april 2013-march 2014 - ashdown forest · 2014. 6. 11. · our progress against that plan which we...
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1 AF Annual Report v3 1 2014
ASHDOWN FOREST
ANNUAL REPORT
APRIL 2013-MARCH 2014
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Introduction
Historic Context Ashdown Forest comprises 2590 hectares (6400
acres) of common land set aside by the Royal
Commission in 1691. It is an ancient area of
tranquil open heathland occupying the highest
sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is one of the
largest free public access spaces in the South of
England.
Although Ashdown Forest is seen as a wild and
natural place the way it looks has been directly
influenced by the activities of man over the
course of millennia. The Forest has a strong manufacturing as well as agricultural element to its history. It was
used extensively for grazing, fuel production for hearths and smelting, iron working, timber production and, of
course, hunting by the elite.
Ownership and Management In 1987 the then owner of Ashdown Forest, Earl de
la Warr, indicated his intention to sell the Forest
and manorial rights, and on 25 November 1988 the
East Sussex County Council acquired the freehold.
This is held by ESCC as Trustee under the terms of
the Ashdown Forest Trust, set up in 1988, which is
a charitable trust.
The responsibility for managing Ashdown Forest
lies with an independent body, the Board of
Conservators of Ashdown Forest. Eight members
are appointed by East Sussex County Council, two are appointed by Wealden District Council, five are elected
by local Commoners and one (the Chairman of the County Council) represents the owner of the Forest.
Originally set up in 1885, the Board has been regulated under a series of Acts of Parliament, the most recent
being the Ashdown Forest Act 1974. There, in section 16, it is stated that...
"It shall be the duty of the Conservators at all times as far as possible to regulate and manage the forest as an
amenity and place of resort subject to the existing rights of common upon the forest and to protect such rights
of common, to protect the forest from encroachments, and to conserve it as a quiet and natural area of
outstanding beauty".
Subsequent Legislation Subsequent legislation that affects the management of the Forest includes The Wildlife and Countryside Act,
the 1992 EC Habitats Directive, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW), the Commons Act, The Natural
Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC), the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations. This
extensive legislation relates mostly to protection of wildlife but also to the duties of local authorities regarding
biodiversity and to the status of Common Land in the modern age.
Protection and Designations Ashdown Forest's ecological importance as a unique area of lowland heathland has been recognised by its
designation by the UK government as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and as a Special Protection Area
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(SPA) for birds and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for its heathland
habitats. It is part of the European Natura 2000 network as it hosts some
of Europe's most threatened species and habitats.
Chairman’s Report for the Year – Roy Galley This year we have developed a clear, focussed Strategic Plan setting out
our goals, objectives and the actions we plan to take. We are monitoring
our progress against that Plan which we will review in September.
That may seem a very dry, managerial activity but it won’t be. We are
looking closely at how best to secure the future of the heathland and which grazing methods may be best
along with other management strategies. The research and evaluation involved may well have wide
implications even beyond the Forest and we will certainly have to make some key decisions which may impact
on future years.
In tandem with this is the question of funding as Higher Level Stewardship ends in 2016. We are seeking to
influence Natural England, the relevant government body, so that we get the best outcome for the Forest.
Now that we have received planning permission for an improved Forest Centre, we are keen to raise the
money and develop a project plan so that we can achieve the improvements as soon as possible. In addition
we will be looking at extending and upgrading our working
buildings to ensure health and safety, meet current legal
requirements and support expanded work programmes.
All of this is aimed at making us better at Conservation and
enhancing our educational offer.
My thanks to all our dedicated staff and volunteers for all their hard
work and commitment and a very special ‘thank you’ also to our
wonderfully supportive Friends. We could do with even more
Friends and I hope that others will want to join them to help in our
joint endeavour to preserve and improve our special place.
Director’s Report for the Year - Pat Buesnel This report can only give a flavour of the huge amount of varied work we have been involved with during this
year - none of which would be possible without our dedicated and expert staff team and the support of the
volunteers. We have had a number of significant staff changes this year and are now looking forward to being
back to full strength for the coming year.
