Access to the Countryside (Coastal Margin) (England) Order 2010

My Lords, the Government are of course committed to providing a route around the coast of England for people to enjoy. The draft order currently before the Committee is the next important step in ensuring that that becomes a reality within the next 10 years. It has been laid before Parliament under the powers in Section 44(3) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Section 303(5) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 amends the CROW Act to include coastal margin in the definition of access land. It also inserts a provision that enables the Secretary of State to specify certain land as coastal margin. The Marine and Coastal Access Act is a great achievement. It took almost a year to complete its passage through Parliament and came out all the stronger for the careful scrutiny that it received in this House and the other place. Today I offer my plaudits to the noble Lords I see before me who contributed to the deliberations in our extensive scrutiny of the Bill, which we all enjoyed and look back on with the greatest pleasure, given that the outcome was so constructive. I also pay tribute to the excellent pre-legislative scrutiny work completed by Members of this House in the Joint Committee chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Greenway. Part 9 of the Act provides for improving access to the English coast. It does this through introducing new sections into two existing pieces of legislation: the long-distance path provisions of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949; and Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. New Section 3A of the CROW Act, inserted by Section 303 of the 2009 Act, enables amendments to be made by affirmative resolution order to the existing provisions in the CROW Act as they will apply to coastal land. The draft Access to the Countryside (Coastal Margin) (England) Order before us introduces necessary amendments to the CROW Act which are appropriate to the circumstances on the coast and which, alongside the 2009 Act, will help us to deliver our vision for clear, consistent and, as far as possible, continuous access along the English coast. We consulted on the proposals for the order between September and December last year and received 197 responses from a range of organisations and individuals. We are grateful to all those who took the time to respond; a summary of those responses is available on the Defra website. We considered carefully all the comments received, which in general have supported our consultation proposals, but we have amended the proposals in some respects as a result of the views expressed. I believe that we have before us a way forward that will contribute to striking a fair balance between the interests of the public and the interests of landowners and occupiers. Article 3 of the order sets out descriptions of land to which the right of access under Section 2(1) of the CROW Act will apply. The descriptions include the line of the English coastal route, land within 2 metres either side of the line of the route, land to the seaward of the route and land to the landward of the route where it is foreshore, cliff, bank, barrier, dune, beach or flat. Part 1 of the schedule to the order amends the categories of excepted land at Schedule 1 to the CROW Act as they apply to the coastal margin, removing some existing categories, amending some categories to allow the coastal route to go though and adding new categories appropriate to the circumstances of the coast. Part 2 of the schedule amends the general restrictions at Schedule 2 to the CROW Act, in particular the requirements for control of dogs; for example, it introduces a requirement that a person on the coastal margin accompanied by a dog must keep the dog under effective control and it relaxes restrictions on angling-related activity, for obvious reasons as far as the coast is concerned. Part 3 of the schedule amends the process for making exclusions or restrictions of access and adds a new power to restrict or exclude access to areas of salt marsh or flats where they are unsuitable for the public. The changes are proportionate and appropriate. The flexibility in the Act and the extensive consultation that Natural England will undertake prior to recommending any route will ensure that all interests are taken into account and that any necessary exclusions and restrictions are in place from the outset. I commend the order to the Committee and I beg to move.