Coastal access

Natural England unveils its coast path plan

01/05/2008

Part of the draft Marine Bill, being considered by Parliament at the moment, contains the provisions for coastal access being proposed by Natural England. Consultations on coastal access have been rather protracted but in the end Natural England opted to push for new legislative powers rather than try to achieve what it wanted under the existing Countryside and Rights of Way Act(2000).

Last month Natural England published its scheme for coastal access which it hopes a Marine Bill will enable. Essentially it proposes a coastal trail that will run more or less uninterrupted around England’s coast. This trail will provide walking rights only, will be in essence some 4 metres wide, but also in most places allow “spreading room” down to the sea where it is feasible, as well some inland spreading room back to features such as field boundaries. The new legislation will exempt owners from public liability due to the natural hazards of the coast as well as normal farming. Natural England however will reserve the right to put up warning signs near any unseen dangers.

Once enacted there will evidently not be a sudden opening up of the coast but a process of negotiation section by section as bits of the new route are determined. This might take a decade. Diversions and restrictions will apply in military training areas and nature reserves.

There will be some losers inevitably like those with private coast or who charge access to the coast. However, car parking facilities and other attractions should not be affected and some landowners may benefit from providing these.

What is not clear from Natural England is just how much new access will be created. Much of the popular southern coast already has a good coast path and a lot of land is owned by the National Trust which is also open to the public. Will the new bits be flat boring bits that people won’t visit anyway, or are there some hidden gems waiting for the walker to discover?