Spending cuts hit coastal access rollout

The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, which was approved by parliament last November in the face of opposition from farmers and landowners, had set out a comprehensive plan to improve access along almost 1,000 miles of coastline.

But Natural England, the Government body in charge of the route, has had to inform five local authorities – Cumbria, East Riding of Yorkshire, Somerset, Kent and Norfolk – that their schemes must be reduced to accommodate a 5 per cent reduction in this year’s budget.

Only the 14-mile stretch of coast in Weymouth, Dorset, will go ahead as planned to be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics.

A Natural England spokesman said the coastal access project ‘has not been shelved’ but that the speed and scope of the rollout would ‘become clearer’ following the Comprehensive Spending Review this autumn.

A Defra spokesman added: “Ministers remain committed to deliver the coastal path as laid out in the Act.”

But with Defra facing budget cuts of between 25 and 40 per cent as part of the October spending review, there are fears the coastal access project will face further delays.   

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), who opposed the Act in the first place, said any ‘partial shelving’ of plans would ‘blight’ the farmland. 

“Natural England has now accepted it cannot afford to impose the scheme within the 10-year time frame originally intended. As a result, every coastal homeowner, farmer and rural business in England will have their land blighted,” said William Worsley, CLA president.

He continued: “No one can make long-term plans on what to do with their land when the right of public access is looming. It makes business planning impossible”.  

He added the Government could save itself most of the £50 million if it left coastal access to be provided ‘on a local and voluntary basis’.

Have your say

Please do not complete the following form field for security reasons.

Name

E-mail

Comment

Post as

Anonymously

Display name