Published on legislation.gov.uk on 1 October 2026, the Access to the Countryside (Coastal Margin) (Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe) (No. 2) Order 2026 appoints 2 October 2026 as the day the access preparation period ends for coastal margin created by approved proposals on two Dorset sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path. Those sections are LCH5 Sandbanks to Southbourne and LCH7 Mudeford Quay to Chewton Bunny. (legislation.gov.uk)
The legal step is narrower than the title may suggest. According to DEFRA's Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe decision page, Natural England submitted the underlying coastal access report on 21 June 2017, and the Secretary of State approved the relevant Chapter 5 and Chapter 7 proposals on 6 April 2022. This instrument does not revisit those approvals; it ends the preparation stage for land that becomes coastal margin because of them. (gov.uk)
For readers outside the coastal access process, this is the point at which an approved proposal moves from administrative preparation towards use on the ground. GOV.UK's route collection explains that, after approval, Natural England works with local authority officers, owners and occupiers on establishment works such as signs and gates before access rights are brought into force. (gov.uk) The same official page states that coastal access rights normally apply to all land that is coastal margin, including land seaward of the route, unless the land is excepted land or subject to a restriction. In plain terms, the Order fixes the date when that preparation period ends for the land covered by Chapters 5 and 7. (gov.uk)
There is, however, a clear limit to what this Order does. DEFRA's collection page shows that the intervening LCH6 section, Southbourne to Mudeford Quay, followed a separate approval route after an earlier approval was quashed by High Court order; the Secretary of State approved Chapter 6 on 29 April 2026, and GOV.UK still lists it as not yet open to the public. (gov.uk) That means this week's instrument advances access on the two outer sections named in the Order, but does not by itself create a single newly opened continuous stretch from Sandbanks through to Chewton Bunny. For walkers, land managers and advisers, the status of Chapter 6 therefore still matters in practice. (gov.uk)
From a process perspective, the Order is a standard implementation measure within the coastal access regime. Natural England proposes the route, the Secretary of State determines whether to approve it, and a later order appoints the date on which the access preparation period ends for the coastal margin created by that approval. The Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe notices and route collection set out that sequence for this stretch. (gov.uk) That distinction is important for professional readers. Approval settles the route in regulatory terms, but the later commencement step gives a concrete date for when affected parties should expect the relevant access rights to begin applying on the ground. (gov.uk)
The immediate effect, then, is practical rather than political. From 2 October 2026, the statutory preparation stage ends for the coastal margin tied to the approved Sandbanks to Southbourne and Mudeford Quay to Chewton Bunny proposals, with the operative detail and any local restrictions continuing to sit within the official GOV.UK notices and Natural England access mapping. (legislation.gov.uk)