Plans for completing a path round England's coast are being speeded up

The Deputy Prime Minister has confirmed plans to speed up the setting up of the coastal path around the whole of England.

Nick Clegg today said more than £5m will be spent on completing the England Coast Path 10 years earlier than the coalition Government originally planned.

He said work should be complete by 2020.

During a visit to Cornwall, he confirmed details of a speech he made in September this year, in which he said he wanted to speed up the implementation of the path, which is being set up under the Marine and Coastal Access Act passed by the last Labour Government.

The coalition Government faced criticism that the coast path had slipped down its list of priorities. Only 40 per cent of the route was due to be complete by 2020 under its original scheme.

Speaking at Port Gaverne, Mr Clegg said: “Britain has a beautiful coastline that deserves to be explored and enjoyed by everyone, whether you’re a resident or a tourist.

“But opening these coastal paths was taking far too long. Under the current timescale we would have built UK’s first space port before you could walk the length and breadth of our coast.

“This extra funding will mean these stunning paths will be open in just over five years, to be enjoyed by this generation and all those to follow.”

The Government’s advisory body on the outdoors Natural England said it warmly welcomed the news that new resources are to be allocated to enable work on the Coast Path.

Andrew Sells, Natural England’s chairman, said: “We are delighted at the Deputy Prime Minister’s announcement.

“This will bring about a substantial acceleration in the roll out of the coastal access programme and bring real benefits for local communities and for the public visiting our fantastic coastline.”

The Ramblers chief executive Benedict Southworth said: “We are thrilled by today’s announcement from the Government that funding has been confirmed to ensure the England Coast Path will be completed by 2020.

“There is huge public love for our coast and it’s great that people recognise the enormous benefits that access to our coastline will bring.

“Investing in the coast path is not just good news for walkers, but will help to breathe new life into our coastal towns and villages, boosting tourism and the local economy and reconnecting people with their stretch of coast, helping to promote health and wellbeing.

“The Ramblers has been the driving force behind the campaign to open up the coast for everyone to enjoy, so we’re thrilled that this dream has been confirmed as soon becoming a reality.

“This goes to show just how cost effective investing in walking is in comparison to the benefits it brings. This small investment will go a really long way to increasing the health, happiness and economies of many of our coastal towns and those who visit them.”

Under the plans, creating and maintaining coastal paths will provide a walking route and a wider margin of land around the coast of England for walkers to use safely. The path will be able to move inland if the coastline erodes or suffers from landslips.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said Government funding had been awarded to repair the South West Coast Path at Barrett’s Zawn beach near Port Gaverne, which was damaged during last winter’s storms.

The Coastal Communities Fund has put up £1,114,000 to invest in the South West Coast Path.

Work is due to be completed by June 2015.

Funding will also be used for repairs at other sites along the Coast Path in Cornwall and the South West that have been damaged. This includes Trevone and Daymer Bay, also in North Cornwall.