The Chase Rangers and Countryside team work to an annual work programme covering, in Summer, ride and
bracken mowing, car park maintenance and species surveys and, in Winter scrub cutting and tree felling,
roadside tree surveys, boundary walking, ride resurfacing and heather cutting. I am sure I don’t need to tell
you that the appalling weather from Christmas 2013 onwards, with storms and relentless rain, affected our
regular programme and maintenance as the team worked hard to ensure safety of roads and access. And,
throughout the year we litter pick, respond to deer and dog incidents, patrol the Forest and ensure adherence
to bye laws, follow up on encroachments, manage our stock and a hundred and one other tasks that occur on
a day to day basis.
We could not manage without the support of our 100+ volunteers who hold a variety of roles – Information
Barn Volunteers, Mounted and Volunteer Rangers, History Research, Conservation and Bird Groups, Office
Support and Pop Up Cafe, Sheep Lookerers, Health and specialist walk leaders. I hope the regular ‘get
togethers’ and training sessions held throughout the year go some way to show our appreciation of the time,
expertise and energy given so freely.
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In addition we continued the partnership with Sussex and Surrey Probation Series (Community Payback
offenders) and with the residents of Southview Close (adults with learning difficulties) offering them
volunteering opportunities whilst undertaking valuable work for us.
We are working hard to be better at communicating with commoners, residents, local communities, partners
and visitors. We have our annual Commoners and Residents meetings, quarterly Parish Liaison Panels and
regular contact with Ashdown Forest Riding Association (AFRA) and Ashdown Forest Tourism Association; we
produce the Ashdown Forest Life, with a circulation of 3000 and a quarterly volunteers newsletter plus staff
attend a variety of forums and networks to give presentations about the work of the Forest and its
uniqueness. In addition to an increased reliance on our website (www.ashdownforest.org) for providing a
whole range of information, we have seen a dramatic rise in the use of social media this year with a total of
3,900 followers via Facebook, Twitter and e-news.
The Information Barn saw 11,677 visitors, with 4 exhibitions running through the year; in addition 38 events,
including a Children’s Wildlife Illustration competition, a free dog micro chipping session and the annual Fungi
identification Day, were held at the Forest Centre with a further 96 events or activities taking place on the
Forest. We welcomed 17 schools (792 children) to the Education Barn facilitated by teachers from Sussex
Wildlife Trust, with a further 5 (560 children) opting for the self-guided package.
A couple of activities require a special mention:
The Ashdown Forest Health Walks, led by our trained walk leaders, have
proved very successful with up to 50
attendees each week benefitting from a
regular one hour walk, in beautiful
surroundings, in the company of others.
Feedback has been very positive
particularly from those recovering from an
operation or illness or recently bereaved. The Health Walks have been
supported by the Trust for Conservation Volunteers and we received a small
start-up grant from the Health Improvement Partnership. A further ‘spin off’
has been the setting up of the popular ‘Poets Walks’ for those wanting a more artistic emphasis.
During 2013 -14 103 incidents were recorded on our Dog Incident data base set up as part of our developing
Every Dog Matters Programme. In order to promote and facilitate responsible dog ownership set against an
increase in out of control, lost dogs and stock attacks, we have held three Rider Training events (with
AFRA)(36 in attendance), three Dog Walkers training events with a Canine Behaviourist (80 in attendance), a
free dog micro chipping event with The Dogs Trust (40 dogs chipped) and held a meeting for licenced dog
walking businesses. We secured a small grant from the Safer Wealden Partnership and are currently working
on an Ashdown Forest Code of Conduct for Dog Walkers. There is still a lot more to do with plans to set up
and support a group for Volunteer Dog Walkers (similar to the volunteer Mounted Rangers), establish a Dog
Walkers forum, provide dog training on the Forest and run a Dog Care event, with Raystede, for Children and
Young People.
