Notice by the Secretary of State under section 52 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949: Iwade to Grain, length IGR8
Updated 28 March 2024
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coastal-access-section-52-notice-for-iwade-to-grain/notice-by-the-secretary-of-state-under-section-52-of-the-national-parks-and-access-to-the-countryside-act-1949-iwade-to-grain-length-igr8
Introduction
On 15 January 2020 Natural England submitted a compendium of coastal access reports relating to the stretch of land between Iwade and Grain to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under section 51 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (“the 1949 Act”), pursuant to its duty under section 296(1) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”).
This determination relates only to length IGR8. The proposals within length reports IGR4 and IGR6 will be determined separately. The proposals within length reports IGR1 to IGR3, IGR5, IGR7 and IGR9 to IGR12 were determined separately on 18 August.
In reaching a determination under section 52 of the 1949 Act the Secretary of State has considered:
- a. Iwade to Grain length report IGR8 – part of Natural England’s compendium of coastal access reports submitted to the Secretary of State on 15 January 2020
- b. in accordance with paragraph 16(1)(d) of the Schedule, representations made by a person within paragraph 2(2)(b) to (f) of the Schedule, and the summary of other representations made, and Natural England’s comments on those representations which it sent to the Secretary of State on 21 April 2020
In this notice –
- (a) “objection” means an objection about the coastal access report which is made under paragraph 3 of the Schedule
- (b) “representation” means a representation about the coastal access report which is made under paragraph 7 of the Schedule
Secretary of State’s approval of coastal access proposals
The Secretary of State has determined to approve in full those proposals for the route and associated coastal margin as set out in length report IGR8, in relation to which no objections were made.
Where proposals are approved in full, the additional conclusions and observations of the Secretary of State in relation to the representations are set out at Annex A to this notice.
The Secretary of State has made available at www.gov.uk:
- a. a copy of this notice
- b. Representations made by a person within paragraph 2(2)(b) to (f) of the Schedule, and Natural England’s comments on those representations, which it sent to the Secretary of State on 21 April 2020
- c. Summary of other representations, and Natural England’s comments on those representations, which it sent to the Secretary of State on 21 April 2020
Natural England has also made available here:
- d. Iwade to Grain – the compendium of coastal access reports.
Annex A: conclusions and observations on representations
The Secretary of State has considered, in relation to the coastal access report, the following representations made under paragraph 7 of the Schedule.
Representation No. MCA/IGR8/R/1/IGR2397
Name of representation: Ramblers, Coastal Access Officer for Kent
Length Report and route section(s):
- Length Report 8
Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:
Secretary of State welcomes support for Natural England’s proposals.
Representation No. MCA/IGR Stretch/R/1/IGR2405
Name of representation: Historic England, Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments
Length Report and route section(s):
- Whole stretch (note that Secretary of State comments pertain to length IGR8 only)
Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:
Secretary of State encourages Natural England’s commitment to liaise with Historic England before works begin at the Chatham Lines Scheduled Monument. Welcomes assurance that Medway Council will make sure the design of the trail is in keeping with the Chatham Historic Dockyard Conservation Area before works there begin. Notes no new infrastructure is proposed on Rochester Bridge.
Representation No. MCA/IGR8/R2/IGR2964
Name of representation: Savills (MDL Marinas Group Limited)
Length Report and route section(s):
- Length Report IGR8, IGR-8-S040 to IGR-8-S043
Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:
Secretary of State notes Natural England’s view that walkers on the trail will be unlikely to attempt to access the coastal margin in this area. Is satisfied that, if necessary and not misleading, land managers can install signage indicating the extent of excepted land. Notes Natural England’s comments setting out why excepted land is not separately shown on proposals maps or on Ordnance Survey maps.
Representation No. MCA/IGRStretch/R/2/IGR2959
Name of representation: Private individual
Length Report and route section(s):
- Whole stretch (note that Secretary of State comments pertain to length IGR8 only)
Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:
Secretary of State notes that the scope of the England Coast Path legislation extends to granting new pedestrian access rights only but that Natural England has passed comments to Medway and Kent Access Forums.
Representation No. MCA/IGRStretch/R/3/IGR0008
Name of representation: The Disabled Ramblers
Length Report and route section(s):
- Whole stretch (note that Secretary of State comments pertain to length IGR8 only)
Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:
Secretary of State welcomes support for Natural England’s proposals. Notes that where possible Natural England has endeavoured to maximise the accessibility of the trail.