Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I shall speak also to Amendment A360, which along with this amendment stands in my name and those of the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, and the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart. Over the past hour or so we have touched on some of the more natural hazards that might meet would-be walkers on the coastal path; we now move to some of the more commercially induced hazards that they might face. I am seeking some kind of assurance from the Government that the exemptions that we are going to talk about in a second are something that they will take seriously to avoid the risk of the general public coming into any sort of danger. Amendment A270 does that in a slightly different way from the rest of the amendments in this grouping that seek to amend the CROW Act. This one would involve adding to the Bill, with regard to land that has been set aside for coastal access, the words, ""not land which may be required for future port development"." We live in difficult commercial times and our ports are suffering, along with many other forms of transportation. We all hope that things will turn around soon and that ports will again be able to look towards expansion. Many of them have existing plans, and it is important that land that has been recognised as set aside for future port development should be taken into account in the Bill and thereby exempted. The noble Lord, Lord Geddes, has an amendment that seeks, in more detail and more specifically, to deal with the same issue, and I look forward to hearing what he has to say. We both seek the same end and the same response from the Government. Amendment A360 suggests an addition to the exceptions listed in Schedule 1 to the CROW Act—that is, to include land used for the purposes of recreational boating facilities, including marinas, boatyards and clubs. It is essential that the path does not stray into such areas, principally on grounds of safety, because some boatyards operate fairy heavy equipment throughout the day and night which could pose serious risk to people who did not know what was going on. Likewise, marinas contain boats which have some very expensive equipment on them, so unfettered access to such areas for the public would bring its own security problems. I cannot think that any yacht club would be particularly happy if there was access in front of its premises and it found thirsty walkers diving into the bar for a quick refresher en route. There are a number of concerns here. Ports as a whole should be exempt on security grounds alone. Access is restricted already, so there is no way in which the public can walk through port areas. I am keen to hear whether the Government are prepared to give an assurance that some of those areas will be exempt from the proposed coastal path. I beg to move.