January CNCC Committee Meeting

[CNCC Secretary]

Saturday 17 January, 9:30am in Clapham Village Hall

The January agenda is now available on the MEETINGS page of the CNCC website :

CNCC Meetings and Minutes

Meetings are open to all and we encourage you to come and either just observe or take part.

cncc.org.uk

Draft minutes for the October meeting are also on the website. Officer reports will be uploaded separately, one week before the meeting.

As well as the usual routine matters (such as officers reports), we have an interesting discussion paper from the Individual Caver Rep on Access Agreements.

Although this is a Committee meeting, it's very informal, and ALL cavers are invited to come along, either to observe or to participate. You are welcome to provide input on all discussions, as we aspire to bring together the broadest range of viewpoints and ideas.

Also, as we approach the AGM, please consider whether you might get more involved in running the CNCC, perhaps by standing for one of the officer roles, or by your club standing for the committee.

 

[CNCC Secretary]

Officer reports now on the website (link above)
Everyone welcome, either in person or online. Just let me know if you'd like a Teams invite.

 

[CNCC]

A final reminder that this Saturday we have our January Committee meeting:

Saturday 17th January, 9:30am (until around 11:30am), Clapham Village Hall

We urge any caver who wishes to support us to come along. Whether you are speaking on behalf of your club, your group, others with similar interests, yourself as an individual, we want to hear what you think. Interested observers are also very welcome.

Just turn up at the above time/place – A few of the team will be there at least 30 minutes earlier setting up if you would like a quiet chat or some introductions. Grab a brew (tea/coffee and biscuits provided) and take a seat.

We’ll be done by 11:30ish so still plenty of time to go caving afterwards.

There are a couple of meaty agenda items:

Representation

A few years ago we renamed as the Council for the Northern Caving Community to reflect our support of caving beyond just traditional clubs. Our next step, as part of an ongoing review, is to better reflect that in our constitution and structure. Some great ideas are on the table for discussion, which will be presented and perhaps refined at this meeting.

Access - What restrictions are reasonable?

We now support open access to most of the major fells in our region, and all caves on CRoW Access Land. All access issues we now encounter are for non-access land caves. In recent months, our team have dealt with situations at Skirwith Cave and in Littondale, where the landowners have communicated restrictions on access which CNCC have needed to choose whether to endorse and pass onto cavers.

Reasonable restrictions that ensure good, uncomplicated and undiscriminating access, might seem worth supporting and communicating, as part of good relations between cavers and landowners. But what restrictions cross the line where we can no longer endorse them in this way? The decision will need to be judged on a case-by-case basis and perspectives are likely to be subjective.

This meeting will be a good chance to discuss those perspectives, and for the CNCC to provide some guidance to our Officers for future decisions. What are our ‘red lines’ in terms of endorsing access requirements? Do we decline to communicate restrictions that cross those red lines, even when the alternative would be no formal arrangement for cavers?

We hope to see lots of you on Saturday (ideally in-person, but otherwise online).

 

[CNCC Secretary]

I've just uploaded the January minutes onto the CNCC website. Although they've been checked by committee members, they're only draft until approved at the June meeting.