---

Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. It is worth setting it in the context that we have moved on to another specific part of the Bill. I particularly take the point that the Minister has just made. We holiday in Cornwall and the path from St Austell which drops down to Charleston is very narrow. The sea and hedge are on one side and walled gardens are on the other. There is no way that one could do anything but use it unless one decided that it was not an appropriate route, which would be ridiculous. I slightly smiled when the Minister paid great tribute to the south-west route, which I enjoy walking along, as I do the north side. I humbly suggest that the success of that route is due to the fact that it was done by voluntary agreement rather than being forced through in the way that this Bill is. However, that is another matter and it is perhaps a little naughty to raise it. Following his answers, I also wanted to ask the Minister whether he knows how many paths there are around the proposed route. Is the coverage 20 per cent or 40 per cent? He said that Natural England had been having conversations with local authorities and I wondered whether a figure is known. I am not pushing the Minister for that information now.