Ramblers call on Gordon Brown to make coastal access his first gift to the nation
[18 June 2007]
The Ramblers’ Association (RA), the national walking charity,
is urging the new leader of the Labour Party to make
coastal access his first gift to the
nation, on the eve of the launch of a public consultation on
access to the English coast (18 June 2007). Mr Brown is due to
take over as Prime Minister on June 27.
Natural England – the governmental advisory body on
biodiversity, recreation and wildlife – presented wide-ranging
recommendations to the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
in February. It’s now over to the public to have their say on
the type of access they want to have to the coast. An ICM poll
commissioned by the RA found that over 94% of the public said
they wanted a legal right of access to the coast.
At the heart of Natural England’s recommendations is a coastal
corridor that will enable the public to walk all the way around
the coast, an impossible feat at present. Currently access to
the coast is patchy at best and many walking routes are
unnecessarily diverted inland.
The national walking charity is pleased that the government has
launched a consultation and recognises the importance of
improving access to the coast for this and future generations.
David Miliband, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, who launches the consultation at The National
Trust’s White Cliffs of Dover visitor centre, in Dover tomorrow
is quoted as saying: “England’s coastline is a national
treasure. It should be the birthright of every citizen. Many
parts of the coast are already accessible but some are not. We
want to create an access corridor so that people can walk the
entire length of the coast.”
The RA is calling for measures to protect wildlife, privacy and
enhance landscapes and biodiversity. New grant schemes should
improve management of coastal land and increase the benefits for
wildlife, landowners and the public.
Kate Ashbrook, chairman of the RA, said: “We are an island
nation yet access to the coast is poor in many places. There is
no right to walk on the foreshore between mean and high tide, so
even a child building a sandcastle may technically be
trespassing.”
She added: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to change
dramatically the type of access we have to the coast. It is
currently impossible to walk from one end of the coast to the
other. The public finally have an opportunity to change that.”