Minutes:
Les and Sharon provided the Forum with a fantastic account of their site visits to Peacock Meadows and Horseshoe Lake. The focus of the visits was to enjoy these pleasant greenspaces and test the accessibility of the recreational facilities, such as gates and paths. For the large part, both sites were considered accessible, with lots of excellent facilities. There were a few issues encountered, which are included in the brief summaries below.
Thanks were expressed from the Chairman on behalf of all attendees for their accounts and very detailed and well written accounts of these,
The previous presentations as well as these would be provided to the site rangers to include in the annual report.
The feedback about accessibility could also be provided on the council’s website, to help residents plan site visits.
(Action: Les / Sharon and BFC)
Rob advised that a similar report about the camber of the Horseshoe Lake path had been received from another wheelchair user, and with both reports, was building a specification of improvements subject to funding. Both lots of feedback would also be provided to the site rangers.
(Action: Les / Sharon and BFC)
A brief summary of the visits is noted below:
Sharon and Les visited mid-January and the parking for disabled users was good with plenty of space for wheelchair access. The signage was also good and clear and the bollards at the entrance to the footpath added security. There was a rustic sculpture at the start of the walk which was in keeping with the natural surroundings.
They used the Great Places for circular walks leaflet which contained interesting information and was easy to use and navigate with.
The pathway was in good
condition and met the needs of wheelchair users in terms of width.
There were some grass pathways, but these were of suitable length
and Les felt safe and secure. Albeit not far from town, it did feel
like very natural countryside with some great views. On the
Ramblers Route there was a swing gate not suitable for wheelchair
users but the circular route avoided
this. Signs were kept in keeping and informative for users.
Finishing off a delightful walk was the Peacock Farm pub/restaurant
which was also accessible.
There were a few more accessibility issues to note on this site. Disabled parking was not available in the open space car park. However, they had found more than adequate space for disabled visitors in the nearby Activity Centre car park.
The footpath from the car park to the Activity Centre was accessible but rather narrow. Before starting they went to the café which had more than adequate accessible toilets. Access to the café was via a small, raised step. Les and Sharon didn’t enter the café but did enjoy some of the refreshments on offer.
The wooden gated area, cycle gates were accessible for wheelchair users. However, it was muddy and the camber on the straight pathway uneven and made it feel unstable. Due to this and the condition of the path they aborted the walk, but the views were pleasant. They would attempt the walk again but in better conditions and possibly following pathway improvements.
A question was asked about whether there was disabled parking in the first car park. It wasn’t thought that there were these spaces. Furthermore, the disabled parking spaces in the nearby Watersports Centre wasn’t an area covered by Wardens and it wasn’t an area that was enforceable.
BFC officers advised it shouldn’t be a problem using the Activity Centre car park. There might be some discretion required if an event was being held to keep these spaces available. Furthermore, signage for the car park could be improved and the Cafe approached to check if they had solutions for providing better access to use this facility.
(Action: BFC and the Horseshoe Lake site ranger)
Rob provided an update on Binfield Footpath 11 where partnership work had been undertaken to improve a 400-metre section of this footpath.
This was a popular footpath, which had seen a huge increase in use especially since the housing estate on Amen Corner North had been finished. The route allowed an excellent countryside walk from the housing estate to Pope’s Meadow and wider Binfield, and vice versa.
The improvements focused on resurfacing work of a section that seasonally gets very muddy. There was also some vegetation clearance to maintain clear access. Binfield Parish Council had provided the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding for the improvements, which had been arranged by Bracknell Forest Council.
The northern section, where it kinked eastwards towards Murrell Hill Lane, did still get a little bit wet due to the hydrology of the area. This would be the second stage of a project to improve this footpath, but further thought was required on improving it.
(Action: BFC)
Work had made it substantially better and access had been improved
into Pockets Copse. Although private
land, they were liaising with the landowner at the time of these
improvements, they were happy for people to be walking on
there.