Professional AdviceYou are here : News and Press » News Archive » Coastal Management » Rights of Way
|
CLA attacks Natural England’s ‘on the cheap’ coastal access plans in draft Marine Bill The CLA has hit out at proposals in the Government's draft Marine Bill for trying to provide coastal access on the cheap – ignoring the losses country businesses would face and the increased risk of legal actions against them. The Country Land and Business Association said the plans would mean farmers facing greater liability for farm animals and buildings not designed for public use in areas where no access previously existed.
The Government wants to give the public access to England's entire coastline at a cost of £50million spent over a decade.
CLA Vice-President Harry Cotterell said: "As the path already exists on around three-quarters of England's coastline, the CLA questions whether the demand and benefits warrant this public investment when the existing rights of way network is starved of cash.
"We fear the true cost of establishing an unbroken ribbon of access around the coast would be borne by landowners because these proposals simply would not compensate rural businesses for the loss in the value of their land and property."
Mr Cotterell said that - while the CLA welcomed Natural England's willingness to include landowners in the coastal access consultation process - the current proposals failed to make any allowance for maintenance of the new coastal rights of way.
"There are far too many unresolved issues to make this workable without riding roughshod over private landowners and coastal businesses," he said.
"As soon as private property is opened to the public, expectations of that access change completely. For instance, steps to a private beach which are safe for the owner might not be regarded as acceptable for public use. Who then would be liable in the event of an accident if the steps were not upgraded? The same would apply to buildings, fences, walls, agricultural machinery and even ploughed land.
"The proposals as they stand are wholly unreasonable. The CLA says these issues must be resolved before the Bill becomes law."
CONTACT: Oliver Wilson, Director of Communications, CLA (Country Land and Business Association), 020 7460 7936 or Phillippa Coates, Press Officer, 020 7460 7934, or ollie.wilson@cla.org.uk or phillippa.coates@cla.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The CLA – the rural economy experts - has a 38,000-strong membership.
2. For more information about the CLA, visit: www.cla.org.uk
|
Media Contacts Ollie Wilson T: 020 7460 7936
T: 020 7460 7934
Join the CLA today
The CLA Game Fair 2012
More articles and documents [News Archive] [14 May 2012] AC02-08 Coastal Access (For England only) Part 9 Draft Marine Bill - EFRA Recommendations [Guidance notes] [22 July 2008] Response to draft code of practice for use by landholders and local highway authorities [Consultation response archive] [23 October 2003] |
- Policy Topics
- Policy Topics
- Site sections
- Specially for members
© 2012 Country Land and Business Association Limited (CLA). All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as expressly permitted by law.
Disclaimer
No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action in reliance on or as a result of the material included in or omitted in this website can be or is accepted by the author(s), the CLA or its officers or trustees or employees or any other persons.
The Advisory Services are made available to members on the basis that members' rights to compensation and the liability (if any) of CLA and its officers and/or its staff advisers, are restricted in the following ways. In the event of any advice given by any CLA staff adviser being given negligently or otherwise being incorrect no liability whatsoever is accepted by the CLA or its officers or by its staff advisers concerned
(a) towards any person who is not the current CLA member to whom the advice was directly given,
(b) to any person in the respect of consequential loss or loss of profits, or
(c) to any person for any sum exceeding £50,000 in respect of any one enquiry (whether made or responded to orally or in writing and whether dealt with at one time or over a period of time).
Any person making use of the Advisory Services accepts such restrictions. Members should refer to appropriate professional advisers in private practice before taking any particular course of action potentially or actually involving any substantial amounts of money.
Please note that whilst the advisers are able to advise on a wide range of subjects relating to land ownership, they cannot act in place of a member's own solicitor, accountant, surveyor and tax specialist by, for example, drafting documents or corresponding on their behalf and may be precluded, by the rules of their own professions, from advising one CLA member against another CLA member in the case of conflict.
Solicitors Indemnity Fund . Solicitors in the CLA Legal Team are not covered by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund in relation to professional negligence in relation to any advice given by them.
Please note that from time to time telephone calls maybe recorded for training purposes.