Issue - meetings

Mike Abbott mentioned that councils could charge for road works. He asked that Forum Members think about how road works affect countryside routes for discussion at the next LCAF meeting.

It was reported that the New Roads and Street Works Act was a consultation document downloadable from the internet; it would apply to high priority traffic routes in the highway network and was unlikely to be applicable to rights of way.

Richard Mosses queried whether there was a list of permitted footpaths. It was reported that whilst some permitted paths could be mapped, not all landowners wanted paths on their land to be promoted more widely however some form of listing was agreed as being of benefit.

It was reported that there was a visitor’s survey of open access sites in 2006 and this would be repeated and reassessed approximately every four years. Visitor count information was based on methodology that assumed seasonal variations, but the typical use of open spaces in Bracknell Forest was less affected by seasonality and more detailed analysis was required to provide valid statistics.