Decision

Notice by the Secretary of State under section 52 [and 55(1)] of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949: Headon Warren, Isle of Wight (VR1)

Updated 25 October 2024

Applies to England

Introduction

On 18 March 2020 Natural England submitted a compendium of coastal access reports relating to the stretch of land on the Isle of Wight between East Cowes and Wooton Bridge 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”).  

On 6 April 2022 the Secretary of State gave notice under Section 52(2) that the proposals for parts 4 and 5 of the Isle of Wight stretch were approved (“the approved coastal access provisions”).

On 17 March 2023, under section 55(1) of the 1949 Act, Natural England submitted a coastal access variation report relating to proposed changes to the approved coastal access provisions (“the coastal access variation report”) to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The coastal access variation report proposed changes to the approved coastal access provisions at Headon Warren, Isle of Wight.

In reaching their determination under section 52 of the 1949 Act the Secretary of State has considered:

a. proposed changes to the England Coast Path at Headon Warren, Isle of Wight - Natural England’s coastal access variation report submitted to the Secretary of State on 17 March 2023.

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 the proposals for the route and associated coastal margin as set out in the coastal access variation report, in relation to which no objections or representations were made.

The approved variation to the route is set out at Annex A.

The Secretary of State has made available at www.gov.uk:

a. a copy of this notice

Natural England has also made available here:

b. Proposed changes to the England Coast Path at Headon Warren, Isle of Wight – the coastal access variation report

Annex A: Approved variation at Headon Warren

Map VR1 - Headon Warren. Shows the approved route in blue and the proposed variation in pink (an existing public right of way) and purple (not an existing walked route).

Part 2.3: Proposals tables

See Part 3 of Overview for guidance on reading and understanding the tables below

Table 2.3.1: Map VR1 – Headon Warren

Key notes on table:

1. Column 4 – ‘Yes – see table 5.3.3’ means roll-back is proposed but refer to that table below about our likely approach to implementing it for this route section. This is because a more complex situation exists in this case and consideration must be given to how roll-back may happen in relation to excepted land, a protected site or similar.

2. Column 5a - Certain coastal land types are included automatically in the coastal margin where they fall landward of the trail if they touch it at some point. The relevant land type (foreshore, cliff, bank, barrier, dune, beach, flat or section 15 land – see Glossary in Annex B to the 2020 Overview) is shown in this column where appropriate. “No” means none present on this route section.

3. Columns 5b and 5c – Any entry in these columns means we are proposing to align the landward boundary of the coastal margin on this route section with the physical feature(s) shown in 5b, for the reason in 5c. No text here means that for this route section the landward edge of the margin would be that of the trail itself - or if any default coastal land type is shown in 5a, that would be its landward boundary instead.

1. Maps	2. New route section numbers	3. Current status of route sections	4. Roll-back proposed? (See part 8 of 2020 report Overview)	5a. Landward margin contains coastal land type?	5b. Proposal to specify landward boundary of margin	5c. Reason for landward boundary proposal	6. Explanatory notes
VR1	IOW-VR1-S001 and IOW-VR1- S002	Public footpath	Yes – see table 5.3.3	No	Other	Additional landward area	Landward boundary is the edge of the CRoW open access land
VR1	IOW-VR1-S003	Not an existing walked route	Yes – see table 5.3.3	No	Other	Additional landward area	Landward boundary is the edge of the CRoW open access land
VR1	IOW-VR1-S004	Not an existing walked route	Yes – see table 5.3.3	No
VR1	IOW-VR1-S005	Not an existing walked route	Yes – see table 5.3.3	No	Other	Additional landward area	Landward boundary is the edge of the CRoW open access land

Table 2.3.2: Roll-back implementation – more complex situations: Map VR1 - Headon Warren

Maps	New route section numbers	Features or sites potentially affected	Our likely approach to roll-back
VR1	IOW-VR1- S001 to IOW-VR1- S005	Headon Warren and West High Down SSSI	If it is no longer possible to find a viable route seaward of a designated site whose designated features are sensitive to public access, or where the existing route already passing through such a site must be altered, we will choose a new route after detailed discussions with the relevant experts and with any potentially affected owners or occupiers, which will either (a) continue to pass through the site, if appropriate or (b) if necessary, be routed landward of it
VR1	IOW-VR1- S001 to IOW-VR1- S005	Warren Cottage and Totland residential buildings and curtilage	If it is no longer possible to find a viable route seaward of the specified excepted land (e.g., buildings, curtilage, gardens etc), we will choose a route landward of it, following discussions with owners and occupiers