Camber to Folkestone coast path to divert for firing ranges

The new Broomhill Sands sea defences will provide safe access at the top of the beach

A 30-mile (49km) section of coastal path in East Sussex and Kent is to be diverted inland to avoid the military firing ranges at Lydd and Hythe.

Natural England said the stretch from Camber to Folkestone would improve public access to the coast.

But it said it had not been possible to grant some requests from local people.

Comments and objections to the route, which will become part of the long-distance England Coast Path, must be submitted by 14 November.

The 2,800-mile England Coast Path, which is opening in sections and will be completed in 2020, will allow people to walk the length of the English coast.

So far, three sections are open in the North West, North East and South West.

Sections of England Coast Path already open

Allonby to Whitehaven - Cumbria

Portland to Lulworth - Dorset

North Gare to South Bents - Durham, Sunderland and Hartlepool

The Camber to Folkestone section will use a mix of byways, footways adjacent to roads and a cycle path to get round the Lydd ranges on Romney Marsh which have been used for military training for over 150 years.

There will also be new sections of pathway.

At Hythe, there will be a route along the Royal Military Canal.

Natural England said the coastline already had relatively good coastal access,

At Camber Sands, where the crest of the shingle has been narrowed by storms and high tides, the new Broomhill Sands sea defences, due to be completed by the Environment Agency in 2015, would allow safe access at the top of the beach.