The government has responded to the EFRA committee report on the coastal access provisions of the marine bill and the joint committee on the draft marine bill.

In its response, the government rules out compensation on the grounds that its proposals are sufficiently flexible to avoid creating situations where compensation will be required.

This contrasts with the position of the RICS who maintain that where a person with an interest in the land affected by the imposition of a coastal order is able to prove a quantifiable loss, compensation which is equal to the amount of this loss should be paid.

In a similar vein, the government remains of the view that an appeal process against their proposals would not be appropriate as landowners already have the opportunity to make representations. This contrasts with the view of the RICS who maintain that such a mechanism is necessary.