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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

We have tabled Amendment A357C and the others in this group, to which I will speak, to call into question the power which new Section 55F(3) to be inserted into the 1949 Act here affords to Natural England. New subsection (2) clearly specifies that Natural England must abide by the approved proposals for long-distance routes, which would otherwise come under Section 2(1) of the CROW Act. This is very sensible because, in areas where Natural England has control, the coastal access scheme will not work unless it is required to follow its proposals. Bearing this in mind, it seems to make very little sense to then allow Natural England powers, ""to revoke or vary the direction after it is made"." Indeed, that seems to undermine the reasoning behind subsection (2). Will the Minister tell us why this should be the case? How much control would this afford to Natural England over the direction and designation of the route? We have tabled Amendment A359A to ensure that land which can be taken as coastal margin does not apply at the expense of all other legislation. It ensures that Sections 22, 24 and 30 of the CROW Act—"Exclusion or restriction at discretion of owner and others", "Land management" and "Appeal by person interested in land"—still apply to the designation of spreading room. It also specifies that land which is excluded as coastal margin land by Schedule 1 to the CROW Act cannot be included as spreading room. Furthermore, it limits the extent of spreading room to 2 metres on either side of the designated line of coastal route. Amendment A359B reinforces these changes by removing the proviso in the Bill that states that any restrictions on access under Chapter 2 which apply to land that has become coastal margin land have no effect after the preparation period. In contrast, our amendment ensures that these restrictions remain and are instead incorporated into the "approved proposals". These restrictions are necessary and important. They place a limit on spreading room in terms of its physical extent and in terms of allowing owners, factors of land management and persons interested in the land to maintain their legal rights as under CROW and have a say in the use of their land. We believe that this is crucial to ensure a balance between the importance of the path and the relevance of other uses of the land. We believe that spreading room must be catered for, but not at the expense of other land use. Our Amendment A359D allows the Secretary of State power to designate, at a maximum of 14 days, ""a period of special protection for wild birds"," which the relevant authority must carry out. Periods of prolonged severe weather, for example, may cause severe damage to survival rates of populations of wild waterfowl. There is a large amount of documentary evidence showing the energy costs of their taking flights in reaction to being disturbed at these times. Amendment A359D would ensure that in such conditions the Secretary of State had the power to order restricted access, which would protect these birds. It would also add a degree of flexibility that is necessary for this coastal access path. It is important that we remember that while continuous access to the coast is important, other factors must be taken into consideration to which we should be able to adapt. It may mean that there is a short period where access to a certain part of the coastal path is restricted or denied. Nevertheless, this would not be for very long. It would not need to involve a great deal of the path; nor, indeed, is it too big a price to pay for maintaining the delicate balance with the flora and fauna that most people will go to visit. I beg to move.