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Wildlife & Countryside

Improving Access to the English Coast

Image of a coast lineOn 4 December 2008 the Government introduced the Marine and Coastal Access Bill into Parliament. The Bill helps fulfil the Government’s 2005 election manifesto commitments to introduce a new framework for the seas based on marine spatial planning, that balances conservation, energy and resource needs, and to improve access to the English coast.  Part 9 of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill contains provisions for improving access to the English coast.

Part 9 of the Bill places a duty on the Secretary of State and Natural England to secure a long distance route (“the English coastal route”) and land available for open-air recreation accessible to the public around the coast of England.  In doing so the Bill amends existing legislation – namely the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

A draft of the Bill was published on 3 April 2008. The draft Bill was scrutinised by the Efra (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Select Committee, and a Joint Committee, made up of members from both Houses.  The two Committee's reports were published on 22 and 30 July 2008 respectively and can be viewed on the following pages:

Defra also undertook a public consultation on the draft Bill and a summary of the responses has been published.

The Government's response to the two Committee's reports and recommendations, and its response to the public consultation were published on 25 September. The response can be viewed at

The Bill and explanatory notes have been published on the Parliamentary website. You can view the documents at  http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2008-09/marineandcoastalaccess.html

The Government has also published a policy document explaining how the provisions in the Marine and Coastal Access Bill will work. This can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/marine/legislation/index.htm. Four additional background notes have also been published setting out:

We have also published a document setting out the main measures being considered for inclusion in an Order to amend Section 3 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. This is a revised draft (PDF 48 KB) of the paper that was published alongside the draft Bill in April 2008. 

Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, we will carry out a consultation process on the details of such an Order which must then be approved by each House of Parliament.

The coastal access provisions in the Bill will make amendments to both the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. To see how text of the Acts will be affected, revised versions of CROW (PDF 62 KB) and NPACA (PDF 72 KB) have been prepared incorporating the amendments.

To accompany the Bill, Natural England has published a draft of the Scheme which it will use to decide where the new coastal access rights will apply at the local level.  This document, which Natural England is required to provide by the Bill and which must be approved by the Secretary of State, sets out the practical considerations which will be taken into account in respect of particular land types and land uses.  It revises Natural England's outline of the Scheme which was published at the same time as the draft Marine Bill in April 2008.  Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, Natural England will consult on the draft Scheme before finalising it and submitting it to the Secretary of State for approval. The draft Scheme and supplementary information can be viewed on Natural England's website at the following address:

Background

The decision to legislate so that the public will have the right to walk around the English coast for the first time was made following the Consultation on Proposals to improve access to the English coast (PDF 649 KB) which closed on 11 September 2007. A report summarising the responses is available to download (PDF 544 KB). The consultation followed Natural England`s report and advice to Government in February 2007: 'Improving coastal access: our advice to Government'.

For more information on Defra and Natural England’s work, see the Frequently Asked Questions about access to the English coast.

For further enquiries please telephone 0117 372 8897 or email coastal.access@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Page last modified: 09 March 2009
Page published: 23 October 2008

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs