National Access Forum - 26 April 2023 NAF/LAF

NAF / LAF meeting 26th April 2023

LAFs post-COVID-19: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

Joint Meeting of National Access Forum and Local Access Forums Virtual meeting via MS Teams

9:50      Join the virtual meeting

10:00    Welcome and introductions - Don Milton, NAF Convenor

10:15    Update on recent and current NAF work - Ali Tait, NAF Secretary

10:20    Session 1: Re-invigorating LAFs

• Introduction - Paul Timms, NAF rep for Cycling UK (Scotland) and Chair of the Stirling LAF
• Facilitated breakout groups discussion of local experience from the LAFs

11:00     Brief plenary feedback from Session 1

11:10     Comfort break - 10 mins

11:20      Session 2: Opportunities for LAFs to engage in national issues

• Introduction - Rona Gibb, NAF rep for Paths for All
• Facilitated breakout groups discussion of what's happening nationally in access and how LAFs can get involved

12:00     Brief plenary feedback from Session 2

12:10     Closing remarks - Don Milton, NAF Convenor

12:30     ----------------------------------- Close ---------------------------------------

Introduction

The joint NAF / LAF meeting was held virtually with 41 attendees. 17 LAFs were represented by either volunteers or local authority staff, and 15 NAF member bodies were represented. The aim of the meeting was to explore how LAFs have been functioning since the COVID pandemic and provide an opportunity for LAFs to share their local experiences with a view to future operation and activity.

Welcome and highlights from the National Access Forum

Don Milton welcomed everyone to the virtual meeting, stating that a hybrid event had been viewed as preferable but was not possible at this time. He introduced the programme for the morning and emphasised that breakout groups had been programmed to enable as many contributions as possible.

Ali Tait, NAF Secretary, provided a summary of the key elements of the National Access Forum’s work over the last year which included:

• NAF member bodies’ involvement in Scotland’s Visitor Management Strategy and the various groups overseeing its implementation.
• Publication of NAF guidance prepared by working groups and approved by the full NAF on -
  • Roads and Access Legislation in Scotland (September 2022)
  • Managing public access in areas of wildlife sensitivity in Scotland (February 2023)
• Activity by NAF working groups:
  • Camping - a report from Scottish Government and NatureScot on behavioural research on camping motivations and the use of behavioural change techniques to encourage responsible camping was published in 2022 - full report; summary
  • Upland Deer Management and Public Access - first met in December 2022 to discuss the co-existence of deer management and public access to the hills in the context of evolving deer management policy
  • Resources for Access - first met in September 2022 in response to NAF members raising concerns about funding and resources for access
• Provision of feedback to NatureScot on their 2023 communications strategy for increasing people’s understanding of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code
• Completion of the latest 4-yearly review of NAF membership has resulted in the NAF having 92 members, 25 full and 67 corresponding
• Confirmation of the extension of Don Milton’s convenorship of the NAF by 2 years, covering 2023 & 24
• Consideration of a range of other topics such as: issues around woodland planning and access; e-mountain biking; and the use of the phrase ‘access-takers’

Session 1:  Re-invigorating LAFs

In introducing the first discussion topic, Paul Timms (Cycling UK (Scotland) NAF rep and Chair of Stirling LAF) outlined the survey carried out by West Lothian Council last year of all Scottish access authorities (82% response rate) seeking feedback on their experiences of LAFs. The anonymised information gathered via the survey was to assist the council in its plans to restructure and raise profile of their LAF. The council shared the results with the NAF Convenor to enable the lessons learnt to be shared more widely – the report (executive summary at Annex 5) is available on the West Lothian Council website. 

From Paul’s analysis of the survey results:
Key positives:

• Formal terms of reference etc. aid the smooth running of LAFs
• An effective chair is crucial
• Works best with enthusiastic membership
• Sub-fora can be useful
• Virtual / hybrid meetings can increase participation
• Consulting beyond the membership can be helpful on occasion
• Decisions by access authorities have more credit when they have been considered by a LAF

Key negatives:

• Most LAFs struggle to appoint members and obtain a representative balance of membership
• Many rely heavily on input for officers for focus and agenda, so tend to be more reactive than proactive
• Many lack true independence
• Many access authorities no longer have an access officer and this inevitably results in a poorer forum
• Most new members receive minimal training to help them understand their role
• Some members fail to understand their representative role beyond their own particular concerns and it can be difficult to change the mind set
• Guidance document “Local Access Forms - A guide to Good Practice” (2005) is overdue for an update
• Lack of publicity hinders operations of LAFs
• Very little public involvement/awareness of LAFs

Headline points:

• Where LAFs are resourced and nurtured, the more effective and helpful they are
• No one fix fits all; LAFs need to tailor to local needs
• LAFs must evolve: in the early days Core Paths were a key issue but now: need to publicise SOAC; advise on general enquires, disputes, access strategies, path agreements and orders; statutory consultee on Exemption Orders

