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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

This is another set of amendments regarding possible changes in routes and the issues surrounding the problems posed by changes such as erosion. I agree with Amendment A331 of the noble Lord, Lord Greaves; it is important for the sake of clarity and transparency that proposals for changes under subsections (3) and (4) are included in the report. Further amendments make the alternative routes much more flexible, both by removing the definition of "specified periods" and by allowing the alternative route to be a generic optional route, not subject to use in conditions of, for example, flooding or coastal erosion. Proposed new Section 55C(4) lists reasons for unsuitability for use of the ordinary route: ""flooding … the action of the tide … coastal erosion or encroachment by the sea … the effect of any other geomorphological process"." I know that the Minister hates lists, but here he has one. He hates them because people add to them, and I am not going to disappoint him here. There are other appropriate reasons why one may need a different route, such as the nesting season. Maybe you do not want people walking through a site then. In Norfolk, for instance, where I come from, nesting sites for terns are cordoned off so that people cannot go through them during that season. Another reason might be that there is a military live-firing range. I do not know what the proposals are for ranges by the sea. It may be that, when the military are not using them, the coast next to the seashore can be used. And then, of course, there is shooting. What plans does the Minister have to ensure that the public are well informed when alternative routes must be used?