Report:Surrey Hills AONB Unit Report

Item No: 6(a)

Date:22nd February2017

Written by:Surrey Hills AONB Unit

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Purpose of Report

To update Members on the activities related to the Surrey Hills AONB Management Plan (2014 – 2019)

Summary

This report refers to activities of the Surrey Hills AONB Unit under the following Surrey Hills AONB Management Plan headings:

Partnership and Coordination

Planning, Landscape Conservation and Access

Enjoyment and Understanding

Growing the Surrey Hills Economy

The report also includes updates from the Working Groups.

Recommendations

Members are asked to note the activities on the AONB Unit.

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Background papers: Surrey Hills AONB Management Plan 2014 - 2019

Attached:

Contact details:

Author:Rob Fairbanks

Job titleSurrey Hills AONB Director

Contact no:01372 220650

E-mail:

1. PARTNERSHIP AND COORDINATION

National Association for AONBs (NAAONB). The annual Chairmen’s Conference took place on Thursday 24th November 2016 in Westminster. The theme considered the implications of Brexit. All the Chairs and Lead Officers from the National Parks and AONBs were invited. A key message was that as public funding for agri-environment schemes will be very tight, there will be a focus on investing in those areas that can demonstrate greatest public benefit. This provides a great opportunity for the Surrey Hills as a nationally designated landscape with a high level of recreational pressure.

Statutory Members Group. TheGroup met on 19th December 2016. Rob Fairbanks presented the updated Business Plan and budget following agreement at the AONB Board’s AGM in October. The business plan was signed off and was submitted to Defra along with the Family Delivery Plan and the AONB Unit work programme. Copies of these papers are available on request. A copy of the notes is at Appendix 1.

Partnership Forum. The Forum visited the HLF funded Deepdene landscape restoration project in Dorking. This was the estate of Thomas Hope, once the richest man in the country. There was also a presentation on the Surrey Hills Arts Inspiring views project. The Annual Tour will take place on Friday 23rd June in East Surrey. The programme will be presented to the next meeting in April for agreement.

London City Region. As reported at the last meeting, the South East and East Protected Landscapes Forum (comprising of the National Park and AONB partnerships) is working with Aecom on creating a vision for protected landscapes in relation to the London City Region agenda. Copies will be available at the meeting

2. PLANNING, LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION AND ACCESS

Planning. Clive Smith will present his annual review to the next meeting.

North Downs – Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund. The AONB Director has signed a contract withNatural England fortheCountryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund to cover the escarpment of the North Downs between Guildford and Dorking. The scheme offers 100% funding for farmer led initiatives covering a target area of over 2000 hectares. This will cover the costs of the Facilitator, Shaun Page, research and training costs. The value of the contract is circa £65k but the intention is to grow this to 100k over the next 5 years by extending the area and membership.

Wealden Heaths - Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund. The AONB Unit is hoping to facilitate a bid to Natural England for a further project to coordinate the management of extensive areas of European Protected heathland sites, which includes Thursley, Hankley, Tilford Woods, Frensham, Hindhead and the Devil’s Punchbowl. It comprises areas of wet and dry heathland, valley bogs, broad-leaved and coniferous woodland, permanent grassland and open water.

Tillingbourne Tales HLF Project (Chaired by David Wright):

The Steering Group last met on 12th January 2017. Dr Anne Sassin, Project Coordinator, gave a PowerPoint presentation covering project developments since the last Steering Group meeting. The project legacy was discussed in detail and arrangements made to ensure the various parts of the project continue into the future. HLF has agreed to a 3 month extension of the project until 31st March 2017, mainly to allow for the completion of the Tillingbourne Gallery at Shere Museum. This will be opened by the Mayor of Guildford, Cllr Gordon Jackson, on 27th March. A further River Fly Course, being run by Surrey Wildlife Trust, will be held on 22nd April 2017 at Albury. A series of self guided walk leaflets is being produced which will be launched at the opening of the Tillingbourne Gallery on 27th March. Arailway poster campaign is in the design stage, with the posters linking in with the walk leaflets.

Byways Working Group(Chaired by David Wright):

The Group last met on 6 February 2017. The Group welcomed Mike Nash, SCC Partnership & Intelligence Officer, who has been in post since November 2016 and is primarily responsible for tackling the issue of fly-tipping in Surrey, working in liaison with John Evans of Kent County Council. The “Byway Open to All Traffic” signs which were originally commissioned by the Group in 2009 need updating. The Trail Riders Fellowship has offered to pay for the replacement signs and their members will install them.David Munro,Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, met with Stuart McLachlan, Capel PC, and other Parish Councillors in November to discuss rural issues. The Group is due to meet again on 3 July 2017.

Mountain Bike Working Group (Chaired by David Mir):

The Group last met on 17th November 2016. Cycling UK presented a proposal for the extended Mountain Bike Trail Network that will be presented to the AONB Board at the meeting. The AONB has funded the signage for the Summer Lightning extension at Leith Hill which should be installed in March as an opportunity to promote the success of the Trail in helping to reduce conflict and damage to the Commons. Before the next meeting, the AONB Unit is trying to set up a meeting with key landowners in the Leith Hill to Hurtwood areas to review mountain bike issues and to ascertain whether landowners consider it is worth progressing a network of sanctioned single track trails. A national cycling charity, based in Guildford, has identified a 200km network of traffic free trails linking towns and villages.This was presented to the Equestrian Working Group on 3rd October 2016. The next meeting of the Group will be arranged following the proposed meeting with key landowners.

