The Ramblers’ Association (RA) gives a mixed response to the findings of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Select Committee report on the coastal access section of the draft Marine Bill.
Commenting on the report Draft Marine Bill: Coastal Access Provisions, Tom Franklin, Ramblers’ Chief Executive said:“I believe the committee have failed to grasp the government’s vision for coastal access and have ignored the huge public benefit it will provide.Instead, the report focuses solely on the perceived problems it may bring for large landowning interests. The Secretary of State should certainly take all they have said with a large pinch of sea salt.”
The Ramblers gave comprehensive oral evidence to the committee on 11th June and has campaigned extensively for the benefits that continuous coastal access around the entire English coastline will deliver to the general public and rural businesses alike. The RA looks forward to the ongoing process of enshrining into law its provisions for a continuous English coastal route and spreading land.
Tom continues: “Access to the coast in this country is lamentable with one third of the entire coastline out of bounds.It is currently not possible to walk for longer than an hour anywhere on the English coast without encountering an obstacle, obstruction or area of poor access. In terms of coastal access rights, England is currently towards the bottom of a league table of northern European coastal states and that must change.
“In addition, the RA acknowledges the Committee’s work on recommending proper local negotiation and consultation before any new land is made accessible to the public. However, the RA does not see the need for a formal appeals process as it can only add to the complexity, bureaucracy, and cost of the exercise. At the end, the final decision remains, as before, with the Secretary of State, making any outcome of an appeal null and void.
“On the linked question of compensation to landowners, the Ramblers’ Association firmly believes that, with sufficient goodwill, proper consultation and realistic compromise by all parties concerned, the need to look at paying compensation should not arise. In its evidence the Ramblers asked that environmental improvement payments to farmers be considered rather than compensation, as these improvement payments would provide a better walking and landscape environment.
“While supporting moves to ensure that personal privacy is protected, we do not consider that all parks and gardens, however large, should automatically be excluded. Clarification of this will help resolve any issues which may arise during the local consultation process.”
Click here for the RA coastal access policy
