It is nearly six months since General Council (the charity's AGM), and so it is time to give an update on action taken so far on the 15 resolutions agreed at General Council (plus the two resolutions from 2010 where we were due to do more work). An end-of-year update will be published just before General Council in Spring 2012.
We have focused on the ones which have most relevance to our current priorities - more members, more income for our charitable work, protecting paths, and encouraging people to walk.
1. Standing Orders Amendment
That the Standing Orders of Association be, and are hereby, amended as follows. In Standing Orders A4, delete the first sentence and replace with “The Agenda Committee shall consist of 2 members of the Board of Trustees and 5 members elected by the General Council and from the General council or the prior year’s General Council”.
Action taken: updated standing orders issued on the website; guidance for Agenda Committee nominations will be changed.
2. Rights of Way Spending Cuts
This General Council considers that the large-scale cuts in local authority rights of way funding will lead to an increasing deterioration in the quality of rights of way in England and Wales. It urges the Board of Trustees to bring to the government’s attention the wide benefits of a well-maintained rights of way network for healthy recreation and tourism, and the damaging effects of a reduction in funding. It further urges the Board of Trustees to organise a high profile national campaign for the protection of rights of way, including, if thought appropriate, a national rally at a central location. It also calls upon all Ramblers’ Areas in England and Wales to launch local campaigns to protect rights-of-way funding in highway authorities and if required to seek support from staff where needed.
Action taken: The Dead End for Rights of Way? Campaign continues, with excellent work with some Ramblers Areas/local authorities. We have organised and delivered the Dead End? campaign roadshow events and have continued to encourage and support Ramblers Areas to campaign to reduce budget cuts in their local authority area. Local volunteers are in the best place to bring about this type of change. These campaign actions have included petition councils, organising campaign walks, writing to councils and sending councillors and rights of way staff postcards detailing how important rights of way are to local people.
Launch of Mystery Walkers to involve more volunteers (c1,500 so far, half of whom are not members), and produce regular data on state of rights of way network.
3. Rights of Way Network
This General Council believes that for the Ramblers to fully protect the Rights of Way network, it is imperative that sufficient expert staff are always available. Therefore it calls upon the Board to ensure that the number of expert staff working on rights of way reflects the high priority attached to this work by the organisation, and that resources are made available for ongoing staff recruitment, training and development in this area. Council further calls for the provision of training for Area Footpath Secretaries.
Action taken: All campaigns staff posts, as allowed for within our budget, are occupied, and Nicky Philpott has recently joined us as the new Director of Policy and Campaigns. We’ve also made successful use of interns within the team; and we remain open to the potential for further volunteer assistance. Staff training needs are identified through our appraisal process, and several managers/staff have identified the need for rights of way training, which will be provided through our training programme. Campaigns staff have been developing a set of training modules on rights of way, which is not yet completed. The induction module is now finalised and has been delivered successfully across England. By the end of the financial year 86 people will have been trained – at the induction, public inquiry, and practical path work days.
4. HS2
This General Council, whilst reiterating Ramblers’ traditional support for public transport, believes that construction of the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line would scar many attractive areas of England, cause a high degree of damage to rights of way, and adversely affect local communities and facilities for outdoor recreation. Council therefore urges the Board of Trustees to join other like-minded bodies in announcing support for the Charter for High Speed Rail published on 7 April by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Council further urges the Board to campaign vigorously to reduce the adverse effects on rights of way on foot, and on the beauty of the countryside, of this or any other transport infrastructure development.
Action taken: We have joined the Charter for High Speed Rail and play an active role in this. We responded to the government consultation on HS2 which closed in August. We ensured that we highlighted the concerns we have around the number of rights of way identified by HS2 limited and the actual number along the route. A draft of our response was sent to all Areas and Group in England and Wales for comment to ensure that we captured the concerns of our membership. On the 18th October, the Chief Executive Tom Franklin will be attending a Parliamentary Reception with Chief Executives from the other member organisations to raise awareness of the Charter amongst parliamentarians, and keep the momentum going as we come up to the release of the NPS and the Rail Paper in November. A major article on HS2 appeared in the summer edition of Walk magazine.
5. Consultation on Initiatives
Whilst this General Council applauds the stream of initiatives from the Trustees and Ramblers staff, it asks the Board of Trustees where Areas or Groups are required to take action to implement an initiative, then due consideration is given to:
1. Consulting where practicable with representative Areas or Groups first as to the feasibility of implementation, and
2. The timescales required for Areas or Groups to plan and implement the initiative.
3. Initiatives and consultations should be published and clearly flagged up on the Ramblers website, with Area and Group Chairs and Secretaries being notified by email or letter.
4. Initiatives and communications thereof should be concise and comprehensible.
Action taken: Festivals Working Group established to forward-plan walking festivals (one of key areas of complaint) so that as much notice as possible is given. A future calendar is available for volunteers online: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/festivals This currently runs up to May next year (8 months), and we are about to notify volunteers of our planned Festival of Summer Evening Walks next June/July. [Note, however, that sometimes due to external factors we have to give less notice - for example, the recent Walk4Life events which were organised in partnership with ITV, and the Walk in the Woods Week which takes place in the coming week, timed to co-incide with the Independent Forestry Panel.]
