To include presentations from:
· Wiltshire Wildlife Trust – Stephen Davis, Head of Conservation Policy
· Cotswold Water Park Trust – Matthew Millett, Managing Director
· Wessex AONB – Andrew Lord, Planning Advisor
To be followed by a Question & Answer panel session with the presenters, and also including:
· Richard Broadhead – Rights of Way and Countryside Manager, Wiltshire Council
· Councillor Dick Tonge, Wiltshire Council Cabinet member for Highways & Transport.
Minutes:
The Chairman introduced the second part of the meeting and explained this had an environmental theme.
A presentation was given by Stephen Davis, Head of Conservation Policy at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. This covered the following main points:
· The State of the Environment report – the first of a series of annual reports was published in May 2012 to give an overview and analysis of a range of environmental data and issues.
· Wiltshire Intelligence Network – this website draws together a wide range of online sources and gives easy access to current information: www.intelligencenetwork.org.uk.
· Good news overall about the community area – with over 90% green space and extensive Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
· Some bad news about the community area – for example water levels and quality were of great concern.
· Local issues – such as air pollution from road traffic, the area of wildlife-rich sites, water quality due to diffuse pollution from farming, low river flows, management of flood risk and access to public green space.
Given that Matthew Millett had provided his apologies for the meeting, Councillor Colmer stepped in to provide information about the Cotswold Water Park Trust, which the Chairman thanked him for doing. This included:
· A map and aerial photograph of the Cotswold Water Park today – including farmland, quarries, lakes, development and local communities.
· Why the area was of international and national importance – for one reason because of its wintering waterbirds.
· How the Cotswold Water Park provided for the public, and in particular the inhabitants of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, facilities for education, conservation, recreation and leisure.
· Cotswold Water Park activities – including the Biodiversity Action Plan, research and monitoring, information and visitor facilities, new foot/cycle paths, production of leisure guides and maps, education programmes and community events.
· Mineral extraction in the local area – currently 8 mineral companies were extracting at 10 quarries, covering approximately 400 hectares. There was planning permission for a further 310 hectares and a further 550 hectares in ‘preferred areas’ in county mineral plans.
· The Cotswold Water Park Biodiversity Action Plan – including 10 Habitat Action Plans and 15 Species Action Plans.
· The vision for the local area – better opportunities to explore and appreciate what will become one of the largest man-made wetlands in Europe.
The final presentation for this part of the meeting was given by Andrew Lord, Planning Advisor for Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Management Plan for the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was available to view on their website and comments on this would be appreciated as it would soon be under review: www.northwessexdowns.org.uk.
Andrew covered:
· The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan – intended to provide a vision for all groups and organisations who seek to contribute to the conservation and enjoyment of the Area.
· Walking and cycling in the Area.
· ‘Our Land – Experiences to Treasure’ project - £1 million was available to promote sustainable and responsible tourism across nine of the South East protected landscapes.
· Rural development grants – of up to £50,000 available to farmers, foresters, community enterprises and rural-based businesses.
· Nature Improvement Areas and the Big Chalk Nature Improvement Area – to provide more joined up habitat on a bigger scale.
The three presentations were followed by a question and answer session which also involved Richard Broadhead, Wiltshire Council Rights of Way and Countryside Manager, and Councillor Dick Tonge, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport. Issues discussed at this stage were:
· Liaison with local schools – Wiltshire Wildlife Trust was very interested in working with local schools and was involved in a number of projects, such as an outdoor classroom for pupils with special educational needs at Springfields Academy in Calne. An issue with involvement with schools was funding opportunities.
· How organisations should work together in the future – Local Nature Partnerships encouraged sectors to get together and comprised of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, the energy sector, local authorities, Youth Parliament and more. The aim of the Partnerships was to build bridges and make connections.
· Concern was raised over the impact of further mineral extraction in the north on traffic – Councillor Tonge commented that key sites needed to go to the Inspector for approval and individual sites would require planning applications. It was also unlikely that sites would open at the same time.
· Flooding – in general the community area had been very fortunate thanks to the hard work already put in. Wiltshire Council was working with the Environment Agency to minimise any problems which were mostly along rivers. The Chairman added that he would invite the Environment Agency to a future area board meeting.
· The footpath network – 3,800 miles of footpath were looked after by Wiltshire Council with a basic budget of £176,000 available.
· The urbanisation of country roads – this was a challenge and a lot of roads in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty were affected by overuse or too much signage. Decluttering of signs had taken place in some areas and Community Speed Watch and village gate schemes were in operation in the county.
· Green corridors – the principle way to encourage the linking of wildlife sites was through sensitive agri-environmental measures on farms. Public rights of way networks could also be carefully managed for wildlife. Members of the public were encouraged to get involved, for example in habitat mapping. Please visit the website to see opportunities to get involved: http://www.northwessexdowns.org.uk/.