Summary of points made in the breakout groups:

• Resources for LAFs are vital – Access Authority officer time, volunteer time and funds to implement practical solutions
• Hard to get land owning/managing interests on LAFs; SLE encourages members to get involved, suggestion to approach next generation through Young Farmers
• Important that LAF membership is balanced, using a LAF rep job description can help counter perceptions that the LAF might be adversarial
• Access authorities should provide training for new LAF members to develop core competencies of the individuals
• LAFs could offer full/corresponding membership
• In some access authorities, access is viewed as primarily a local greenspace issue, and wider countryside is given less priority
• Working with neighbouring LAFs on cross border issues can be very effective
• Need to promote LAFs and what they do as this could make it easier to recruit and improve functionality
• A local point of contact in NatureScot would be helpful e.g. to approach on natural heritage issues
• One LAF had worked hard to get an arrangement whereby they could comment on forestry plans, though a sub group but that was a lot of work
• Need to draw distinction between advisory  role of LAF and role of access authorities
• Some LAF's pay expenses, some do not; this may be more of a issue in larger areas with frequent site visits
• Visit Scotland should promote that access should be exercised responsibly

Session 2:  Opportunities for LAFs to engage in national issues

Rona Gibb, Paths for All’s rep on the NAF, introduced the second discussion topic by illustrating the range of national policy areas Scotland’s outdoor access legislation can support such as: health & wellbeing; disability & equality; sustainable transport; climate change; planning; tourism; sport; leisure & recreation; education; volunteering; rural development. 

Research undertaken during the coronavirus pandemic showed that walking was the most popular outdoor activity undertaken for leisure, recreation or exercise, with local parks or open space, paths/tracks, pavements and woodland/forest being the most popular types of places to visit.

There are many ways in which LAFs help make links between the provision, management and promotion of local access networks & accessible green spaces and a range of national/local policy agendas such as: contributing to consultations, engaging with politicians, undertaking awareness-raising activities, working with/advising local projects/partnerships/community councils/locality planning groups etc., and sharing information about funding opportunities.

Summary of points made in the breakout groups:

• There are numerous opportunities for LAFs to make links with wider policy agendas in their area, such as health, active travel, tourism and community planning
• Some LAFs and Access staff review planning applications and respond when appropriate
• Some doubt was expressed that engaging with wider policy agendas was too much to ask of LAFs. This would require officer input, but already under-resourced
• LAFs need to ensure that all parts of their local authority know that they are there, what they do and why, and raise awareness internally of Part 1 of the Land Reform (S) Act
• LAFs can help raise awareness within their access authority and across wider sectors. Identify links to other policy areas, shout about the good work going on, invite councillors, officials, MSPs etc out on site
• LAFs could help encourage the promotion of active travel routes that link to public transport, and signage of local routes that can get people to greenspace areas i.e. out of town
• The setting up of short term LAF sub-groups focussed on specific projects/topics could be an effective way to link access with wider policy agendas

Closing remarks and Next steps

In closing, Don encouraged participants to send their thoughts about another meeting to the NAF Secretary ([email protected]) with issues including hybrid / virtual, length of breakout sessions, best time of day and day of the week. Don also noted that use of Battleby for in-person/hybrid meetings may not be possible in future depending on the outcomes of NatureScot’s estates review post-COVID-19.

Don then briefly addressed some of the issues raised by delegates in advance of the meeting, acknowledging that it was not possible to look at all of the issues or provide detailed responses.

Ideas arising during the meeting about possible future action:

• In discussion about the ways in which the existence of LAFs and what they do could be publicised to encourage people to get involved – BBC Landward noted as one suggestion, but also opportunities to raise a LFAs profile through local media.
• The 2006 Local Access Forms - A guide to Good Practice could be reviewed and updated; along with the Scottish Government’s 2005 Guidance for Local Authorities and National Parks Authorities on Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003
• Consider developing guidance for LAFs and community councils on how to flag up how access could be considered when they are looking at planning applications. See example for Ramblers Scotland members on ‘how to get involved in planning’.
• Encourage use of a QR code (example image) that links directly to the SOAC website.
• Access Officers who feel they work in isolation were encouraged to join the Scottish Outdoor Access Network (SOAN). This led to a post-meeting exchange about potential for LAFs to be able to share issues/queries using the Knowledge Hub (set up by the Improvement Service, the national improvement organisation for Local Government in Scotland).

LAFs can also raise issues with Nick Cole, the LAFs representative on the NAF.

Further info

Outdoor Accessibility Guidance developed by Paths for All and the Sensory Trust was published in April 2023.

Guidance on preparing Active Travel Strategies was published by Transport Scotland in February 2023.

Cycling Framework for Active Travel was published by Transport Scotland in April 2023.

TCV maintains an online digest of sources of grants for community, environmental and volunteering projects. The latest version is available on the TCV website under 'Fundraising support'.

Information about the National Access Forum includes published guidance and meeting papers.