Agenda item
Welsh Harp Management Plan (Brent)
Minutes:
Leslie Williams introduced a report updating the committee on the progress on the Brent Reservoir / Welsh Harp Management Plan. The Management Plan was jointly managed by the three main local land-holding organisations: Brent Council, British
Waterways and the London Borough of Barnet.
Leslie Williams advised that a review was due of the administration charges and the river Brent catchment managerial process. Leslie Williams invited any comments of either of these issues and noted that any comments that the committee might have would be fed in to the review.
Turning to the issue of the Parks Warden service, Leslie Williams advised that this service had been significantly reduced as part of the recent reorganisation of Brent Council and was now reliant of the slightly increased number of mobile wardens. The mobile wardens worked in two shifts and there was a maximum of two wardens on patrol at any one time. It was anticipated that up to three agency staff could be employed during the peak months of usage of parks and open spaces, from August to October. Additional training would be provided to the grounds maintenance team to allow them to take over some of the tasks of the wardens. The grounds maintenance team would visit the Welsh Harp at regular intervals.
The committee was advised that summary information regarding the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for the Welsh Harp could be obtained from the Biodiversity Action Report System (BARS) website, which was the online system for national reporting of BAPs. Brent was currently looking at treating Japanese Knotweed with herbicide and action was also planned with regard to Giant Hogweed, which was not harmful to wildlife but could represent a public health issue as it produced a sap which could damage skin.
Leslie Williams concluded his report by noting that Brent Council had recently obtained a small sum via a 106 agreement for use in the Welsh Harp area for flood alleviation.
During discussion the committee raised several issues as follows: -
- Clive Cohen noted that Barnet and Brent council’s employed different approaches to the treatment of Japanese Knotweed and queried why the approaches were not co-ordinated. Leslie Williams advised that the two councils did liaise with each other but each council would select the most appropriate option for its circumstances. Councillor Julie Johnson queried if joint meetings still took place to discuss the management plan. Leslie Williams advised that the councils liaised informally with each other often by email and telephone. Jenny Warren advised that details regarding the contactors used for instance were regularly exchanged; however, it was difficult to meet face to face on a regular basis as the stakeholder group encompassed five different organisations.
- Councillor Hugh Rayner queried the impact that the reduction of park wardens would have on the enforcement of the bylaw, under which holding barbeques in the Welsh Harp area was prohibited. Leslie Williams advised that after a period of circa eight years, this bylaw was just now in its final stage of approval. Park Wardens would be empowered to enforce these bylaws by issuing tickets and they could call the police for assistance if necessary. Councillor Julia Johnson advised that in order to address a lack of park wardens in Barnet during the summer months, discussions had been held with the safer neighbourhood teams which had resulted in the provision of police/community officer presence in the Welsh Harp. It was agreed that Councillor Dhiraj Kataria would liaise with other Welsh Harp Councillors and Barnet Councillor Julia Johnson to pursue a similar approach. A further query was raised regarding the adequacy of the signage provided regarding barbeques. Following further discussion and the assertions of a number of different opinions on the subject, it was agreed that a report summarising the signage options, budget implications and recommendations be presented to the committee at the meeting following the next.
- Councillor Julie Johnson queried who could check if people fishing in the area had an appropriate license. Roy Beddard advised that the Environment Agency issued rod licenses; however, it could be very difficult to catch people systematically fishing without a license. It was important that fishing restrictions were enforced as it created significant disturbance to birds nesting at the waterside. Clive Cohen noted that in other areas a ‘friends of’ organisation had been formed and via that group, a scheme initiated whereby voluntary rangers walked the area and reported any wrongdoings observed. Councillor Julia Johnson advised that the possibility of setting up a ‘friends of’ organisation had been explored with the Welsh Harp Community Association. She further noted that there had previously been a booklet made available by Barnet Council which outlined the requirements for setting up such an organisation and which provided helpful advice including from where funding could be obtained. Jenny Warren advised that the leaflet referred to by Councillor Julie Johnson was in the process of being updated.
RESOLVED: - that a report summarising the signage options, budget implications and recommendations be presented to the committee at the meeting following the next.
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