Decision

Coastal access: Section 52 notice for Tilbury to Southend-on-Sea

Published 12 November 2020

Applies to England

Introduction

On 27 February 2020 Natural England submitted a compendium of coastal access reports relating to the stretch of land between Tilbury and Southend-on-Sea 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”).

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

• a) Tilbury to Southend-on-Sea - Natural England’s compendium of coastal access reports submitted to the Secretary of State on 27 February 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 24 June 2020.

In this notice –

• (a) “objection” means an objection about the coastal access report which is made under paragraph 3 of the Schedule; and
• (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 the coastal access length reports TSE1, TSE2, TSE3, TSE4 and TSE5, 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 24 June 2020
• c) Summary of other representations, and Natural England’s comments on those representations, which it sent to the Secretary of State on 24 June 2020

Natural England has also made available here:

• d) Tilbury to Southend-on-Sea - 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/TSE Overview/R/12/TSE0126

Name of representation: Essex County Council

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State notes the reasoning set out in response by Natural England as to the detail they include in the maps in the Overview.

Representation No. MCA/TSE1/R/2/TSE0019

Name of representation: Ramblers Association, Essex Area

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State welcomes Ramblers Association’s representation which is supportive of the proposals.

Representation No. MCA/TSEStretch/R/3/TSE0008

Name of representation: Disabled Ramblers

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State notes the representation and welcomes Natural England’s commitment to working with Thurrock Council and Essex County Council to ensure the needs of all path users are considered in establishing the trail.

Representation No. MCA/TSE1/R/1/TSE0956

Name of representation: Port of Tilbury London Limited (PoTLL)

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Report 1 TSE-1-S017 –S019

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State notes the representation from the Port of Tilbury and encourages continued dialogue between Natural England and Port of Tilbury London Limited. Notes that complex rollback proposals will be required in this area should the current route become inaccessible.

Representation No. MCA/TSE Stretch/R/9/TSE0091

Name of representation: Port of London Authority (PLA)

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole Stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State notes the representation and the access restriction imposed on the grounds of public safety. Welcomes the installation of signage to warn of restrictions and dangers of the area.

Representation No. MCA/TSE2/R/4/TSE0019

Name of representation: Ramblers’ Association, Essex Area

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole Stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State welcomes Ramblers Association’s representation which is supportive of the proposals.

Representation No. MCA/TSE2/R/13/TSE0126, MCA/TSE2/R/14/TSE0126

Name of representation: Essex County Council (Highways)

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Map TSE 2d, Route sections: TSE-2-S022, S023, S024
• Map TSE E2b, Route sections: TSE-2-S041 to TSE-2-S045

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State agrees with Natural England that the seawall provides the bests views of the sea for walkers and as such, best meets the criteria set out for the England Coast Path. Notes that Natural England will amend maps to show the seawall route as a current walked route.

Representation No. MCA/TSE3/R/5/TSE0019

Name of representation: Ramblers’ Association, Essex Area

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole Stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State welcomes Ramblers Association’s representation which is supportive of the proposals.

Representation No. MCA/TSE3/R/15/TSE0126

Name of representation: Essex County Council

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Report 3, TSE-3-S001 to TSE-3-S003

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State notes the clarification by Essex County Council and Natural England. Given that the map of the route is clear on the use of the bridge, and signage on the ground will indicate the bridge as the route of the path, does not consider any changes necessary.

Representation No. MCA/TSE4/R/6/TSE0019

Name of representation: Ramblers’ Association, Essex Area

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Whole Stretch

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State welcomes Ramblers Association’s representation which is supportive of the proposals.

Representation No. MCA/TSE4/R/8/TSE0039

Name of representation: Castle Point Borough Council

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Report 4

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State welcomes Castle Point Borough Council’s representation which is supportive of the proposals.
Welcomes Natural England’s commitment to further discussion with the Borough Council and the access authority to resolve the issues raised at establishment.

Representation No. MCA/TSE5/R/7/TSE0019

Name of representation: Ramblers Association, Essex Area

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Report 5

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State welcomes Ramblers Association’s representation which is supportive of the proposals.

Representation No. MCA/TSE5/R/15/TSE0126

Name of representation: Essex County Council

Report Chapter and route section(s):

• Report 5, TSE-5-S014 to TSE-5-S015

Secretary of State’s conclusion and observation:

Secretary of State notes that the path in question is already a walked route. Notes that Natural England’s consultation with the Responsible Officer found that there was unlikely to be a negative impact on nature conservation as a result of establishing new coastal access rights in this location.