Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 153108, when he the Planning Inspector appointed in 2017 will be requested to decide whether or not to hold a public inquiry into objections to the Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe coastal footpath; and whether new representations will be invited due to changed circumstances since 2017.

As stated in the ministerial response of the 11th February 2021, the Planning Inspectorate plays an independent role in the determination of objections on stretches of the England Coast Path. How to take this forward is a decision for the inspector appointed to investigate the objections, and it would not be appropriate for the Secretary of State to comment on this process.