Reigate Heath Steering Group minutes - 23 September 2024
Attendance
| Name | Initials | Position/representation | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Michael Blacker | MB | Ward Councillor Chairman (Cllr) | Present |
| Cllr Kate Fairhurst | KF | Ward Councillor (Co-opted Cllr) | Absent |
| Cllr Victor Lewanski | VL | Ward Councillor (Co-opted Cllr) | Absent |
| Thomas Carmona | TC | RBBC Officer | Present |
| Kate Howard | KH | Reigate Heath Residents’ Association | Present |
| Martin Bacon | MB | Reigate Club | Absent |
| Michael Hill | MH | RBBC Officer | Apologies |
| Simon Elson | SE | Reigate Area Conservation Volunteers | Present |
| Matt Clarke | MC | Reigate Heath Golf Club | Present |
| Brian Riddick | BR | Reigate Heath Golf Club | Present |
| Susan Medcalf | SM | Botanist/ Natural England | Apologies |
| Elinor Leech | EL | Reigate Heath Horseriders | Present |
Minutes
24/1. Chair’s opening remarks and meeting attendance
The Chair welcomed everybody to the meeting. An introduction was given by all members.
24/2. Attendance
See the table above.
24/3, Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the last meeting were given out by MB.
24/4, Work programme update
Council: Started clearance of tumuli, controlling bracken, scraping topsoil, removal of arisings, mowing of grassland.
Golf Club: Got approval from Natural England to carry out reseeding and fairway improvement plan. Planning their heather regeneration project.
Reigate Volunteers: Scrub clearance, glade creation, wet heath expansion, Himalayan Balsam pulling, Silver Birch removal.
24/5, Management Plan update
Very close to being signed off
24/6, grass cutting
TC to send out draft grass cutting plan.
24/7, Permissive rides
EL thanked the Council for coordinating these works. EL asked where to send the money. EL requested to go hard with the path clearance and asked if there was a way to make the paths less muddy.
24/8, Dogs and dog control
JET emailed in a written update. SE expressed concerns of the new dog policy and enforcement issues such as weekend presence.
24/9, Love Your Heath event
A visitor event during Spring. Group members to think about what they want the event to look like. Photo and art exhibition was discussed and agreed would be nice.
24/10, Heathfield Nursery planning application
The recent Planning Application for the demolition of Heathfield Nursery and rebuild of new homes was discussed. After a vote there was a majority objection for this application. The three Ward Councillors abstained from voting. The Chair will notify the Planning Team of the verdict.
The Chair outlined that any future high profile Planning Applications would be discussed in a separate meeting with RHSG members.
KH requested that Reigate Heath residents are notified of the Planning Application outcome through the Reigate Heath Residents Association.
24/11, Any other business
The Golf Course stated that they would be putting in a planning application to rebuild their premisses. A public consultation is scheduled for 12th Nov at 7pm and group members are encouraged to go along.
A subgroup meeting should be booked soon.
MC thanked the council for the OPM removal on the big Oak tree by the clubhouse.
SE asked about the Deadwood policy for the council and site, this has been deferred to the subgroup.
There was an interest from steering group members to have a bench by the carpark.
24/12, Date(s), time(s) and venue(s) for future Steering Group meeting(s)
The date of the next meeting will be arranged via email as well as a date for the next Habitat Sub Group meeting.
24/13 Actions
- TC to send out grass cutting map and details of RBBC new project for the heath.
- TC to organise a subgroup meeting
- All group members to think about Love your heath event