The Act of 2000 requires the West Berkshire Council with the approval of the Commission to produce a management plan for the restoration and conservation of the common within three years of the commencement date.
An original Plan was produced in 2000 by a Consultant for the West Berkshire Council under the direction of Ed Cooper, who was at that time the Commons restoration Project Officer. This plan has been the basis to date for all restoration and conservation work.
At a meeting of the Commission on 17th June 2003 the requirement for the provision of an action plan was debated. Various options were considered. These were either to adopt the existing plan, to draft a summary with an implementation plan or examine the possibility of producing a new plan. It was agreed to form a committee to deal with this topic.
At the meeting of 9th September 2003 Paul Hendry reported that it had been considered that the current plan was unsuitable for consultation with the Commission and wider public. It was agreed that advice to be sought from other Nature Conservation Agencies and a simplified and summarised plan be produced. This was agreed. Derek Emes was added to the committee.
The new plan is due to be published by the end of May 2009 for Commission's and public's comment. It was decided to appoint a consultant to assist in the preparation. This consultant, Janet Welsh, was asked to work with the Ranger at the time, Andy Coulson-Phillips, to prepare a statement of aims and objectives and a detail plan for an initial compartment. It was agreed that the plan should be in a funneled manner. First a statement in general terms as a lead in, then an explanation of compartments and their geographical location, and final layer the compartment detail giving present habitats, concept, objectives and work required. It was decided to have digitized maps prepared. As the compartment boundaries rarely match with Ordnance Survey mapped points it was agreed that overlays should be prepared. Extra overlays are being prepared showing features that would otherwise crowd out detail if included in the compartments. One of these will show the Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the Common.
A regular progress update on compartments is to be made. Annual review will be undertaken and the Plan is to be revised at 5-year intervals.
The current members of this committee are:
Paul Hendry
Derek Cutt
Derek Emes
Frank Huxtable
Sarah Wright
with Adrian Wallington ( Ranger), Simon Barnett (Countryside Officer) and Janet Welsh (Consultant) as advisors.
The Committee will continue to meet to monitor progress.
The draft development plan website is www.westcombe.org.uk
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