Issue - meetings

Purpose:           To inform members of the information technology methods available for the public to report problems on public rights of way.

That the contents of the report and demonstration of the CAMS web system be noted.

The Senior Rights of Way Officer shared information on the Countryside Access Management System (CAMS) which had been used by the Council’s Rights of Way team for almost 20 years to record rights of way issues reported by the public.

The Rights of Way Officer gave a demonstration of CAMS web, the internet-enabled module for reporting faults on public rights of way which was accessed via a link on the Council’s website.  New users were required to register their details to access the system and could then select specific areas from the digital map on which to input data on the issue they wished to raise, such as reporting obstructions, fly tipping etc.  Since its launch in 2014, a number of improvements had been made to the system and a further update in the New Year would resolve some outstanding problems such as updating community areas and enabling progress to be automatically sent to the user who had reported the problem.  In the meantime, users were able to track progress of their raised issues via the unique reference number generated by the system.  Feedback from user sessions held with the Flintshire Local Access Forum and other relevant groups had been passed to the developers to improve the system, and the intention now was to raise awareness of the system with small groups of Members.

Councillor Chris Dolphin asked about the number of people who had used the system and raised concerns about the outstanding problems, including response times, which he felt would discourage users.  He also took the opportunity to express his appreciation for the work done on footpaths by Jon Hill.  The Senior Rights of Way Officer said that the forthcoming update would resolve these problems and that over 150 people had raised issues through various sources including the CAMS web.

During discussion on footpath numbers, it was confirmed that these could be viewed by selecting a particular footpath on the digital map.  The Senior Rights of Way Officer also advised the Committee that the display of footpath numbers on public footpaths was currently being phased in.

In response to the comments made, the Chief Officer for Planning & Environment acknowledged that the system was not yet finished and was awaiting the update.  He reiterated that the trial sessions with user groups had resulted in various changes to the system being implemented by the developer.

Following a request by Councillor Dolphin, officers agreed to provide the Committee with details of the cost of the system.  Councillor Dolphin also asked for information on the system to enable him to share with others.

In response to the latter request, Councillor Nancy Matthews asked that this be circulated to all Members of the Committee.  She went on to say that the service from the developer was not satisfactory and requested information on the procurement process.  Councillor Ann Minshull commented that the system appeared to be too complex.

Councillor Mike Peers also raised concerns about the outstanding problems on the system and questioned why  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44