Quiet Lanes and De-Cluttering Working Group (Chaired by Liz Cutter):
The Group last met on 26th January 2017. Parish Councils in the pilot area have been carrying out an audit of road signs and a local landscape contractor is in the process of removing unnecessary signs and replacing finger posts as part of the project. Although there are difficulties in the process of sign off, it is planned to roll out to other parishes in 2017 through a series of workshops with Surrey Highways and SALC. This will present a more strategic approach to identifying Quiet Lane Zones as unsuitable for HGVs. Liz Cutter and David Wright are meeting with David Munro, Police and Crime Commission for Surrey, in Albury on 1 March 2017. The next meeting of the Group is scheduled for 3 July 2017.

Equestrian Working Group (Chaired by Dave Mir):
The Group last met on 16th January 2017. A series of equestrian trails has been identified by members of the Group and, once finalised, will appear on the Surrey Hills website. Jane Garrett, a member of the Group, has written up and illustrated the trails and other members of the group have been asked to walk or ride them and report back on any issues they may encounter. Parking that is suitable for horse boxes will also be marked on the trail maps. 13 members of the Group are attending a Volunteer Path Warden training event on 21st April 2017, led by Barry Wildish, SCC Volunteer Coordinator. Following the training, the working party’s first job will be to clear a section on Leith Hill which is currently making part of the trail impassable on horseback. The next meeting of the Group is scheduled for 30th March 2017.

North Downs Way National Trail. The Trail Partnership has secured funding for a European Pilgrimage project focused principally around Canterbury, but could develop promotion for the St Swithun’s Way linking the South Downs Way and North Downs Way National Trails between Winchester and Farnham. £20,000 has also been secured to improve access to St Martha’s and the AONB Unit has led on further improvements at Reigate Hill and The Watts Artist Village at Compton, as part of the Quiet Lanes work. There is also an opportunity to bring the Surrey section of the Trail up to the quality standards in Kent through distance and destination signs.An expression of interest has also been submitted to the Discover England Fund for the Guildford to Reigate section as one of “The GREAT walking Trails of England”.

Undergrounding Power Lines. Various schemes are being proposed for UK Power networks, including the Hurtwood, Winterfold Heath, Alderbrook (the Mittal Estate) and the Loseley Estate, through a new partnership with the Surrey Hills Society.

3.ENJOYMENT AND UNDERSTANDING

Surrey Hills Arts

The Surrey Hills Advisory Group last met on January 25th 2017. A focus for the meeting was to develop a new Arts Council bid for ‘Surrey Unearthed.’ There were also updates on ‘Soundscape’ a residency by a Creative Writing phd student on a section of the North Downs Way, and ‘Heathland Artworks’ BA and MA Craft students responding to the RSPB site at Farnham Heath. Both will be in place over the Summer.

Inspiring Views

Following the successful delivery of this project from October 2015 – September 2016, signage is now being installed alongside the 5 artworks, poetry and words are being added to ‘Perspectives’ and a pod cast is being created with the poetry and sound elements.

Creative Landscapes for Health

Fundraising is currently taking place for creative writing, music and art residencies in West, Mid and East Surrey that incorporate creative health walks particularly for those with mental health issues.

Surrey Unearthed

Development of an Arts Council bid that extends the work of Inspiring Views. Surrey Unearthed will see artists create permanent and temporary works inspired by the materials of the landscape engaging with communities.

Website. Google analytics show that the most accessed area of the Surrey Hills website is the ‘Discover’ section which features walking, cycling, days out and events. Analytics also show that visitors to the site currently do not stay in this area for very long and therefore we need to improve our offering. Having taken advice from the working groups work is now underway and due to be completed in early March. The home page of the site will have four new boxes focused on things to do in the Surrey Hills ‘walking & running’, ‘cycling’, ‘horse riding’ and ‘Arts and Culture’. Each of these new areas will have their own area of the site and will include maps with routes plotted, an area where people can give a ratings review of the routes, links to pubs/restaurants/cafes with priority given to Surrey Hills Enterprise Members, image gallery, specific recreational events, social media feeds and more.

Social Media. The Surrey Hills AONB continues to engage through Social Media channels. Caroline and Rosslyn Rouse from Surrey Hills Enterprises work together to manage the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Followers to these channels increase monthly with (Twitter 3066) (Facebook 2105) (Instagram 293). You can join the Surrey Hills Social Media channels by visiting the website and clicking on the social media icons.

PR. All press releases are sent to the local media and relevant publications and can be viewed on the Surrey Hills website at Since the last Board meeting stories have been released on the Surrey Hills Trust Fund grant for conservation work at Quarry Hangers in Tandridge, the Tillingbourne Tales HLF project, Inspiring Views artworks & walk, Surrey Hills Challenge and more. Photocalls are confirmed for the Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro to look at Quiet lanes signage and rural policing issues and the launch of the Tillingbourne Gallery at Shere Museum in March.

Bus & Rail Providers Collaboration. Great Western Railway have agreed to run another campaign in partnership with the Surrey Hills Board in March. The focus for this campaign will be to promote the community project Tillingbourne Tales and more specifically the new walking routes that have been developed. Rather than being photography led this campaign will be a designed poster similar in style to the 1950s travel posters. A graphic designer has been commissioned and will take inspiration from iconic features associated with the Tillingbourne valley.

Annual Review. The Surrey Hills Annual Review was sent out in December 2016 as an e-newsletter with accompanying video. Chairman of the Board, David Wright, narrated the video and the short piece was well received. The video provided an overview of the work of the Surrey Hills, showing what a varied and vast level of work the family achieve. The video is available to view through the Surrey Hills YouTube channel