow people the opportunity to access the water, children to take part in pond dipping and potential mooring areas. It was envisaged that such a proposal would enhance the visitor experience and encourage people to stay longer in the local area.

·         The question was asked as to who would be responsible for the long term maintenance of the ponds, for example in 20 or 30 years time? The reply was given that the flood risk assessment (as part of the planning application) would set out the minimul requirements incumbent upon the developer. The advantage of the large pond  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To receive a report from the Public Rights of Way and Country Parks Manager (DCC) informing Members of the work that has taken place since the last meeting.

Consideration was given to a report * of the Public Rights of Way and Country Parks Manager.

Arising thereon:

Horse-drawn barge zone signs

It was acknowledged that the increasing problems relating to operating the barge were due in large part to increased numbers of people using and enjoying the canal! Some cyclists continued to present a safety hazard to the barge, however, signage informing visitors they were entering a ‘Horse-drawn Barge Operating Zone’ were working well. The Canal Manager and Devon County Council were thanked for the work they had undertaken to significantly improve safety.

Cyclist signs at bridges

The Canal Manager explained that a series of new signs had been erected which were twice the size of the previous ones, were photo based and in a variety of styles designed to keep them interesting, bright, colourful and impactful to the visitor. At the five bridges in the horse-drawn barge operating zone and at the two bridges either side of Sampford Peverell, the signs instruct cyclists to dismount and walk under the bridge.The working group felt it was unrealistic to expect cyclists to dismount at every bridge and so at the other bridges the nmessage is to take more care, give way and not cause accidents.

36 posts had been dug into the ground over the course of the summer in what was very compacted, stony ground. The posts were tanalised and would last approximately 15 years. The signs themselves were printed with UV resistant paint and should last for some considerable time and could be easily replaced if vandalised.

The Canal Manager thanked Cllr Radford and Cllr Slade for contributing to the cost of this exercise through their locality budgets.

It was reported that the style of the new signage was being admired by canal enthusiasts elsewhere in the country as a result of photographs on social media!

Ebear landing stage

Again, Cllr Radford was thanked for providing funding for the timber used in the new landing stage.

Badgers in Wilcombe Enbankment

The Canal Manager informed the committee that an artificial badger set had been built on land owned by Wilcombe Primary School in their wildlife and environment area with the permission of the Head of the school. During the summer the ecological contractor who built the artificial set had been monitoring badger activity and had applied to Natural England to exclude the badgers from the embankment. A licence to undertake this work was received in mid-September and work to clear vegetation from the embankment has been undertaken. In the coming weeks one way doors will be fitted to all existing sett holes forcing the badgers to use the artificial sett or to disperse elsewhere. Once the one way doors have been in place for 21 days, if there was no evidence of the badgers getting back in, the original existing sett could be destroyed. An expanding foam product would be used to plug the sett tunnels preventing any subsidence in the embankment if they were to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To consider any other relevant business.

No issues were raised under this item.

To identify any issues for discussion at the next meeting.

The following was requested to be on the agenda for the next meeting in addition to the usual progress report:

·         Canal Management Plan

·         An update on the quarry as well as a timeline of events

To agree the date of the next meeting as Tuesday 3^rd March 2020 at 7.00pm in the Exe Room, Phoenix House.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as being Tuesday 3^rd March 2020 at 7.00pm in the Exe Room, Phoenix House.