Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on completing the coastal path in England.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The coastal access programme has so far opened up 101 miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy.

The Government is working closely with Natural England to build on the progress already made, with the aim of completing the coastal path around England by 2020. We have approved Natural England’s coastal access proposals for a further 176 miles. By the end of this financial year we expect Natural England to have submitted proposals for another 349 miles and to be working on proposals for an additional 986 miles.

The Government has announced Defra’s capital allocation for the next five years, and funding to complete the coastal path around England by 2020 will be protected. When complete, the path will be one of longest coastal walking routes in the world at around 2,700 miles in length.

The Government will publish the detailed allocation of funding in the Department’s Main Estimate early next year.