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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

Patience is a great virtue. We now come to the powers of the National Assembly for Wales in relation to the Bill. We feel that access is not wholly adequate from the point of view of recreation. We have consulted the British Mountaineering Council, which has concerns about rock climbing access and matters of that kind. Amendment A364B would ensure that the issues contained in Matter 16.1 under Clause 300 concentrate on the functions of the National Assembly for Wales, or the Government of Wales. In fact, the Government themselves have moved to amend the Government of Wales Act 2006 with their own amendments and through clauses contained in the Bill. The Assembly does not have the power to do this, and we are seeking to amend some of the issues which the Government have raised in Clause 300. Clause 300 recommends changes to the Government of Wales Act with the addition of Matter 16.1, which refers to the establishment of, ""a route (or a number of routes) for the coast"." Matter 16.2 seeks to secure, ""public access to relevant land for the purposes of open-air recreation"." The Welsh Assembly Government have already committed to Matter 16.1 with a coastal access improvement programme for the all-Wales coastal path. That was started in 2007 and is aimed at improving access to the coast for local communities and visitors through local path movements. The all-Wales coastal path is due to be completed by 2012, creating a walking route around the entire coast of Wales. This is a welcome development throughout Wales, and visitors to Wales universally welcome it. However, there is a feeling that, in order to maximise increased public access to the coast and to match the real need on the ground, area coastal access is needed as well as linear access. That is essential to the coastal access provision for Wales, and the Welsh Assembly Government must seek to implement Matter 16.2 as soon as possible. This is the only way in which access for open-air recreation can be delivered. The linear route is felt to be too limited as an access option, as it does not provide for right of access to the shoreline, beaches or cliffs, and it is important that that is achieved. Equally, as noted, footpath access will not give users the right to leave the footpath and access the coast. Landowners and recreational groups both have reservations about the difficulties in managing access limited to a footpath. We have covered a lot of that already in our debates. Amendment A364B establishes that there is a disparity between the coastal access regimes outlined for England and contained in this Bill and the coastal access improvement programme already being implemented in Wales. Clauses 286 to 299 outline measures to create a long-distance coastal path in association with that route and a margin of land along the length of the English coast accessible to the public for the purpose of enjoyment, in conjunction with that route or otherwise, and that this will be achieved through provisions outlined in the CROW Act 2000 and changes to the National Parks and Countryside Act 1949. Crucially, the legislation supporting the coastal access scheme for England stressed the desirability of that route adhering to the periphery of the coast and providing views of the sea. On the landward side, typical land forms such as dunes and cliffs will automatically be spreading. This is very welcome, obviously, but our amendments—I am referring not only to Amendment A364B, but to Amendments A364C, A367A, A367B and A368A—achieve the following. Amendment A364C would insert: ""The Welsh Assembly Government must exercise the relevant functions in order to secure the following"," objectives, which are mainly of a recreational nature. Amendment A367A replaces "relevant land" with, ""a margin of land along the length of the Welsh coast"," which is what is desired and is in fact the case in the English parts of the Bill. This will ensure continuity and uses the same form of words as in Clause 286. Amendment A367B would insert, after "at the coast", ""or the foreshore or is land adjacent to the foreshore (including any cliff, bank, barrier, dune, beach or flat which is adjacent to the foreshore)"." In order to strengthen the meaning of "relevant land", a stronger form of words is used for clarity and certainty. The form of words is taken from Schedule 3 to the CROW Act 2000. Finally, Amendment A368A will strengthen the need to ensure that coastal land falling under the definition set out in Section 3 of the CROW Act is included with any new right of access. What is interesting is that there are amendments to this part of the Bill from the Government and I am keen to establish what the synergy is between the government amendments and the amendments to which I have just referred. I beg to move Amendment A364B.