Part 9Coastal access

Liabilities

305Restricting liabilities of Natural England and the Secretary of State

1

No duty of care is owed by Natural England to any person under the law of negligence—

a

when preparing or submitting proposals under section 51 or 55 of the 1949 Act (long-distance routes and variations of such routes) pursuant to the coastal access duty,

b

in connection with any failure by it to erect, under paragraph 6 of Schedule 20, a notice or sign of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (2)(b) of that paragraph (notices or signs warning of obstacles or hazards), or

c

in connection with any failure by it to exclude or restrict access under Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the CROW Act to any land which is coastal margin, other than a failure within subsection (2).

2

A failure is within this subsection if it arises as a result of Natural England—

a

deciding not to act in accordance with an application under section 24 or 25 of that Act, or

b

deciding not to act in accordance with representations made by a person on being consulted under section 27(5) of that Act (consultation of original applicant etc before revoking or varying a direction).

3

In subsections (1) and (2) the references to Natural England include any person acting on its behalf.

4

No duty of care is owed by the Secretary of State to any person under the law of negligence when—

a

approving proposals (with or without modifications) under section 52 or 55 of the 1949 Act pursuant to the coastal access duty, or

b

giving a direction under section 55 of that Act, pursuant to that duty.