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.

The Bill completed its passage through the House of Lords when it received its Third Reading on 8 June 2009 and was introduced into the House of Commons on 9 June 2009.  The Bill spent almost six months in the House of Lords with seventeen sessions of debate.  Over 1,000 amendments were debated.  The key documents page on the main Marine and Coastal Access Bill page has links to the transcripts of all Parliamentary proceedings on the Bill.

The main changes to Part 9 of the Bill following consideration by the House of Lords were:

  • Greater accountability. A duty on the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament a copy of Natural England’s scheme and any revised scheme.
  • More involvement for local authorities in developing the proposals for coastal access in their areas. Natural England’s scheme will set out the approach it will take when deciding whether it would be appropriate for an access authority to be involved in undertaking work preparatory to the preparation of a coastal report on a particular stretch of coast. An access authority will be able to enter into an agreement with Natural England to carry out some of the work involved in drawing up a coastal access report.
  • Clarification on how Natural England will deal with the coastal route around estuaries.  Natural England will be required to apply a number of detailed matters to all decisions it may make as to how to treat any estuary as part of the English coast rather than just to any decision to propose the route to be located at some point between the mouth of the estuary and the first public foot crossing. These matters include eg the nature of the land; the topography of the shoreline and the recreational benefit to the public of including such land.
  • Greater say and safeguards for those who own or manage land. An objections procedure allowing a person with a relevant interest in affected land (eg an owner or leaseholder) to have an objection to Natural England’s coastal access proposals referred to an appointed person (who it is envisaged will be an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate).
  • Further clarity for landowners over the land to which the new right of access will apply. The Bill will require Natural England to include in its coastal access report a map showing the landward boundary of the relevant coastal access land where it is not able to provide a description of the boundary which is sufficient to identify the relevant coastal margin. If a map is included Natural England must also provide a copy of that map on request to a person on request with a relevant interest in the affected land.
  • Other existing rights. Ensuring that the public are informed that the right of access conferred by the Bill does not affect any other rights of access eg for horse riders that may exist in relation to that land. A separate code of conduct may also be drawn up for coastal land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

The Bill will now be considered by the House of Commons. After the Second Reading debate in the House on 23 June 2009 it will enter the Committee stage to be debated and possibly further amended.  The Bill (as now amended by the House of Lords) and the accompanying revised Explanatory Notes can be viewed also through the main Marine and Coastal Access Bill page at www.defra.gov.uk/marine/legislation/key-docs.htm.

The Government has also published a policy document explaining how the provisions in the Bill will work. This can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/marine/pdf/legislation/mab-policy.pdf (PDF 480 KB)

 Two 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 110 KB) of the paper that was published alongside the Bill in December 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.

To accompany the Bill in December 2008, Natural England 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. Once approved the Scheme must now be laid before both Houses of Parliament. 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'.

A draft of the Bill was published on 3 April 2008. The draft Bill was scrutinised by the Defra (Department of 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:

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

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: 26 June 2009
Page published: 23 October 2008

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs