King Charles III England Coast Path: Lulworth Cove to Highcliffe
Find out about the progress of improving coastal access – including maps, process and timing – in Dorset.
Map of the stretch
Natural England has begun to investigate how to improve coastal access along a 77 km stretch of the Dorset coast between Lulworth Cove and Highcliffe.
Officers from Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council are providing Natural England with expert local advice and helping to make sure there is full consultation with local interests during the development of the route.
Progress: Lulworth Cove to Kimmeridge Bay
Stage 2 and 3: Develop and Propose
Natural England is now visiting all the land on this stretch of coast that is likely to be affected by our proposals and discussing the options in detail with:
- people who own or manage the land
- relevant local and national organisations who have an interest in the stretch.
After final discussions have been held with those who have a legal interest in the land, Natural England will begin refining and checking their proposals to improve access to this stretch of coast. This may start sooner for some sections of the stretch than others.
The proposals will be finalised and then published in a report to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Once published, the report will be available on GOV.UK and advertised in the local press.
Copies of the report will be placed in council offices and other appropriate locations in the local area for people to view.
Natural England will contact affected owners and occupiers and the local and national organisations that must be notified by law, to make sure they’re aware that the report has been published.
Next steps
Stage 4: Determine
Once the report has been published, you’ll have 8 weeks to comment on the proposals.
Anyone who wishes to comment will be able to make a representation on the report and owners or occupiers of affected land will be able to make an objection.
The Secretary of State will consider all representations and objections before making a decision about approval of Natural England’s report.
For advice on making a representation or objection, see the detailed guide below.
Progress: Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe
Stage 4: Determine
On 21 June 2017, Natural England submitted a report to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs setting out the proposals for improved access to the coast between Kimmeridge Bay and Highcliffe.
The period for making representations and objections about the report closed at midnight on 16 August 2017. The report is still available to view.
Objections are forwarded for consideration by an independent planning inspector appointed by the Secretary of State. The inspector will make recommendations to the Secretary of State in respect of each one.
Natural England may not make any further changes to the reports as a result of the representations and objections but will make comments about them for consideration by the Secretary of State and, in the case of objections, the appointed person (an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate).
The Secretary of State will consider all the representations and objections before making a decision about each of Natural England’s reports. The reports in the collection may get approval at the same time. Some of them may need further consideration.
On 6 April 2022, the Secretary of State approved all proposals to improve coastal access between Kimmeridge Bay and Highcliffe. Since then, a deficiency has been identified in the determination process relating to Chapter 6. Accordingly, the Secretary of State has consented to the quashing of the approval of Chapter 6 by means of a High Court Order.
The Secretary of State will make a decision regarding the determination of Chapter 6 in due course.
You can see the current status of this report in the table.
| Report chapter and title | Stage 4 | Stage 5 (approved) |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Kimmeridge Bay to Winspit | 6 April 2022 | |
| Chapter 2: Winspit to Peveril Point | 6 April 2022 | |
| Chapter 3: Peveril Point to Shep’s Hollow | 6 April 2022 | |
| Chapter 4: Shep’s Hollow to South Haven Point | 6 April 2022 | |
| Chapter 5: Sandbanks to Southbourne | 6 April 2022 | |
| Chapter 6: Southbourne to Mudeford Quay | Not yet determined: approval quashed by High Court Order | |
| Chapter 7: Mudeford Quay to Chewton Bunny | 6 April 2022 |
Next steps
Stage 5: Open
Once the Secretary of State has approved 1 or more chapters of this report, Natural England will start work with Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council on preparing the approved parts of the route for public use.
The first step will be to contact owners and occupiers of the affected land to discuss the design and location of any new infrastructure which is required, such as signs and gates.
When preparations are complete, new access rights will be brought into force along the route and adjoining spreading room.
Find out more about the King Charles III England Coast Path
See information about all stretches in preparation around England’s coast.
The coastal access scheme gives details of the process being followed to improve access to the coast.
Contact the coastal access team
Contact Natural England with any comments, suggestions or queries you have about improving coastal access.
Coastal access delivery team (Somerset, Avon and Dorset)
Natural England
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH
Email westcoastalaccess@naturalengland.org.uk
Telephone: Natural England enquiry team - 0300 060 3900
See the map below for information about progress on improving coastal access in other parts of the west of England.
Last updated 11 November 2022 + show all updates
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Page updated to show that approval of Chapter 6 - Southbourne to Mudeford Quay - has been quashed by High Court Order.
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Page updated to show the Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe section of this stretch has been approved.
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Removed the sentence giving a date for when access is expected to be ready. Publication of the report for the Lulworth Cove to Kimmeridge section is expected in winter 2020.
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Dates amended: publication of report for the Lulworth Cove to Kimmeridge Bay part of the stretch expected in 2019. Access to both parts of this stretch expected to be ready in 2020.
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Page updated to show that the opportunity to comment on proposals for the Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe section has ended.
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Page updated to show that the report for the Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe part of the stretch has been published.
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Text updated: 2 reports now being produced for this stretch. First covers Kimmeridge to Highcliffe, second covers Lulworth to Kimmeridge.
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Updated page to show that work has reached stages 2 and 3: develop and propose.
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First published.