Clause 291
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm
This amendment is designed to tighten up the duty on Natural England to strike a fair balance between new access rights given to the general public and the existing rights of those members of the public who own or have an interest in land which will become the coastal margin.
This is a simple amendment, which removes “aim to” in line 17 so that Natural England and the Secretary of State must
“strike a fair balance between the interests of the public in having rights of access over land and the interests of any person with a relevant interest in the land.”
We will discuss what constitutes a relevant interest in the land at a later stage, but the amendment would tighten the duty on Natural England to strike a fair balance between the new access rights and the existing rights of members of the public who own or have an interest in land that will become the coastal margin. It is important that the Minister understand that the wording in this part of the Bill is key. Tightening it by removing two simple words could give comfort to many people without limiting the Bill’s aim of providing greater access.