Improving consultation is work in progress, and it must be stressed that we will never please all - some people want lots of detailed consultation, others want less and greater conciseness. We aim to learn when we get it wrong, so that we constantly improve. Over the coming year, we will aim to publish consultation guidelines, so that everyone knows the standards we work to, and also to hold some consultation training for staff.
6. Get Walking Keep Walking
General Council urges the Board of Trustees to ensure that the success of the Get Walking Keep Walking initiative is embedded in future Ramblers activity and programmes so that:
• We will be able to recruit new members through this activity
• We return to our roots of providing access for those whose lives are such that they are not able to readily access walking and all its pleasures because of economic, social, cultural or other obstacles.
• We maximise opportunities to secure external funds to broaden the network of local Ramblers co-ordinators.
Action taken: two promoting walking workshops have been organised for volunteers; more than £3m of funding proposals have been submitted; funding for a Get Walking Keep Walking project in Leicester has been secured with the help of volunteers; we are working to join up with Walking for Health so that the benefits of GWKW can be spread more widely, and to help with recruitment; a pilot scheme has been established in Richmond to join the local Walking for Health scheme with Ramblers.
7. Regional Structures
This General Council, recognising that there is a need for the Rambler’s regional structures to be, wherever possible, coterminous with strategic local authority boundaries and taking cognisance of the possibility that Ramblers’ Central Office will move out of London in the near future, calls upon the Board of Trustees to undertake a re-appraisal of Area structures within the geographical area covered by the Greater London Authority, including consulting with the existing Areas, and to report their findings and subsequent recommendations to the Ramblers 2012 General Council for consideration.
Action taken: none so far, but we will host a meeting at central office for all Areas affected which will include an articulation of the problem behind the Inner London Regional Structures motion, when sending out an invitation to affected Areas.
We will report with any recommendations to the Board.
8. Abandoned proposal of selling off/leasing Forestry Land
This General Council welcomes the decision of the Government to halt its consultation on ‘the future of the public forest estate in England’, and notes the Chief Executive has been appointed to the independent panel that will make recommendations on forestry policy for England. Council believes that the Ramblers five key tests for forestry land should be used when considering any future proposals for sale:
• Public access and amenities, such as recreational facilities, are maintained and enhanced,
• Public rights of way, access land and other amenities are properly managed,
• No sale or transfer is completed until the purchaser has committed to preserving and maintaining access,
• Where access is currently not secured in law, this is remedied through CROW Act dedication,
• The local community is consulted and given the opportunity to play a full and active part in woodland management, including first-refusal on purchase.
If all these tests are not met, the Ramblers should oppose the sale or lease of publicly-owned land. Council urges the Board of Trustees to highlight to Government the additional public benefits that are delivered by the Forestry Commission on its estate in England, and to lobby for sufficient funding for this best practice to continue.
Actions taken: taken the lead in establishing the Forest Users Group, representing those organisations which use forests for recreation purposes, and presenting our charter to the Bishop of Liverpool, the Chair of the Panel. Made submission to the Panel calling for retention of public forest estate, as the best way to protect access. Organised our Walk in the Woods Week in October, to publicise the value of woods. Chief Executive continues to sit on the independent forest panel, which is due to report next spring.
9. Campaign Policy Progress
This General Council is concerned at the lack of information on progress with the Campaign Policy adopted by General Council in 2010 regarding gaining access to woodland, river banks and canals subject to exclusions of domestic areas. To benefit from the publicity generated for woodland access by the recently threatened sale of Forestry Commission assets, this Council urges the Trustees to take positive action forthwith.
Actions taken: See above re: forests. Ramblers has submitted response to government consultation on the establishment of a new waterways charity to take over the operations of British Waterways and in the future of the rivers of the Environment Agency - including pressing for public access to towpaths. Government response has been very favourable, with the new charity having access to towpaths as an additional charitable aim.
10. Government Guidelines on path structures
This General Council welcomes the issuing of government guidelines on the authorisation of path structures by local authorities, with emphasis on the least restrictive option. Recognising that few local authorities yet follow this guidance fully, Council asks the Board of Trustees to ensure that all our members are made aware of its key features and that in particular our footpath secretaries are given specific guidance and encouraged to assist their authorities in implementing it.
Actions taken: Staff have been working with the Area which proposed the motion on a draft document which explains the Government advice, and are considering how this information can best be made available to all volunteers. It is already being covered in our new practical work training days.
11. Equestrian establishments causing footpath problems
This General Council urges the Board of Trustees to cause guidance to be developed and issued to volunteers, covering law, strategy and tactics relevant to footpath problems caused by equestrian establishments.
Actions taken: None so far.
12. Usage Level of Access Land
This General Council is concerned about the continuing low level of usage of access land. The main reason why many walkers are reluctant to use access land is because they do not know where the access points are located; this is both to gain access to access land and within access land. Some local authorities have attempted to provide publicity about access points but this is frequently of poor quality. In many other places the publicity about access points is non-existent. Therefore the publicity on how to use access land needs to be improved, with ideally the access points being shown on OS 1:25,000 maps. General Council recommends that the Board of Trustees campaigns on this issue.
