Memorandum submitted by the Central Council
of Physical Recreation (DMB 47)
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
CCPR is the representative body of 270 national
sport and recreation organisations, including many involved in
outdoor and water-based recreation such as angling, canoeing,
walking, and climbing.
CCPR supports its members to gain sustainable
opportunities to enjoy their recreational activity and welcomes
the opportunity to comment on this Draft Bill. The key points
CCPR would like Committee members to note are as follows:
— CCPR supports the proposal to create
a coastal access corridor along the English coast;
— CCPR supports Natural England's (NE)
recommendation that the access corridor is best realised through
new legislation;
— Further emphasis and detail on the
provision of higher rights—access to users other than just
walkers—is required to provide the greatest opportunity
for maximising the health and social benefits of the coastal access
corridor;
— CCPR also seeks assurances that current
access rights and negotiated access will not be compromised by
the new access corridor;
— In places the Bill's wording overstates
the dangers of the coast. This wording should be amended, so that
people are not deterred from enjoying the access offered by the
Bill.
2. THE GOVERNMENT'S
VISION FOR
COASTAL ACCESS,
AND THE
EXTEND TO
WHICH THE
DRAFT BILL
PROVIDES FOR
IT
CCPR welcomes the prospect of opening up the
English coastline for greater enjoyment and recreation proposed
in the Draft Marine Bill. This is an exciting opportunity to increase
the possibilities for outdoor recreation for the nation.
CCPR welcomes the Government's vision of "A
coastal environment where rights to walk along the length of the
English coast lie within a wildlife and landscape corridor that
offers enjoyment, understanding of the natural environment and
a high quality experience; and is managed sustainably in the context
of a changing coastline."
The benefits of outdoor recreation are well
documented and many were referenced in CCPR's response to the
earlier DEFRA consultation on coastal access. A summary of these
benefits is provided in Appendix A.
3. IF NEW
LEGISLATION IS
THE BEST
OR MOST
COST-EFFECTIVE
MEANS OF
PROVIDING INCREASED
ACCESS TO
THE COAST?
CCPR endorses Natural England's assessment of
the advantages and disadvantages of the three options for improving
coastal access; an order under section 3 under CROW; voluntary
measures or new legislation. CCPR believes that new legislation
is the most effective way of ensuring effective, long term and
responsive access to the English coast.
The draft bill does not provide any guarantees
that existing rights and negotiated access will be preserved.
Where, for example, horse or motorised users currently enjoy access
to the coastline, will this be lost when a coastal walking corridor
is created? CCPR believes it is important that existing lawful
access by all user categories is maintained. The Bill should contain
guarantees that existing rights will be preserved.
4. THE CASE
FOR EXCEPTIONS
TO, AND
DEVIATIONS FROM,
A ROUTE
GIVING CONTINUOUS
ACCESS TO
THE COAST
CCPR agrees that the corridor may need to deviate
at ports and defence establishments where security and safety
are issues. However the route around such areas should at all
times be as close to the sea as possible.
5. WHETHER THE
DRAFT BILL
STRIKES THE
RIGHT BALANCE
BETWEEN THE
RIGHTS OF
ACCESS AND
THE RIGHTS
OF OWNERS
AND OCCUPIERS,
AND WHETHER
THERE SHOULD
BE COMPENSATION
IN ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES FOR
THE CREATION
OF COASTAL
ACCESS RIGHTS
CCPR believes that improving coastal access
provides a sound economic opportunity for land-owners in coastal
areas. The effects of climate and topographic change, do however
present significant challenges to coastal land-owners. CCPR therefore
believes greater investment in management of land within the coastal
zone is required for the benefit of landscapes, wildlife and people.
To address this issue the Government should
develop a package of measures to improve the quality of land on
the coast and to deal with the effects of erosion or climate change.
Funding should be made available to landowners to pay for habitat
creation, habitat protection and managed retreat. Coastal management
plans could be developed (by Natural England in conjunction with
the Environment Agency and local authorities) to help determine
the targeting of funds.
It is important that recreational users are
widely and effectively consulted with. The views of recreational
users should form a key element in the report that NE provides
to the Secretary of State referred to in 4.10.
