Clause 296
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
1:00 pm
Andrew George (St Ives, Liberal Democrat)
I support the amendment. I cannot see how any progress could be made in any consultation regarding a proposal for a coastal route, particularly in relation to spreading room, unless it was made clear where the spreading room would extend. At many places along the coast, there is no obvious physical boundary to any potential spreading room. If the spreading room were to spread inland as well as in a seaward direction, because of the physical constraint created by a path that would need to be very close to a cliff line or to the coast to achieve the spreading room required, there would often be no clear visual or physical boundary to guide anyone on their access rights.
The amendment is important, because the uncertainty created by the lack of a clear mapping exercise could result in confusion and dispute, which would be left to the landowner to resolve on each and every occasion when a user of that coastal access demonstrated their lack of clarity and certainty about the extent of the spreading room. So I hope that the Minister reflects carefully on the proposal and considers its reasonableness.