'Right to roam' for England's Coastline

[marksimonbrown]

'Right to roam' England's beaches
Sunday, 8 April 2007
BBC News Online
Ref: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6536481.stm

Walkers are to be given the "right to roam" around the entire
coastline of Britain, under government proposals.

At present the public only has access to around half the English
coastline.

But Environment Secretary David Miliband told the Independent on
Sunday he wanted to create an "access corridor" to open it all up.

The paper says the corridor will take about 10 years to establish at a
cost of about £50 million, but adds it is likely to be strongly opposed.

The Country Land and Business Association has said previously that
landowners would have to be compensated, and has warned about safety
issues along coastlines.

'National treasure'
Scotland already has a legal right of access to its coastline and the
creation of a coastal path is under way in Wales.

If England had an "access corridor" it would open up the entire 9,040
miles (14,548km) of the mainline British coastline to the public.

Mr Miliband told the Independent on Sunday: "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 English coast."

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was
due to launch a public consultation on improving access to the coast
within the next few months.

Natural England, the new official wildlife and countryside watchdog,
advised the government in February that more of England's coastline
should be open to tourists and walkers.