The Epping Forest & Commons Committee were scheduled to discuss governance proposals, an increase to wayleave fees, the purchasing of grounds maintenance machinery and remedial works to a reservoir. The committee was also scheduled to consider the appointment of a member to serve as an observer on the Natural Environment Board.

Rookery Wood Reservoir Remedial Works

The committee were scheduled to discuss a report about proposed remedial works to Rookery Wood Reservoir, which is part of the larger Copped Hall Estate, a Grade II listed landscape.

The reservoir is a historic Tudor square pond that is fed from an unnamed watercourse, a tributary of Cobbin's Brook. The Tudor pond was dammed by a raised trackway that was an ancient routeway into Copped Hall, which was formalised to create one side of the wall of the Tudor pond. Over time, the water feature was adapted to create a formal canal along the stream leading up to the pond, and later on the pond was remodelled into a serpentine shape. The site has a network of raised historic earthworks and 19th-century culverts along the stream that pass through the dam.

The report stated that the asset is currently in a state of disrepair, particularly the two culverts in the dam structure, and that these should be remediated because they have been identified as cause for concern on the grounds of matters relating to health and safety for operational staff and from a flood risk management perspective.

The primary objective of the project is to refurbish or replace the existing two culverts and their associated headwalls. The first inspection under the Reservoirs Act 1975, dated October 2017, identified the aforementioned items as a matter of safety, along with registering the reservoir with the Environment Agency as a Large Raised Reservoir and carrying out a Flood Study & Routing Calculations.

The Flood Study has confirmed that the reservoir does not fall within the current limit of a Large Raised Reservoir, which is a reservoir greater than 25,000m³. The Corporation did register the reservoir as a Large Raised Reservoir but successfully de-registered it in October 2019, after ascertaining that the volume does not classify it as such.

The report noted that protected species have been recorded on and adjacent to the dam, and that the extent of the damage to the earthworks by the protected species is unknown and will be assessed under the further investigations proposed by the report.

The report also stated that a permanent access road is proposed to be constructed for the dam remedial works as well as future access and maintenance.

The committee were scheduled to be asked to approve a budget of £122,000 for Gateway 2 to reach the next Gateway, and to note the total estimated cost of the project at £2,500,000 (excluding risk).

Motorgate Wayleave Fee Increase

The committee were scheduled to consider a report about increasing wayleave fees for domestic motor access (motorgates) as of 1 October 2025.

Following the enactment of the Epping Forest Acts 1878 & 1880, which established the City Corporation as the Conservators of Epping Forest, further land acquisitions were finalised in the Arbitrator's Award of 1882, which established the initial Forest Land holding. Section 33(1)(iv) of the Epping Forest Act 1878 provided power to the Conservators to 'afford facilities and grant rights of way for access to inclosures'.

Wayleaves are a widely recognised form of personal licence, which allow the Conservators to continue to manage rights of access across Forest land and prevent access rights from potentially arising by prescription.

The current wayleave charging model was developed by Strutt and Parker in conjunction with the City of London Open Spaces Department in 2015. The model came into effect as of 1 October 2015 and linked the motorgates to the existing council tax banding A-H.

The report stated that motorgate wayleave fees raise £30,765 and form a contribution to the Superintendent's (Assistant Director) Local Risk Budget which is applied in pursuance of the Epping Forest Charity's activities, including conservation and recreation objectives.

The committee were scheduled to consider the following options:

• Approve the increase wayleave fee for all domestic properties and agricultural accesses in line with RPI from April 2015 to April 2025, which represents a 55.9% increase and an increase in revenue to the Charity of £17,205 and annual income of £47,970.
• Approve an increase in wayleave fee for all domestic properties in line with average Council Tax increases per respective borough.
• Do not approve an increase in motorgate wayleave charges.

Purchasing of Grounds Maintenance Machinery at Chingford Golf Course

The committee were scheduled to discuss a report about the purchase of grounds maintenance machinery at Chingford Golf Course, with the intention of improving maintenance standards and staff efficiency.

The Golf Course Machinery Renewal Fund was built up from previous surpluses at Chingford Golf Course which were transferred to a fund to finance the future purchases of grounds maintenance machinery. The current uncommitted balance of the fund is £105,000.00

The report stated that Chingford Golf Course has seen profits increase year on year since 2016, and that last year the golf course made an operating profit of £216,000. The number of rounds has increased at Chingford Golf Course from 20,000 per year in 2016 to over 32,000 for 2024.

The report proposed purchasing an ex-demo John Deere 2750E Tees mower for £21,000 from the Golf Course Machinery Renewal Fund.

The committee were scheduled to be asked to approve the purchase of the mower.

Epping Forest and The Commons Governance Proposals

The committee were scheduled to discuss a report about proposed changes to the format of the meetings of the Commons Committee, along with the introduction of new member oversight groups.

The report stated that the Epping Forest and Commons Committee governance arrangements were last reviewed in 2023, and that since this review there are areas that may now benefit from some revisions.

The report proposed refining the governance arrangements for the Epping Forest and Commons Committee as follows:

• Retain the Epping Forest & Commons Committee (EF&CC) meetings on a bimonthly basis, holding six meetings each year, however, moving to four formal quarterly meetings for Committee business for decision making with two further meetings focused on strategy and policy development held on site at Epping Forest and / or The Commons.
• Endorse the principle of three Epping Forest and Commons Committee Saturday Visits annually, (March, July and November) on the Saturday preceding each Committee meeting that follows in the next week
• Appoint representative members to the proposed oversight and steering group meetings and Wanstead Parkland Steering Group.

It was proposed that three 'oversight' groups are established for Epping Forest and one oversight group for The Commons. The aim of these groups is to provide focus on priority areas, allowing for strategic oversight and, where required, more detailed scrutiny of key subject or project areas.

The proposed oversight groups were:

• EF Act 150th Celebrations (Epping Forest)
• Nature Resilience and Landscape (Epping Forest)
• Engagement and Accessibility (Epping Forest)
• Nature Resilience and Landscape (The Commons)

The committee were scheduled to be asked to approve the proposals.

Appointment of Consultative Committees and Groups

The committee was scheduled to consider the appointment of a Member to serve as an observer on the Natural Environment Board.