Action taken: little specifically so far, but we are considering what we could do with Ordnance Survey, and whether some specific work in Wales could help to draw attention to this issue. The guide-book produced by Ramblers volunteers in Yorkshire, describing open-access walks in the Yorkshire Wolds, is an example of practical action which Areas and Groups can take. The publication, produced in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council, has been hugely popular with visitors.
Ramblers staff have met with Ordnance Survey to discuss the showing of access points on Explorer maps. At OS’ suggestion, we have put a formal request for access points to be shown on maps to DEFRA’s Access Management Group (made up of groups including Natural England, Association of National Park Authorities, MoD, LGA, the Forestry Commission and others). This group, which advised DEFRA on the implementation of the CRoW Act, had previously expressed reservations about the showing of access points on OS maps but have agreed to consider the issue again. They are currently considering the issue and we are awaiting news from DEFRA.
13. Rights of Way Network
This General Council notes with approval the inclusion of Rights of Way was a key priority in the Business Plan for 2011/12 and calls for Rights of Way to have high priority in the association’s future Business Plans until such time as the entire Rights of Way network in England and Wales is legally compliant.
Action taken: Rights of way continue to have high priority. We have managed to add 28 paths to the definitive map this year, assisted in the removal of obstructions from 263 paths and have saved at least 30 paths from damaging, we are looking at ways that we can encourage members to share their path successes so that the number can be even higher next year. See above for our Dead-End campaign on rights of way budget cuts.
The Mystery Walker project was created to encourage more people to volunteer surveying paths and to look at our path network. The project recruited 1573 people who surveyed 1690 miles of England and Wales’ path network. Encouragingly, nearly 50% of these people were not members of the Ramblers and 60% of people asked to be kept up-to-date with Ramblers campaigns. The project was a light touch way of surveying the path network; Mystery Walkers were assigned a grid square at random and asked to conduct a two mile walk rating the walk out of five for obstructions, signposting and waymarking, undergrowth and overgrowth, level of welcome, surface conditions and enjoyability. 85% of authorities had an average score of “satisfactory” or higher in every category. The report has been very well received by IPROW (the professional body for rights of way staff) who see it as a good way to highlight any changes in the path network once budget cuts hit. You can read a full copy of the Mystery Walker report at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Campaigns+Policy/Mystery+Walker.htm
14. Multi-Path Users
This General Council believes that many multi-user/shared use paths which are not bridleways, restricted byways, or byways open to all traffic are currently shown misleadingly on OS maps as ‘traffic free routes’. Council believes that these paths, including those which form part of the national cycle network, should be defined more accurately, with an accompanying explanation as to which classes of user are allowed on them. General Council calls upon the Board of Trustees to negotiate with the Ordnance Survey.
Action taken: This issue has been raised with Ordnance Survey (OS). OS have said that in the 8 years this description has been on maps, they have not received a single complaint from the public. Therefore, they are reluctant to make any changes. (KC)
15. Annual Accounts Publicity – Devon Area
This General Council calls upon the Board of Trustees to publish a summary of the Ramblers annual accounts in Walk magazine.
Action to be taken: to be included in the Walk ‘mailing’ rather than in the magazine itself. This to be timetabled in (probably in June edition – note, this is too late for June 2011, it will need to start in June 2012).
Outstanding resolutions from 2010:
5. Governance
This General Council calls upon the Board of Trustees to seek an independent and low cost review of the Ramblers’ Association’s interpretation of the Charity Commission’s requirements with special reference to the powers of the General Council, the Board of Trustees, and to the Board’s accountability to the General Council, and to report the findings of the review to the General Council 2011.
Action taken: Mr James Thorne was asked to review the governance arrangements of the Ramblers, and to produce a report in time for General Council 2011. The report was circulated to GC delegates, and discussed. The Board initially decided that the recommendations will be consulted on in the next 12 months with a view to a further discussion at General Council 2012; it has however since reviewed this decision and decided not to proceed with a widespread consultation bearing in mind the other priorities for the charity.
8. Statutory Consultation
This General Council calls upon local authorities as Highway Authorities to recognise all statutory consultative bodies, including the Ramblers, when devising or updating their priority scoring matrix for dealing with rights of way obstruction reports where currently these “scoring” arrangements refer simply to such reports made, for example, by “members of the public”.
Further, Council calls upon the authorities to involve these statutory bodies in deciding how the priority systems work and are implemented – particularly to ensure that no paths are neglected and all reported rights of way issues are addressed in the fullness of time.
Action taken by time of GC: A planned approach by letter to all local authorities in the autumn was put on hold due to the high level of lobbying required on the cuts agenda. We felt that to approach councils at this point about priority matrices would be wasted effort. Instead, we have raised this issue with the Institute of Rights of Way and Access Management (IPROW), and hope to publish joint good practice advice. At this point we will also write to all local authorities.
Action taken since GC: none so far.
