Ebbisham Lane: the clerk reiterated that, following a meeting, the county council were adamant that maintenance would be only as a bridleway, notwithstanding the current status. Apologies from the clerk for failing to follow up the undertaking to look into the possibility of a notice of repair, which would therefore be discussed at the next meeting of the board.

Horse margin, Langley Vale Road: we suggested that the horse margin could be subject to a traffic regulation order restricting cycling, perhaps only during the training hours in the morning. The CTC put the case for allowing continuing use by cyclists, and suggested signing the top end of the margin of the need to look out for horses when descending. The preference was for new signage to warn of the danger, and to follow up with further measures if that was unsuccessful.

Hack ride through Warren Woodland: work is now programmed to begin this winter, to open up the lost hack ride from Old London Road through the Warren woodland to terminate near Grosvenor Road.

Epsom Live! concerts: further discussion about the disruption arising from some of the post-racing concerts.

Hack sand track: three quotes were to be obtained to upgrade the sand track, of which one had been received in the order of £15-20k: this was to relay sand and add four additional areas of drainage. Alex noted that the current situation was being managed, which was welcome, and looked forward to developments.

Hatched area: the board had merely noted a report on the origin of the hatched area designation, agreeing continuing maintenance in accordance with the management plan, which would never achieve a return to favourable condition suitable for hack riding (which, of course, was the point). We asked why hack riders could not use that part of the area currently in use for winter training, since conditions obviously permitted, and what changes would be required to the management of the remainder of the hatched area to secure favourable conditions: the racecourse representative didn’t have an answer to this, and we agreed to write with these questions to be put (again) to the TGMB.

Cycling byelaw: we adopted the trainers’ representative’s suggestion that a further byelaw should provide that: “Any person who rides a cycle on the Downs shall give way to persons on horseback and pedestrians.” The cyclists representative thought this would be unsatisfactory and downs users should be trusted. It was suggested that the rules should be consistent between public bridleways (where this was already a requirement, under the Countryside Act 1968) and the authorised routes. The chairman was concerned about delay to the new byelaw, but agreed to put the proposal to the next meeting.

Noticeboards: we suggested the need for further debate on the style and content of the maps which will be displayed on the downs to replace the existing byelaw noticeboards. A proposal was made that the boards should also be double-sided. It was agreed there would be further consultation before a decision was taken.

Date of next meeting: 4 July 2011.