This document is available as PDF downloads below. It is not available in hard copy from our warehouse.
In the interests of sustainability, please view and/or print this document from the PDFs below. Since the size of the whole Scheme is rather large (6 MB − 194 pages with full-colour photos, maps and diagrams), it may take a while to download. We therefore recommend that people view and print the Scheme using the individual pdf chapters. Please wait until the pdf has stopped downloading before viewing or printing.
We only hold a small number of printed copies of this publication and are usually only able to provide copies if it is of immediate relevance. For example, when we are about to start work on a particular stretch of coast, or to members of a relevant national/regional/local organisations such as a coastal local authority or an individual property or business owner on the coast who could potentially be directly involved in coastal access. If you meet this criteria, or you need a copy in an alternative format, please contact: natasha.clarke@naturalengland.org.uk
Part 9 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 places a duty on Natural England to improve access to the English coast through creation of a continuous long-distance walking route around the coast and a margin of accessible land along it. The Act requires Natural England to publish a coastal access Scheme setting out the approach it will take to discharging this duty.
The Scheme is the methodology that Natural England will use to carry out its coastal access duty. It sets out the key principles on which we will base our access proposals at the local level, and explains how these principles will be applied in the main coastal scenarios. It explains the alignment approach on both the open coast and estuaries, and gives illustrative examples of how this might work in a range of coastal situations.
The Scheme explains how we will decide where it is necessary to restrict or exclude coastal access rights locally, using the powers available to us under chapter 2 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, and how we might use other management options in particular circumstances.
Development of Natural England’s Scheme has been informed by extensive research, field testing and discussion with key stakeholders. Following a public consultation, the Consultation version of the Scheme was amended and updated, and approved by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as the Act requires.
Please note: Some of the chapters contain photographs, maps and illustrations so please be patient if they take a short while to download.