Earlswood and Redhill Common Steering Group minutes - 15 May 2024
Wednesday 15 May 2024 at 6.30pm at Reigate & Banstead Town Hall, Castlefield Road, Reigate.
24/01. Attendance and opening remarks
Chair welcomes members to the meeting.
| Name | initial | Position/representation | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr King | JK | Chairman (Cllr) | Present |
| Cllr Elbourne | ME | Cllr | Apologies |
| Cllr Proudfoot | AP | Cllr | Present |
| Michael Hill | MH | RBBC Officer | Apologies |
| Thomas Carmona | TC | RBBC Officer | Present |
| Matin Bacon | MB | Reigate Society | Present |
| Ben C | BC | Horley Piscatorial Society | Apologies |
| Simon Elson | SE | Reigate Area Conservation Volunteers | Present |
| Ollie Williams | OW | Local School, St. John’s | Present |
| Richard Feist | RF | Merstham Cricket club | Apologies |
| Tommy Mathews | TM | Boating | Absent |
| Amie Vaccaro | AV | Woodhatch Greenspace Preservation Volunteers | Present |
24/02. Management Plans
The management plans will be approved in due course when the new head of service has read them.
24/03. Work Programme
Cherry Laurel has been controlled over Winter and removed early Spring at Redhill Common. Barley Straw was installed in the Upper and Lower Lakes at Earlswood Common. The fallen tree has been removed and chipped which has been installed on muddy paths at Earlswood Lakes (top of the Upper Lake). Chamomile cuts have started. This Summer, sward surveys and grass cutting will commence.
24/04 grass cutting
The group asked for clarification on how much buffer is mown either side of the roads and paths. TC to check the Cricket Club’s reseeding plan. TC said to give the current mowing a regime a chance to establish.
24/05. Lakes and wetlands
Group brainstormed ideas to keep dogs out of the lakes. Concern that there is still Carp populations in the lakes.
24/06 dog control
Signage and interpretation ideas to outline the impacts of irresponsible dog walking. Was mentioned that the BCC have new dog rules in place. OW mentioned dogs off leads at Redhill Common scaring his school kids.
24/07. SNCI Designation Update
The SNCI application has started.
24/08. Elm Trees on Earlswood Common
An Elm expert went to look at the Elm Trees at the common and confirmed the species but want to do more tests and SE will update the group after the expert runs his tests.
24/09. Updates on boathouse and interactive map
The boathouse will be removed in due course and TC will speak to JET and planning to look into tenancy agreement to take action to speed up the removal of the Boathouse. The map is in progress and when the GIS officer gets back from holiday, TC will book a meeting on her return to discuss the publication of the map.
24/10 AOB
Going forward, it was decided that each party should give an update on what they have been up to and if a party cannot attend, they are required to submit a written entry outlining their current projects and operations.
OW reported a number of tents on Redhill Common which poses a risk to his school kids.
24/11. Date of next meeting
3 July, onsite.
Actions
TC actions:
- Check Cricket Club’s (Petridge Common) reseeding plan.
- Speak to JET and Planning to ask if enforcement action can be taken to speed up Boathouse removal.
- Speak to GIS team to publish the interactive map online
- Invite JET to next meeting
JK actions:
- Speak to Cllr Moses regarding management plan publication and BCC practises.
- Ask the JET portfolio holder about inviting a JET officer to the next meeting.
Notes:
Numbering system:
- The next set of minutes should begin with the next consecutive number following the last numbered item in the previous set of minutes, e.g., 19/13 (last number in last set of minutes); 19/14 (first number in the following set of minutes).
- When the year changes, the first two digits should also change to reflect the change of year, e.g., 19/78 (last); 20/01 (first).
This system avoids the need to retain agenda.