Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009

310 Powers of National Assembly for Wales

In Part 1 of Schedule 5 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32) (Assembly measures), in field 16 (sport and recreation), after matter 16.1 insert—

“Matter 16.2

• The establishment and maintenance of a route (or a number of routes) for the coast to enable the public to make recreational journeys.

• This matter does not include—

  (a)

  enabling the public to make journeys by mechanically propelled vehicles (except permitted journeys by qualifying invalid carriages);

  (b)

  the creation of new highways (whether under the Highways Act 1980 or otherwise).

Matter 16.3

• Securing public access to relevant land for the purposes of open-air recreation.

• Land is relevant land if it—

  (a)

  is at the coast,

  (b)

  can be used for the purposes of open-air recreation in association with land within paragraph (a), or

  (c)

  can be used for the purposes of open-air recreation in association with a route within matter 16.2.

• In this matter the reference to land at the coast is not limited to coastal land within the meaning of section 3 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Interpretation of this field

• In this field—

  • “coast” means the coast of Wales adjacent to the sea, including the coast of any island (in the sea) comprised in Wales;

  • “estuarial waters” means any waters within the limits of transitional waters within the meaning of the Water Framework Directive (that is to say, Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy);

  • “highway” has the same meaning as in the Highways Act 1980;

  • “public foot crossing”, in relation to a river, means a bridge over which, or tunnel through which, there is a public right of way, or a public right of access, by virtue of which the public are able to cross the river on foot;

  • “qualifying invalid carriage” means an invalid carriage within the meaning of section 20 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (use of invalid carriages on highways) which complies with the prescribed requirements within the meaning of that section;

  • “relevant upstream waters”, in relation to a river, means the waters from the seaward limit of the estuarial waters of the river upstream to the first public foot crossing;

  • “sea” includes the relevant upstream waters of a river;

• and a journey by a qualifying invalid carriage is a permitted journey if the carriage is being used in accordance with the prescribed conditions within the meaning of section 20 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.”