(a)

the South West Coast Path measured 630 miles;

(b)

the record for completing the path was 14 days, 14 hours and 44 minutes;

(c)

the majority of people spent 10+ years completing the path;

(d)

the path encompassed two World Heritage sites and five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty;

(e)

81% of walkers of the South West Coast Path were ‘social’ walkers;

(f)

walking the South West Coast Path was the most popular activity after shopping (according to ‘Visit Cornwall’ statistics);

(g)

6.2m people walked the South West Coast Path every year, spending £389m (mainly in small businesses), which helped to sustain 8985 (full time equivalent) jobs;

(h)

£2.1m of investment from the EU and Defra had enabled improvements to be made to the South West Coast Path;

(i)

the economic value of the South West Coast Path increased by 10.4% during 2010-2011;

(j)

the number of visitors to the South West Coast Path increased year on year;

(k)

29 sites along the South West Coast Path had been improved using money received from the EU;

(l)

there had been 160 small scale improvements along the South West Coast Path during 2013;

(m)

the Great South West Walk, organised by the South West Coast Path Association, had raised £250,000+, which had increased to £640,000+ with matched funding;

(n)

there were 86 map information boards located in campsites and other holiday locations, which listed information on walks in the surrounding area.  These locations also held a supply of leaflets and maps about the South West Coast Path;

(o)

farm information boards had been produced to provide information about farms along the South West Coast Path;

(p)

there were 500+ walks available on the South West Coast Path website.  The walks were designed to appeal to everyone;

(q)

seven new guidebooks in the series ‘Walks Along the South West Coast Path’ had been published;

(r)

an APP for smartphones was now available for the South West Coast Path, and plaques containing the QR (Quick Response) code had been placed on a selection of finger posts along the path.

(s)

Mark Owen had considered placing plaques containing the QR code on finger posts in the Plymouth area.

(t)

Natural England had started a review in 2009, and maintenance funding had now been allocated to a national formula;

(u)

funding had been set for three years to enable forward planning;

(v)

Natural England funding needed a 3:1 local match (Highway Authorities or National Trust);

(w)

the maintenance budget for 2013-14 was now £612,000 (approx. 30% reduction from 2009-2010), and did not include a contingency for cliff falls and other exceptional events (of which there had been 37 in the last month);

(x)

it was proposed to formally discontinue the existing management structure (South West Coast Path Forum, Strategic & Practical Managements groups) and replace it with a new structure.  The key components parts of this new structure were -

·         Regional Stakeholder Group;

·         Delivery Management Group;

·         Local Liaison Group;

·         SWCP Team.

(y)

the South West Coast Path was designated as the UK’s favourite walk, ranked as one of the world’s greatest walks, and had made the coast of the south west the UK’s best year-round walking destination;

(z)

the South West Coast Path had good attributes to encourage people to visit the area – views, climate, travel times, accommodation, wildlife and heritage;

(aa)

there was potential to market Plymouth as ‘the UK’s best city for walking breaks’ due to various factors, including the city’s unique naval heritage and variety of countryside on offer;

(bb)

a range of projects were being developed along the South West Coast Path, including ‘Walkers are Welcome’ towns and Walking Festivals;

(cc)

the South West Coast Path was investigating the possibility of introducing an apprenticeship scheme which would provide extra manpower to complete repairs to the path;

(dd)

the South West Coast Path employed a Commercial Liaison Officer (whose post was soon to terminate) who encouraged businesses and other organisations to get involved in projects which were very local to them, which they could relate to, and which their customers would benefit from;

(ee)

a ‘Great South West Walks’ event was planned for 20-28 September 2014.  This event was currently at the planning stage;

(ff)

it was hoped that improvements to the South West Coast Path would improve the tourist trade and ensure that the region’s heritage was better maintained, identified and recorded.

(ii)

of the 37 coastal erosions that had occurred in the past month, most had been fixed, although some were considered to be long term projects.