MINUTES
COASTAL PATHFINDER PROGRAMME
REFERENCE GROUP
8 June 2011
2pm - Room 1, NNDC Offices
Present
Reference Group Members
Malcolm Kerby
Dan Corbett
Rob Wise
Marti Tipper
Peter Battrick
Sue Willis
NNDC Officers
Rob Goodliffe
Item
Actions
1
Apologies
Tony Nash
2
Agree minutes of the last meeting and matters arising.
Minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
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•
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The Reference Group would still like to see the letter from Philip
Burton to Defra. Rob G to locate and circulate.
The Group would like Peter Frew to input into the Evaluation to Defra
The Group understood the EN12 payment and that Pathfinder funding
can not be applied retrospectively; however they felt the offer to
investigate to purchase a remnant cliff top site for a nominal sum of
money was and insult and utterly abysmal. The Reference Group
accepted that the Coastal Team had done everything they could but
felt strongly that a 4 figure offer would be minor within the scale of the
whole Programme and would negate future possible adverse media
news that may tarnish the Pathfinder Programme. It was explained
that the issue had been discussed and considered by NNDC and that
it was recognised from its conception that Pathfinder would have
limitations and not meet everyone’s expectations or tackle all issues.
It had previously been made clear that that piece of cliff top land was
not part of the purchase to demolish scheme and may only be
considered for the cliff top enhancement scheme if it was required.
NNDC will investigate further with the as to whether the £6,000
demolition payment could be claimed for the site due to the slab bases
still being en situ.
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8 June 2011
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Update on progress
Updates on all the projects were provided as per the table below, comments
raised by the Reference group are indicated in italics.
a)
Wolferton Private Contribution Project
•
The final report from KL&WNBC to Defra has been. Members of the
group stated that the Pathfinder Programme just highlights that there
is no Adaptation Policy or funding stream in place, this needs to be
provided by Central Government. This needs to be highlighted in the
Evaluation Report to Defra.
•
Expectation that Parish Precept will be able to provide towards
funding is naïve. Private funding of schemes would be unfair to
poorer geographical areas as there would be less private
beneficiaries in these areas. There has always been the opportunity
for local communities to contribute privately (e.g. Happisburgh); the
issue is that there would be gaps in the less wealthy areas and their
priority scoring would fall lower, attracting even less opportunity for a
scheme.
The Group were unanimous that Central Government funding was needed.
b)
Cromer (Marrams) Footpath
Consolation period is open until the end of September for the official closure
of the old path.
c)
Trimingham Village Hall (the Pilgrim Shelter)
NNDC is providing legal support to Trimingham village Council for the land
purchase. There have been some internal complications at the Parish
Council that are now being resolved, and they are getting back to the stage of
progressing with the project.
d)
Business Advice
• Fully subscribed. Businesses are now being encouraged to take up
the offers of the Voucher Scheme.
Businesses wishing to relocate have been given fair and full advice and are
developing their own initiatives, with the input from NNDC and outside
organisations where it can be provided as part of the scheme.
e)
Marketing Project
• This Project has been completed, just the reports write up needed.
Now work will now progress under a Service Level Agreement for the
next 3 years. The photographic library for businesses to make use of
is in its final stages of being completed.
f)
Further Business Support
A Cabinet report is being written for next week regarding the direction of this
Project, it proposes:
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8 June 2011
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A Toolkit to provide advice on funding sources.
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Creating Business Circles and networking opportunities.
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A loans scheme
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A grants scheme
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The Group were supportive of the Project and that it will help
businesses to plan ahead and stimulate growth; however they were
cautious that it shouldn’t be the first port of call for businesses. The
Project is there to provide additional support not the only support.
Businesses needed to show use of their own initiative and finance
initially. By setting up the Project as a loan scheme rather than a
grant scheme, it was hoped that this ethic would be highlighted.
The Group discussed some of the inclusions in the report and agreed to
remove the example of advanced motoring courses from the report (page 6,
5.3), as this is able to be gained on a voluntary basis with the Institute of
Advanced Motorists. Additionally the yachting marina at Overstrand (page3,
3.3) was also discussed and the group felt it was unrealistic. The
consideration of highlighting the wish to extend the route of the CoastHopper
bus service was eagerly agreed on..
g)
Manor Caravan Site
The offer of a grant for this project finished on 31 March 2011. The board
need to decide the future of this. Manor Caravan site are in the process of
developing a business plan and a landscaping scheme/evaluation is in
progress.
h)
Coastal Heritage Project
• The draft Final Heritage Report has been received for comment.
Emailed responses would be appreciated. Richard Hoggett’s
contract has been extended and he will probably extend his work into
other coastal communities.
