EDITORIAL � 01303 817100 www.kentnews.co.uk for all the news and sport WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 15, 2009 news I 11
TEMPORARY calm has broken out be-
tween landowners and ramblers over new
legislation giving walkers virtually free
reign to go anywhere,writesChrisMurphy.
Kent Ramblers are celebrating as the Marine and
Coastal Access Bill becomes law.
They said it opens up the entire South East coastline,
including Kent, permanently to the public for the first
time. But a group representing the people who actually
own the land say they too have won a victory, despite fail-
ing to stop the bill going through.
The Country Land and Business Association is furious
the ramblers were given permission to traipse all over
land that didn't belong to them.
The historic bill gained Royal Assent on Thursday and
will create a 570-mile path round the South East coast,
enabling the public to walk unobstructed from Gravesend
to Lymington for the first time.
Robert Peel, area secretary of the Kent Ramblers said:
"This follows decades of campaigning by Britain's walking
charity, the Ramblers.
"Currently nearly 50 per cent of the English coast
has no public right of way, and the public can only walk
an average 1.9 miles on the coast on a `secure or satisfac-
tory path'."
He said the South East will see huge improvements to
coastal access and a vital boost to the rural economy
thanks to the landmark bill.
Tom Franklin, head of the Ramblers, added: "The pass-
ing into law of this historic bill will mark a victory for
everyone who walks in this island nation.
"The Marine and Coastal Access Act will enshrine a
very simple principle on the statute books � that every-
one, no matter who they are, where they come from or
how much money they have has the right to visit all parts
of the coast which is so much a part of our heritage."
He went on: "The Government deserves genuine
WORLD-famous fashion designer
Zandra Rhodes has been named
as chancellor of the University for
the Creative Arts.
Rhodes, who was born in
Chatham, studied at one of the
university's founder colleges,
Medway College of Art.
She said: "The caring, dedicated
staff guided and nurtured me. My
mother also taught at the college.
"I learned the skills that have
carried me through the rest of my
life and career: drawing, sketch-
ing, lithography, screen printing,
linocutting, all the basics."
As chancellor, Rhodes will act as
the figurehead for the university
which has campuses in Cant-
erbury, Maidstone and Rochester.
A BIG cat has been reported in
Walmer.
A woman and her father-in-law
said they saw a Labrador-sized cat
run across Ellens Road, about 3ft
from their car and into the bushes.
She said:"We picked up the eye-
reflection first and saw the length
of the tail, then it was gone."
Neil Arnold, a big-cat expert,
says Walmer is a hot-spot for
large cats, with recent sightings
in St Margaret's, Sholden, Ripple
and Great Mongeham.
congratulations for having introduced the
bill. What is now needed is a continued
commitment to deliver access on the
ground so people have a chance to enjoy
the coast."
But the CLA said it has only happened
after it secured a major change to the original proposals.
It said the bill entered the House of Lords on the final
straight of its Parliamentary run with major concessions
won by the CLA.
While opposing the coastal access part of the bill, the
CLA has achieved amendments giving coastal landowners
a vital right of appeal, they said.
CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "We have
fought hard for the rights of landowners potentially affect-
ed by this proposed bill and won in several major areas.
"Highly successful CLA lobbying has led to the right of
appeal and private parks and gardens being excluded
from the bill.
"We have always been against the bill in principle, but
at least the Government has conceded in some areas.
"However, it still remains to be seen just how the imple-
mentation of the path will impact on coastal businesses."
He added:"The CLA will, of course, be active in advising
landowners during the implementation process."
The new law has also been welcomed by the RSPB as
a way of safeguarding wildlife both above and below
the waves.
It said the legislation must be used to create a network
of marine conservation zones offering protection for
important and vulnerable marine species.
It said two of the 21 sites of national importance are in
Kent. They are Dover to Kingsdown Cliffs, for fulmar and
kittiwake, plus the area around Dungeness, Romney
Marsh and Rye Bay for black-headed gull and cormorant.
Kittiwake numbers have declined by 36 per cent since
the start of the millennium.
Dr Sharon Thompson, senior RSPB marine policy offi-
cer, said:"This Act is a watershed for marine conservation.
"But, for the Act to be meaningful and help safe-
guard vulnerable marine species, from corals to
whales, the Government must use these new powers
to designate sites, otherwise the legislation will be as
toothless as a sea squirt."
Figurehead for university
Labrador-sized cat spotted
Walk in
peace
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