Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 9 July 2024, be received and approved as a correct record.

(In respect of Minute No. EC.3, the Chairman took the opportunity to express his disappointment that the recently appointed Simpler Recycling Working Group had been established with Councillor Helen-Ann Smith, the Deputy Leader and Executive Lead Member for Parks and Environmental Services, at the helm.

The Chairman had hoped that the Working Group would have been set up through the Council’s Scrutiny function to allow Members the freedom to examine the project’s development and to act as critical friends to the process as required.  Councillor Helen-Ann Smith, who was present at the meeting, explained that the Scrutiny function was certainly not being excluded and that she was looking forward to all Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs being present at the Working Group meetings as they were arranged.)

The Council’s Transformation Graduate, Ben Clayton, advised Members that the Neighbourhood Team had commenced a project back in May 2024 to review the maintenance of several assets located on the Skegby and Teversal trails which formed part of the old railway lines.  Once the project was underway, the Interim Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods advised that he was keen to receive input from Scrutiny Members and requested the item to be included on the Scrutiny Work Programme as an ongoing review.  The item was duly added to the Work Programme at the September 2024 meeting of the Principal Select Committee.

Following some work undertaken by the Council’s Legal Team and the Land Registry, it became known that the trail sites contain fifteen Council owned assets made up of eleven bridges, one tunnel and three culverted watercourses.  Initial structural surveys were carried out on three of the bridges and significant repair and replacement works were identified which had resulted in an access closure order being put in place (recently extended to October 2025).

Andy Burgin, the Council’s Maintenance & Cemeteries Manager, advised that fencing had been erected (including the necessary ‘danger’ notices) to close part of the trails, but unfortunately some people regularly walking the routes were continuing to move the fencing and accessing the closed off areas.

In respect of the remaining twelve assets, work was continuing to establish their condition and to identify the legal ownership, rights of way and easements that were in place on the sites affected.

Once the investigative work was completed, officers were intending to compile and present an options appraisal report to enable Members to consider and identify an appropriate way forward.

A long debate ensured whereby Members considered the following:

·         the popularity of the Teversal Trails site to visitors from far and wide, not just residents of Ashfield

·         concerns in respect of why the assets had not been surveyed every 6 years as per good practice and an acknowledgement that there had been ambiguity around ownership of the sites for many years

·         the anticipated timeline of December 2024 for completing the structural surveys on all remaining assets (following a procurement exercise to appoint a suitable structural engineering company)

·         concerns around the potential costs of remediation works to the assets and the impact of an extended closure of the Teversal trails site.

To conclude the Service Manager for Governance thanked all officers for their attendance and their contribution to the Member discussion.  Thanks, were also extended to Councillor Helen-Ann Smith for her contribution to the meeting.

RESOLVED

that an update report be submitted to the Committee for consideration once the structural surveys on the remaining twelve assets, have been completed.