The Marine Bill was published in March 2008. Part 9 of the Bill charges Natural England with the objective of 'a route for the whole of the English coast' and where feasible a margin of land or 'spreading room' on the foreshore and land inward of the high tide line.
There are approximately 48 MOD coastal sites in England. MOD land covers some 250 miles of the UK coastline – between 2 and 3% of the total coastline. Some 120 miles of this is in England. The use of these sites varies from dockyards and airfields to coastal firing ranges. Coastal ranges with sea danger areas avoid the need for large tracts of land as safety zones. There are very few sites with no public access, other than those with security requirements or where access is impracticable. Access to the coast is available at most MOD firing ranges when they are not in use. Access is generally controlled through Military Byelaws, which can restrict or exclude public access depending on the defence use of the site.
Defence Estate Staff are undertaking an internal review of public access at all coastal sites in England. The review will investigate the feasibility of improving access to the coast where this is compatible with defence requirements.
MOD reserves the right to prepare Byelaws for some sites that do not currently have Byelaws, particularly where there are firing ranges. This will have the effect of removing the land from the legislation.
To find out more about Coastal Access policy on the MOD Estate and implications for the MOD, please contact Land and Property Policy team (0121 311 2197/2127) or Head of Access and Recreation Environmental Support Team (.....)
For further information on Natural England’s work on Coastal Access is at Coastal access - Natural England