Minutes:
Nursery Lane Towpath
Jacquie Wheeler (JW) advised that she had taken photos at the end of the lane and had found that there was a ‘no through road’ sign on the wall. She has spoken to Rhoda Barnett, a consultant in countryside access who had advised that there had been a case judgement that a ‘Private Road’ sign did not indicate that use on foot or horseback was private and this notice had a similar effect. She suggested that eventhough the sign was not legally misleading members of the footpath from using the footpath, it was certainly discouraging them. It was suggested that the Rights of Way Officer in Bucks be sent a LAF recommendation to improve the signage of this path. Action: JW
Councillor Haines had observed that there were a number of very large barns in the locality and South Bucks Council should be made aware of this. JW advised that she would be in contact with South Bucks District Council to discuss this and other related matters. Action: JW
Canal
Councillor Haines advised that he had attended a meeting in the previous week with British Waterways who had advised that they owned a 5 metre strip of land for a 2 miles stretch of the canal. Councillor Haines assumed that the stretch extended all the way to Middle Green Bridge and suggested there would be lots of opportunities for moorings or a public walking space in this location.
Letter to Eton College
JW advised that there had been a delay in sending the letter to Eton College relating to Bridleway No. 17 but this had been sent out in late April and a reply was expected in the very near future. Toby Evans asked whether a survey had been done to assess whether people were in favour of the widening of the path and that people he had spoken to were not in favour of this. Alex Deans advised that people had indicated that they were in favour of the widening of the footpath. Councillor Dodds felt that the pathway was currently a mess and should be widened.