Improving coastal access report
Improving access to the English coast was identified as a priority issue in Defra’s five-year strategy published in 2004, and the Labour Party’s Rural Manifesto of April 2005. In July 2005, Ministers proposed that action to improve coastal access should be an early “flagship” initiative for Natural England, helping to demonstrate how access, landscape and wildlife benefits can be integrated in a positive and practical way.
The proposed detailed outcomes are, in summary:
Secure access along the length of the English coastline, accepting that this may be subject to some exceptions, whilst considering erosion, accretion and realignment.
A more accessible coastline, by creating physical routes to access the coast and by encouraging more people to enjoy the coast.
Improvements for coastal wildlife and the landscape, as well as encouraging people to enjoy and understand this environment.
Natural England was asked to advise on the appropriateness of these outcomes, and on the best means of delivering them. To inform our advice, we undertook a detailed programme of research and investigation into the underlying facts.
The detailed findings are now available to download:
Advice to Government Report: (3.25mb)
Annex 1 Overview Map of study areas: (1.05mb)
Annex 2 Ipsos Mori Coastal Access: (2.55mb)
Annex 3 County Durham and Hartlepool Map: (842kb)
Annex 3 North Devon, Exmoor & West Somerset Map 1: (766kb)
Annex 3 North Devon, Exmoor & West Somerset Map 2: (969kb)
Annex 3 Southern Cumbrian Coast & Morecombe Bay Map 1: (1.66mb)
Annex 3 Southern Cumbrian Coast & Morecombe Bay Map 2: (1.4mb)
Annex 3 Suffolk Coast Map 1: (557kb)
Annex 3 Suffolk Coast Map 2: (839kb)
Annex 4 Coastal Access Europe Summary: (51kb)
Annex 4 Coastal Access Europe Part A: (243kb)
Annex 4 Coastal Access Europe Part B: (1.45mb)
Annex 4 Coastal Access Europe Part C: (280kb)
Annex 5 Landscape Designation Map 1: (4.79mb)
Annex 5 Landscape Designation Map 2: (4.63mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 1/7: (3.65mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 2/7: (3.83mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 3/7: (5.12mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 4/7: (5.48mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 5/7: (4.58mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 6/7: (3.75mb)
Annex 5 Multiple Deprivation 7/7: (4.64mb)
Annex 5 Nature Conservation Designations Map 1: (3.78mb)
Annex 5 Nature Conservation Designations Map 2: (3.29mb)
Annex 5 Shoreline Change Map 1: (3.93mb)
Annex 5 Shoreline Change Map 2: (3.9mb)
Annex 5 Dominant Farm Type Map 1: (4.76mb)
Annex 5 Dominant Farm Type Map 2: (4.21mb)
Annex 6 Stakeholder Issues Prioritised: (10kb)
Annex 6 Study Area Stakeholder Workshops: (66kb)
Annex 7 RPA Costs Report
Annex 8 Summary of Stakeholder Views: (18kb)
