Agenda item

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 collapse. There was still a good deal of work to do over the winter months to ensure the successful relocation of the badgers and maintain the integrity of the embankment.

 

At this point in the meeting, the clerk read out the questions received from Mr Rodney Clarke (a member of the public and living in the vicinity of the area in question). These questions had been circulated to committee member in advance of the meeting. Mr Clarke had been unable to attend the meeting in person. The questions were as follows:

(1)     Can you confirm to  Lazenby Road residents the badger proof fence will definitely be erected  in its entirety  as set out by Mr Baker above, or are we looking at another false dawn?

Assuming the answer to (1) is yes:-

(2)   Sources online i.e. the Badger Trust; mesh suppliers; erecters etc, say to be  most effective the  “ L “ shaped fence,  as described by Mr Baker should  be at least 1 metre high with the bent extended horizontal  leg  BURIED approximately 30cm deep into the ground.  Mr Baker seemed to suggest his fence would simply lie on rough ground, somewhat uselessly. Can you confirm it will be buried as recommended to maximise its protective value?

(3)   How will the field access gates be badger proofed?  There is one 10 metres from our homes. This and the nearby “junction” between the existing security fence and footpath hedge are badger  exit points onto our properties. When asked Mr Baker was a little vague “they (the school) don’t use it much anyway”.  A reply which I took too mean it hadn’t been considered much.I am sure you agree a protective fence with a 3 metre gap in the middle would be totally ineffective?

(4)  It is unlikely any fence can be totally effective.  When work is complete who now has responsibility for (a) maintaining the one proposed and (b) monitoring the sett activity? Your office; Mr Chown, CEO of the Academy which administers Wilcombe Primary School or the school head teacher? Please can you clarify this because breaches etc. are almost certain to occur. Where do we register our complaints?

(5)   Mr Baker intimated cameras may be positioned at the sett. We do not wish to be displayed at the visitors centre, the school or online.  Can you reassure residents all cameras will point AWAY from our homes to secure our privacy?

The Canal Manager provided the following answers to the questions posed:

 

In response to the first question he stated that it was still the intention to provide the badger proof fencing, but made it clear that DCC’s position was that they were under no obligation to provide this fencing and that it was being provided as a goodwill gesture, without prejudice.

 

He presented a map to the committee illustrating the site in question. He explained that a skirt would be sunk 30 centimetres down along the existing fence making it impossible for badgers to dig back out. He pointed on the map to where a new fence would be built, in front of the hedge and burying a skirt in front of that too. It was unfortunate that badgers had chosen this location but they were highly protected and options for dealing with them were severely limited by legislation.

 

In relation to the third question, the Canal Manager stated that he agreed a fence with a gap in the middle would be totally ineffective and that the badger proof mesh would run under the gate and the height of the gate be lowered so that there was no gap through which a badger could pass. All of the fencing work wold be undertaken by an agricultural fencing contractor with lots of experience of excluding badgers.

 

In regard to the final two questions it was stated that as the fence was being installed as a goodwill gesture without prejudice, there was no legal obligation upon Devon County Council or the school to maintain a fence in perpetuity. However, the Canal Ranger Service would certainly ensure it was working effectively during the first year. Any future decision about repairs and maintenance would be taken as and when necessary. It was confirmed that any cameras employed would be directed towards the badgers only and not on to the properties of local residents. It was hoped that any camera footage would be used to the educational benefit of the local school children.

 

Pay and display signs

 

New signs had been designed to be located beside the Canal Basin pay and display machines. They would highlight the facility for visitors to pay by phone.

 

Proposed dog waste and litter collection charges

 

The Canal Manager stated that the figure in the report relating to the contribution made by MDDC to the Canal maintenance budget needed to be amended from £40k to £45k. He explained that MDDC were proposing to levy an annual fee of £12k for the emptying of litter and dog waste bins. This would have a significant effect upon the Canal’s budget and could only be sustained by either reducing the number of bins, reducing the number of collections or increasing car parking charges.

 

Discussion followed with regard to:

 

·         A consensus view among committee members that MDDC did not contribute its full share of funding to the canal. However, the MDDC Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change explained that the District Council had a £1.4m budget deficit to address next year whilst also recognising that County had a budget deficit to address too. He continued that at the moment it was still only a proposal and had yet to be discussed by the Cabinet. He would talk to the Group Manager for Street Scene and Open Spaces but was unable to make any promises that the proposal could be withdrawn.