We were very pleased to be able to make room available for the Friends of Ashdown Forest to have their
office here at the Forest Centre –they continue to support us in so many ways and the closer working greatly
benefits both organisations.
And finally my thanks to the staff team for all they do and with great enthusiasm and humour during a period
of considerable change and disruption.
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Clerk’s Report for the Year – Rosalind Marriott We have addressed a number of difficult and complex issues this year including, in conjunction with East
Sussex County Council, the development of a formalised Encroachment Policy. This process will enable us to
deal with any encroachment discovered in a manner that will serve both the Ashdown Forest Trust and
residents of the Forest in a fair and appropriate way. Linked to this issue has been the matter of some
conflicting boundaries as shown by the Land Registry map with those laid down by the Award Map that
determined the boundaries of the Forest in 1887. It is these boundaries that the Conservators have a duty to
protect under the 1974 Act. The Forest’s own Land Registry map sometimes seems to show anomalies and
work is still in progress to identify significant differences.
We have also set in motion, with the support of the Legal Services Department of East Sussex County Council,
the process for raising the fine for the breach of the Forest Bye-laws. This had been set in 1974 when the
Bye-laws were first made with no provision to increase the fine in line with inflation. The Bye-laws have
protected Ashdown Forest well over the past forty years and informal consultation with the Local Authorities,
Parish Councils, volunteers and user groups showed unanimous agreement that the increase in the fine to
Level Two of the Standard Scale was reasonable and no other amendment to the Bye-laws was necessary. By
linking the fine to the Standard Scale, this process will not need to be carried out again as the fine will increase
in accordance with the appropriate legislation. 'Level Two of the Standard Scale currently stands at £500.
The 2013 Commoners’ Annual Meeting raised the question of the possibility of creating new commoners with
rights over Ashdown Forest. Careful scrutiny of recent legislation indicated that this would not be possible.
The rights registered for Ashdown Forest were calculated in 1965 following the Commons Registration Act
1964. There are now about 750 commoners who all have these rights shared amongst themselves according
to the size of their landholding.
We have had considerable support from East Sussex County Council, ACAS and the Federation of Small
Businesses over a number of human resource issues including staff long term ill health issues and the
development of our suite of organisational policies and procedures.
During the year we have issued 12 Perpetual Licences, six Deeds of Covenant, seven temporary licences, six
filming or photography licences, eight Dog Walking professional licences, 16 Deposits, issued 366 Riding
Permits, processed 1035 Rent Rates and 212 wood permits.
Conservation Officer’s Report – Steve Alton As managers of a site with a number of high-level designations, we have an obligation to maintain the special
features of the Forest and to take action to return it to what is known as ‘favourable conservation status’. This
is a set of targets specific to the habitat and the species which make it special, such as maintaining or
increasing the coverage of heather or controlling invasive non-native species. The majority of the
management work that is carried out on the Forest is designed to achieve favourable conservation status.
That management includes bracken mowing, the felling of trees and scrub that are invading the open heath
and occasional controlled burning, but increasingly we are relying on grazing as a management tool. We have
a flock of around 300 Hebridean sheep, supplemented with Riggit Galloway cattle and a handful of Exmoor
ponies. Between them, they graze the heath, controlling scrub and
encouraging the regrowth of the heather. To achieve this, we have temporary
grazing enclosures around the Forest, in addition to the large fenced area
between Nutley and Duddleswell grazed by a Commoner’s stock.
Management of the heathland is currently funded by Natural England under
their Higher Level Stewardship scheme. This scheme comes to an end in 2016,
and we are working closely with Natural England to ensure a smooth transition
to the funding programme which will replace it.
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Summary of Financial Information This information is extracted from the full annual audited accounts and its purpose is to highlight visually the
different segments of the Board’s Income and Expenditure for the year. To view a full set of these accounts
please visit www.ashdownforest.org.
