Throughout the development of an England Coastal Path, the NFU has always questioned the value for money of a new statutory coastal access corridor on the grounds it fails to recognise that the significant majority of our coast – some 3,700km – is already accessible.
We believe there’s a need to invest adequately in maintaining current footpaths along the coast, many of which lie on top of vital sea defences.
Visitors to the countryside do bring benefits to rural areas including extra income, but the NFU fears that unless there is money to support long-term maintenance of existing footpaths such benefits could be jeopardised.
Other organisations have already highlighted concerns about the declining funding for the maintenance and upkeep of paths by local access authorities, causing concern both to land managers and users alike.
See the Coastal Access Scheme guide for more information about the process to establish the England Coast Path.