CCPR supports the view that NE should focus
on the areas of greatest need (4.11). However it is important
to have some informed and staged targets are put in place for
the creation of the sections of coastal access. This target should
be for an agreed distance of new coastal access provision to be
established by a specified date. This will provide impetus to
the process.
6. THE PROPOSALS
FOR COASTAL
ACCESS IN
ESTUARIES
The proposal for estuaries is that the route
continues "until the first pedestrian crossing point (or
an earlier ferry if NE considers this suitable)." However
for crossings that are many miles up river, NE may decide on a
break in the path's continuity. This should only be done as an
absolute last resort and all options for a continuous path should
be fully considered.
7. THE PROPOSED
ARRANGEMENTS FOR
LIMITING LIABILITY
CCPR supports the proposals to remove occupier's
liability in respect of any natural feature, as for CROW access
land as this presents an impasse to successful implementation
of the coastal access corridor.
4.12 states that "the coast is a dangerous
environment". This statement is alarmist and should be more
balanced, otherwise it risks deterring individuals from visiting
the coast. A statement such as, "the coast can be a dangerous
environment," would be much more balanced. CCPR supports
the view that the public "should take responsibility for
their own safety and the safety of any children or others for
whom they are responsible".
8. WHETHER THERE
SHOULD BE
ACCESS RIGHTS
FOR OTHER
USERS SUCH
AS CYCLISTS
OR HORSE
RIDERS
The Government's vision does not set out any
goals for improving access to the coast line for non motorised
users other than walkers. While it may be impractical for all
of the coast to be opened up to all forms of non-motorised users,
there should be strong advice and targets for both Natural England
and local authorities that the coastal access corridor should
offer higher-rights access wherever practical and especially in
areas where there is likely to be high demand. It is important
that coastal access should appeal to the widest range of people,
for example young people, many of whom do not find walking appealing
or exciting. This is indicated by the increasing ages of walkers.
Given rising obesity levels, it is important
to maximise the scope for encouraging at risk groups to undertake
exercise. Exercise outdoors is thought to be particularly beneficial
to both mental and physical health. Furthermore, by encouraging
greater provision of higher rights access to the coast this increases
the economic benefit of coastal access.
9. CONCLUSION
CCPR supports the proposal to create a coastal
access corridor along the English coast, realised through new
legislation. Further emphasis and detail on the provision of higher
rights—access to users other than just walkers—is
required to provide the greatest opportunity for maximising the
health and social benefits of the coastal access corridor. CCPR
also seeks assurances that current access rights and negotiated
access will not be compromised by the new access corridor.
CCPR would welcome the opportunity to provide
further oral evidence in support of this submission.
APPENDIX A
Health benefits
The Chief Medical Officer's report (Chief Medical
Officer, 2004) highlights the physical health benefits of sport
and physical activity and includes recommendations on the amount
of exercise needed to gain such benefits.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4080994
Social benefits
Sport England has collated research evidence
on the benefits sport can bring in a number of areas, including
community cohesion, crime and anti-social behaviour and education.
http://www.sportengland.org/index/get_resources/sport_playing_its_part.htm
Economic value
Recent research has estimated the economic value
of sport, including gross value-added, consumer spending and sport-related
employment. This research provides figures in a time series from
1985 to 2003, allowing chronological comparisons.
http://www.sportengland.org/england_econ_importance.pdf
There is a growing body of evidence that indicates
the mental health benefits of exercise, especially those that
take place outdoors.
Dr William Bird's (Natural England) report entitled,
"Investigating the links between the Natural Environment,
Biodiversity and Mental Health," provides useful data to
support this. http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/naturalthinking_tcm9-161856.pdf
Dr Bird also chairs the Outdoor Health Forum, a confederation
of bodies who extol the excellent return on investment in terms
of health that investment in outdoor recreation provides. CCPR
is a member of the Outdoor Health Forum.
The mental health charity, MIND, produced this
report summarizing the current evidence to support the positive
mental health benefits of outdoor recreation:
http://www.mind.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D9A930D2-30D4-4E5B-BE79-1D401B804165/0/ecotherapy.pdf
Central Council of Physical Recreation
May 2008
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