The Government has decided to include the Isle of White within future plans for the England Coastal Path.
Changing Direction
The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 provides for a long-distance route for the whole of the English coast, along with a right of access to an associated margin of land for the purpose of open-air recreation. These provisions do not automatically apply to an island such as the Isle of Wight which cannot be reached directly on foot from the mainland.
Defra originally consulted on whether an order should be made to extend the duty to the Isle of Wight in 2012 and decided that it would not make an order for the Isle of Wight as it was not a priority for the coastal access programme.
However, Defra held a second consultation on an Order for the Isle of Wight in December 2013. In the light of comments from both consultations the Government has now decided to make an Order and lay the necessary Statutory Instrument before Parliament, and agreed that Natural England should look at its forward plans for the remaining stretches of the English coast including the Isle of Wight in accordance with the prioritisation criteria set out in the Coastal Access Scheme.
The Isle of Wight already has 67 miles of coastal path and 500 miles of other public rights of way. In its consultation response the NFU noted that creation of a new path would duplicate existing resource on an already limited budget. Any new coastal routes should strike a fair balance between public access and relevant land interests.