Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, my response to the noble Baroness is to say, as I think I did in speaking to an earlier amendment, that we want to build on what is already there. Access to the coast already exists in a substantial part of the country. In some parts it does not meet the Bill’s criteria, which is why work will need to be done there, and some parts of the coast are not accessible, which is what the Bill concerns itself with. She mentioned the coastal path in the south-west of England. When a path is working well and no factors intrude to necessitate changing the arrangements, Natural England’s priority will not be to address that area, and we would not expect it to. As a result of its studies and preliminary work it is well aware of the need to look at the parts of the coast that require full examination because access is currently limited. What we cannot rule out entirely is the need for Natural England to address itself at some stage to problems that occur even in the best-established circumstances. As the noble Baroness indicated, erosion—which is perhaps less pronounced in Cornwall than elsewhere on England’s coast—will change positions that would otherwise be satisfactory, because the natural conditions have changed. I want to assure the noble Baroness that Natural England will have its work cut out in addressing itself to those parts where there is currently no access or where obtainable access falls a very long way short of the concept of the coastal path as defined in the Bill. I would surmise that it will not be interfering with the coastal path in the south-west of England for a considerable time unless great concern is expressed about a natural feature that changes the situation of the path to make it less attractive and less passable than it is now.