Financial Information 31 March 2014 – Income and Expenditure
Income Summary 2013 2014
£ £
401220 Grants 404,689
116956 Charitable Receipts and Donations 83,536
172397 Licences & Forest Rate 173,581
11644 Visitors 10,837
3679 Sundry Receipts 13,891
44338 Financial 10,631
750234 TOTAL INCOME 697,165
Expenditure Summary 2013 2014
£ £
363,412 Staff Costs 364,106
51,359 Administration Overheads 51,622
9,047 Forest Centre Development 4,860
86,785 Operational expenses 73,368
82,175 HLS conservation (excluding staff costs) 64,584
46,733 Financial 26,821
639,510 Total non-capital Expenditure 585,360
104,798 Capital expenditure 41,386
744,308 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 626,746
SURPLUS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE
5,926 70,418
Notes:
Surplus / (Deficit) attributable to HLS 45,541
Surplus / (Deficit) attributable to Core Activities 24,877
STATEMENT OF RESERVES AS AT 31ST MARCH 2014
GENERAL
FUND HLS TOTAL
Reserves Balance as at 1.4.13 276,305 84,295 360,600
Plus Income 377,866 319,299 697,165
Less Expenditure 352,989 273,758 626,746
RESERVES BALANCE AS AT 31.3.14 £301,182 £129,836 £431,018
Note:
It is the Board's policy to maintain a General Reserve at least equal to six months' salaries and administration
costs. However a number of challenges have resulted in an unexpectedly large surplus on the year, resulting in
a sizable increase in both General and HLS reserves. The two most significant challenges were the difficult
weather, which has been described elsewhere and which meant some planned work could not be undertaken
within the expected time-frame; and secondly a delay in obtaining planning permission for the Forest Centre,
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with the same effect. Taking these points into account the Board and ESCC have approved a deficit budget for
the year ahead when it is hoped this work will proceed. In addition it is the Board's wish to build additional
reserves which will enable long term strategic planning and financial management.
Graphs of income and expenditure
TOTAL INCOME FOR YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2014 - £697,165
EXPENDITURE FOR YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2014 - £626,746
Grants
Charitable Receipts and
Donations
Licences & Forest Rate
Visitors
Sundry Receipts
Financial
Staff Costs
Administration Overheads
Forest Centre Development
Operational expenses
HLS conservation (excluding
staff costs)
Financial
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List of Conservators
Cllr J Barnes, Appt ESCC
Cllr C Belsey, Representing AF Trust
Mr MJ Cooper, Appt ESCC
Mr J A Francis, Elected 2010
Mr R Galley, Elected 2013
Mr PJ Glyn, Elected 2014
Cllr C Hardy, Appt WDC
Mrs D Hurrell, Elected 2012
Mr AG Reid, Appt ESCC
Mr JW Spicer, Elected 2011
Cllr R Stogdon, Appt ESCC
Cllr R St Pierre, Appt ESCC
Cllr L Keeley, Appt ESCC
Cllr S Tidy, Appt ESCC
Cllr M Weaver, Appt WDC
Cllr FWJ Whetstone, Appt ESCC
List of Staff Director
Pat Buesnel
Clerk to the Conservators
Rosalind Marriott
Office Administrator
Tracy Buxton
Conservation Officer
Chris Marrable - to September 2013
Steve Alton - from December 2013
Grazing Officer
Caroline FitzGerald
Grazing Assistant
Joe Wallis
Caretaker
John Ridley
Rangers
Rich Allum South Chase
Mike Payne West Chase
Chris Sutton East Chase
Mike Yates North Chase
Countryside Workers
Colin Lutman
Ed Burgin - to October 2013
Tom Simon - from December 2013
Gerry Lee - to February 2014
Ashley Payne (from June 2014)
The Ashdown Forest Centre
Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex
RH18 5JP
01342 823583
01342 822846
www.ashdownforest.org
Twitter: @ashdownforest
Blog: blog.ashdownforest.org
Facebook: Ashdown Forest Centre