Agenda item

The report of the Secretary giving LAF members the opportunity to update the Forum on Council liaison and other LAF representative project activity since the last meeting. 

Rachel Connolly presented her question which was contained at Appendix I to the report, for Members consideration.  It was explained that Natural England (NE) was a statutory consultee for development applications which had a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), or environmental dimension of importance, however, NE did not address access elements in their consultation responses which resulted in a loss of access advice from the one organisation who could make an impact in the planning process.

Following a discussion between the Head of Access at NE and Mrs Connolly it had been proposed that the LAF support a letter from the Yorkshire, Humber & North Lincolnshire Regional Access Forum (YH&NL RAF) to Natural England (NE), the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and the local Member of Parliament, advocating for access issues to be considered in large-scale planning applications.  It was agreed that such a letter would carry more weight if it was sent from the YH&NL RAF.

Members expressed full support for the proposal and the Chair offered to raise the matter with the Secretary to the YH&NL RAF to request inclusion of the item on their next meeting agenda.

Will updated Members on the recent YH&NL RAF meeting that he and Pat Coulson had attended on the 5 March 2025.  One item discussed was the potential for the Head of the Countryside Access Service (CAS) at NYC, Ian Kelly, to attend and speak at the next meeting of the RAF as interest had been expressed by a representative from another Council in understanding where the CAS sat within the structure of NYC in terms of the Directorate and budget. 

The Chair raised the topic of district/area representatives, and a discussion took place around the area allocation, especially in light of the Council areas being split in a different way to that when it was North Yorkshire County Council and the seven District Council’s.  The Chair acknowledged the difficulty in allocating geographic responsibilities, particularly where member coverage was lacking, but did feel that it was a subject to be investigated for the future.  Judith Hooper referenced her previous experience with the Harrogate Planning department, queried the district/area representative role and offered to discuss it further with the Chair outside the meeting.

Resolved

i)               That the additional information provided at the meeting be noted, alongside the written updates provided in the report.

ii)              That the Chair and Rachel Connolly develop a proposal on access in large-scale planning applications to present to the YH & NLRAF; and the Chair to speak with the Secretary of the YH & NLRAF regarding adding this as an item on the next Regional Access Forum agenda.

iii)             Will to speak with Ian re the possibility of his attendance at the next meeting of the YH & NL RAF.

iv)             The Chair and Judith Hooper to speak outside the meeting to explore district/area representation further.