Issue - meetings

Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve Status

Meeting: 04/08/2020 - Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve Committee (Item 5)

5 Duchess Wood - Future Governance and Local Nature Reserve (LNR) Status pdf icon PDF 67 KB

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Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report relating to Duchess Wood providing information around future governance arrangements and detailing the position in relation to the management agreement and local nature reserve (LNR) Status.

 

Discussion took place around the delays caused by Covid19 restrictions in holding the final meeting of the Committee which had resulted in the meeting being held at a point when the management agreement had already expired and the frustrations that this had caused.

 

Mr Campbell and Mr Grafton outlined issues that they had with comments within the report around Duchess Wood’s future LNR status.  They referred to e-mail correspondence with Liz Pryor (Scottish Natural Heritage) and the latest guidance on selection and declaration of LNRs. Mr Campbell and Mr Grafton noted that they did not feel that the updated advice from Scottish Natural Heritage received at the end of May was reflected in the report and expressed discontent that this advice was not shared with the Friends of Duchess Wood at the time. Discussion took place around the decision made at the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee in December 2018 and the changes which have taken place since then. The report which had been submitted reflected this decision and outlined that the Council would not be renewing the Management Agreement further after it expired in July 2020.  Members of the Committee noted that the situation around Duchess Wood has changed since the decision in December 2018 and that the Friends of Duchess Wood and Luss Estates were committed to working together to manage the Wood properly and hoped that the LNR status could be maintained. The Committee asked if the recent information from SNH might enable the decision in regard to the LNR status to be revisited. The Committee Manager agreed that she would pass the information to  the Council’s legal team to seek their views and would aim to feed back to the group by the 21st of August. The Committee Manager also confirmed that she would seek clarification around the process for, and timescales around, de-declaration of an LNR and feed this information back to the group.

 

Sean McCay advised that Luss Estates would be open to managing Duchess Wood as an LNR and would be open to discussing with the Council ways in which this may be possible. Mr McCay confirmed that a Memorandum of Understanding had been drafted between the Friends of Duchess Woods and Luss Estates in relation to the future management of the Wood and he would share this with the Council upon completion. Further discussion took place around a potential three month extension to the agreement to allow further discussion around the LNR status and for the management of the Wood to be handed over in light of the issues caused by Covid19.

 

Mr Campbell expressed concern that an e-mail received within the last few days indicated that works necessary to be carried out in the Wood prior to it being handed over to Luss Estates had been completed, however it was felt that there was still some work outstanding. Mr Campbell also expressed concerns around the waste bins and the area and servicing of these following the conclusion of the management agreement. The Operations Manager confirmed that he would aim to put in place a meeting and a final walkthrough with Luss Estates, and that this would also include the Friends of Duchess Wood.

 

Decision

 

The Committee agreed:

 

(a)  To note the report;

(b)  That the Committee Manager would seek clarification from the Council’s legal team around the impact of recent communications from SNH on the LNR status of Duchess Wood and feed this information back to the group;

(c)  That the Committee Manager would seek clarification around the process for and timescales around de-declaration of an LNR and feed this information back to the group; and

(d)  That the Operations Manager would arrange a meeting and walkthrough of Duchess Wood.

 

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support, dated 4 August 2020, submitted)

 

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Meeting: 25/02/2020 - Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve Committee (Item 7)

Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve Status

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Minutes:

Councillor Douglas advised that Stewart Campbell had been liaising with Scottish Natural Heritage regarding Duchess Woods Local Nature Reserve Status while Councillor Douglas and Shona Barton had been looking into the Local Nature Reserve Status in relation to Argyll and Bute Council. Councillor Douglas noted that the situation was complex as Argyll and Bute Council had inherited Duchess Woods Local Nature Reserve Status from Dumbarton District Council and therefore had not been the Authority in charge at the time of the designation. Councillor Douglas advised that it appeared to be a matter of interpretation and further clarification was required from Argyll and Bute Council’s Legal Department and Scottish Natural Heritage before any further decisions could be made around this.

 

Discussion took place around potential future arrangements to maintain Duchess Woods Local Nature Reserve Status and it was confirmed that any further correspondence from the Council’s Solicitor or Scottish Natural Heritage regarding this would be circulated throughout the group to facilitate open discussion and viable options going forward.

 

Decision

 

The Committee agreed to note the content of the update.

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