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The Happisburgh book is being finalised and due for publication in
September.
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Surplus money from the Project will be put towards interpretation
boards of the Heritage Project outcomes, to be displayed in the village
and maybe beyond.
The Group were really happy with the Project; it’s been really successful and
very popular with everyone.
i)
Cliff-top Enhancement and Beach Debris Removal
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All land has been purchased and permissions have been granted.
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Works gone to tender. Tender to be awarded in the next 2 weeks.
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Contractor expected on site by end of June.
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Local information sheets have been posted via Royal Mail and
handed to Beach Road residents. Signage put up within Happisburgh
and circulated with information sheets to pub, shop and caravan site.
Also on the Pathfinder Website. Group happy with amount of
information that has been circulated to village and applauded the
Coastal Team for this.
Group were reassured that the new lavatory facilities for the new car park will
be able to be moved back if needs be over time. Ongoing dialogue with
RNLI and CG regarding their facilities moving. The Group agreed that any
movable structure would need to be aesthetically pleasing to the new car
park if they relocated there.
j)
k)
Beach Road - Buy to Demolish
• 6 properties now been purchased by NNDC. Relocation scheme is
being worked on and consultation details will be out soon.
Consultation on going with the land owner of the preferred site.
•
A member of the group commented that one owner having extreme
difficulty in finding a replacement home. The Group enquired as to
whether NNDC would provide housing under these exceptional
circumstances. NNDC is aware of this and the housing team are
already proving assistance where they can.
•
The Group felt that this issue could be dealt with if and when
affordable housing was made available in the village.
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The group highlighted that the media coverage would need to be
sensitive to and that NNDC would need to manage outputs carefully
so as not to jeopardise the good image Pathfinder has so far had in
Happisburgh.
Beach Road - Buy to Lease-Back
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A discussion document was previously circulated for feedback.
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It is hoped to get a report to Cabinet in July which will report on the
project and recommend the way forward.
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The Group aired that they were disappointed that The Pathfinder
hadn’t been adventurous about this project. It was explained that BK
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had done what asked of them, and other options were also being
considered for either implementation or reporting to Defra.
•
The various options were discussed in more detail and the Coastal
Team’s intention was to persevere with:
• assisting with property sales by educating buyers, estate
agents, surveyors and solicitors – the group could see
the benefits of this.
• educating perspective house purchaser about EN12
opportunities - the group could see the benefits of this.
• considering a desk top exercise to investigate a Housing
Supplement Payment scheme to assist with a one-off
payment to house owners in the 20 to 50 year zone who
purchased before a change of policy - the Group could
see the benefits of this.
• develop a housing maintenance grant – some of the
group did not believe this was a good option.
The group were pleased that Bruton Knowles considered the underwriting
options as an elegant option/solution which should be investigated.
The Group were concerned that too many people had been informed at the
outset and hopes were raised that were now going to be dashed.
The group suggested that the EN12 area should be highlighted on property
searches for prospective purchasers.
4
Press and media - Beach Road houses
• It was reiterated that the Group would like to see the press and media
adequately and fully briefed before items go out into the public
domain. They were concerned with the potential risks to the
Pathfinder’s reputation regarding the Buy to Lease Back Project and
any offer made to remaining cliff top remnant sites.
• Peter Battrick is aware of these issues and others, of the sensitivity
and the need for a co-ordinated approach.
5
Financial Update
• In progress – will be forwarded to the Reference Group.
• Currently in budget
6
Open discussion
None
7
Project evaluations and wrap up
There is a Defra meeting in London on 15th June that will be attended by Rob
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G, Rob Y and Cllr Fitch-Tillett. Malcolm Kerby and Rob Wise have also been
invited. The day consists of attendance by the Minister Richard Benyon and
other Pathfinders and panel and plenary sessions. The Group were
astonished that Peter Frew would not be attending; he has had a
fundamental input to 90% of the Pathfinder, up until his retirement, and is still
working for NNDC in a consultant capacity. They concluded that he should
attend the conference. Peter is a national expert on the subject matter and
highly regarded and respected locally, regionally and nationally. The Group
believe his omission would have a negative reflection on the North Norfolk
Coastal Pathfinder as a whole and would be a most highly missed
opportunity. RG to see if this can be rectified.
The Group would like to be part of the evaluation to Defra. RG suggested
that a session with Peter Frew at the beginning of the evaluation process
should be arranged with the Reference Group.
8
Any other business
None. The meeting ended at 4.40pm.
9
Next Meeting
The date of the next meeting will be at 2pm on Thursday 28th July 2011.
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