·         There were currently 27 bins along the length of the canal, which were emptied once, twice or three times weekly depending on their location and frequency of use.

·         A suggestion was made that more bins be provided which would need emptying less often. The number of bins and frequency of collection needed to be analysed.

·         The canal was a tourist attraction and therefore regular emptying would make for a more attractive environment to the visitor.

·         Parishes had in the past been very helpful in emptying bins in their areas.

·         The Canal Manager was reluctant to replace dog bins with full size litter bins as the message needed to be promoted for the public to take their rubbish home with them. Larger bins would attract animals such as foxes and seagulls and may urbanise some of the more remote sections of the canal.

 

It was AGREED that a letter be sent to the MDDC Cabinet setting out the significant concerns of the committee in relation to this proposed charge.

 

Green Flag and other Awards

 

The Tiverton Civic Society was entering the Canal Conservation Area into the ‘England’s Favourite Conservation Area’. If shortlisted the Canal Conservation Area would be part of a public vote to find the country’s favourite.

 

TS Hermes renovation

 

It was noted that the sea cadets had achieved an excellent job in renovating TS Hermes, home of the Tiverton Sea Cadets.

 

Graffiti incident

 

It was during one night back in the summer that the skipper of the horse drawn barge had noticed some disturbing graffiti along a stretch of the canal. This had immediately been brought to the attention of the Canal Manger, who together with one of the Canal Rangers, out of hours, had responded very quickly before the graffiti paint had had a chance to cure. The youths responsible had been intercepted and police enquiries were ongoing.

 

 

 

Devon Bat Survey

 

The Country Park is supporting the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project by hosting one of 21 automatic bat detectors located at centres around the county, which can be booked out by members of the public. Once collected, the person borrowing the detector puts it out in their garden and leaves it for three nights before returning the detector to the centre and posting an SD card from the detector to the project HQ. A few weeks later they receive a report listing the species detected. When not booked out, the detector is being deployed along the canal to improve understanding of which bats use the canal.

 

Boehill slipway parking

 

An agreement had been reached with the owner of the allotment field to allow parking for a small fee.

 

Weed-cutting

 

The Ranger team had spent, and would continue to spend, as much time as they could removing weed.

 

The anglers present stated that this had been the worst year ever and that they were only actually able to fish along a mile or two of the whole canal due to the weeds, this was despite paying an annual fee to fish.

 

Despite being consistently cleared the weeds were particularly invasive and the problem would never be completely eradicated especially with climate change. A suggestion was made that particular areas should be focussed upon rather than try to tackle everywhere all at once. The canal was very nutrient rich having water runoff from adjacent agricultural fields exacerbating the problem.

 

The presence of weeds had meant that two years ago the Tiverton Canal Company had had to stop the motorised hire boat side of their business.

 

It was AGREED that a letter be sent to Meg Booth, the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste relaying the strong concerns of the JAC and expressing the need for more resources in this area in order to tackle the weed problem.

 

Fringed lily control

 

A specialist contractor sprayed the alien invasive fringed lily once every three years and this had proved very effective.

 

Tree management

 

In the spring a storm had brought down several trees along the canal including two very large poplars and a willow near Bamfylde Close in Tiverton. Clearing these had proved a difficult and expensive task.

 

Ash dieback

 

25 trees will have to be felled this year. Of all the trees along the canal 35 – 40% were ash trees.

 

JAC site visit

 

The Canal Manager thanked those members who had attended the annual site visit. A number of issues had been discussed including the badgers and the aqueduct repairs.

Spirit of the sixties motorcycle rally

 

This had been a very successful and well attended event

 

Aqueduct repairs

 

A butyl liner would be used to make the aqueduct channel watertight again and this would be protected by a concrete canvas lining. The work was currently out to tender and would take around six weeks to complete, commencing in late October.

 

Volunteers, work experience and apprentice

 

The Ranger team had enjoyed the benefit of an apprentice for one day a week who had really developed as an individual over the past year.

 

Future Programme of works

 

The future programme of works was listed including a potential underwater film for the visitor centre touchscreen (subject to funding). The potential for refurbishing the Canal Basin toilets would also be explored since this impacted greatly on visitors first impression of the canal.