The case in summary: DNT Sør lost the bidding round for an archipelago property in Kristiansand earlier this summer, due to financing problems. The property, which consists of five cabins, two piers and a long shoreline, was sold for NOK 14.5 million to private individuals. DNT Sør is concerned about the public’s access to the beach zone and is calling for more money from the state. State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Kjersti Bjørnstad, shares the tourist association’s concern. DNT Sør believes that the state scheme for securing outdoor recreation areas is good, but that there should have been more money to get from there. The availability of the beach zone per inhabitant has steadily decreased since 2005, statistics from Statistics Norway show. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – This is a creamery property that would have been perfect for what we think can create activity and be an offer to the public on the coast. That’s according to director of the Norwegian Tourist Association South (DNT South) Bjørn Andersen-Steinsland. Earlier this summer, they had the highest bid for a property in the archipelago in Søgne in Kristiansand. The nearly 50-acre property has five cabins, two docks and a long shoreline. It was sold for NOK 14.5 million. Formalities related to the financing, however, meant that the property instead went to private individuals. Concerned about access to the beach zone Now the tourist association is shouting a warning about public access to the beach zone, and is calling for more money from the state. State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate and Environment Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp) shares the concern of the tourist association. – Much of our beach zone is in reality private, and perhaps especially in southern Norway. This means that fewer people have access to important areas. The beach zone is important for leisure, but also for biological diversity, she says. The money not completely ready Andersen-Steinsland says that DNT Sør did not have the money completely ready on the books, and that they therefore submitted a bid subject to financing. – Bids subject to financing can be a bit scary if it comes from a private person, but since it came from DNT Sør, we didn’t think it would prevent us from buying the property, he says. DNT Sør would make use of the scheme “State protection of outdoor recreation areas”. This is an arrangement where central and local authorities join forces to gain control over natural areas that are to be arranged for outdoor recreation. State protection of outdoor areas Municipalities and inter-municipal outdoor councils can apply to the Norwegian Environment Agency for financial support to secure management rights over outdoor recreation areas or thoroughfares through purchase or use agreement. In this way, important outdoor recreation areas can be safeguarded and facilitated for current and future generations. When the municipality or the outdoor recreation council applies for state protection, they take on future operational and supervisory responsibility for the area. It also involves assessing the need for, and possibly implementing, facilitation measures. The purpose of the scheme is to strengthen outdoor life as a health-promoting, well-being-creating and environmentally friendly leisure activity. Securing local environmental areas is an important tool for reaching groups that are not very active. The scheme is particularly aimed at areas which are or will be intensively used, and which should be arranged for outdoor recreation purposes. State security can look after the outdoor recreation areas in the longer term and can solve challenges related to accessibility and the need for facilitation. According to Andersen-Steinsland, funds from the state were in place, but they lacked the local part. – There were a few million left, but we worked hard both against the municipality, foundations and private donors. According to him, Kristiansand municipality was very keen to contribute, but it didn’t turn out that way. – In the pressured financial situation the municipality is in now, they did not have the opportunity to contribute money to this purchase. He also mentions that other possible contributors had to have board meetings before they could allocate money. – In this case, it was a bit ahead of time and not before the bidding round was due to start. Andersen-Steinsland says that with this property DNT Sør could have at least tripled the offer of holiday activities for those who cannot afford their own cabin, their own boat or the opportunity to go on holiday. – We could secure the area forever for the public, he says. The coastal property with five cabins and its own jetty has now been sold to a private player. Photo: Private broker Sædberg & Lian / screenshot Want more money from the state Andersen-Steinsland basically thinks that the state scheme is good, but that there should have been more money to get from there, and especially now that many municipalities can’t afford it. – If the state scheme had been much larger, and there had been no demand for a deductible from the municipality, then it would have worked, he says. With the deductible, he wonders whether the scheme will be used in the future. State Secretary Bjørnstad believes that the scheme works well today and points to the successful acquisition of beach properties of this type in several places in the country. – Then you can always discuss whether it is possible to screw up the scheme and possibly expand it. But it is a budget issue that we have to deal with in the long run, she says. State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate and Environment Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp) shares the concern of the Norwegian Tourist Association that less and less of the beach zone is available for use by most people. Photo: TROND ISAKSEN / © PHOTO TROND ISAKSEN Going in the wrong direction Since 2005, the availability of the beach zone per inhabitant has steadily decreased, statistics from Statistics Norway show from this year. On a national basis, 68.3 per cent of the beach zone is now potentially accessible to the general public, but there are large differences from county to county, and Oslo has the least at around 30 per cent. Around the Oslofjord, around 40 percent of the beach zone is accessible to most people, according to a report from the Transport Economics Institute (TØI) from May this year. Andersen-Steinsland says that just over half of the beach zone in Agder is accessible to most people. – We see that development is going in the wrong direction. There should preferably be public access to the beautiful coast close to where people live, he says. General manager of DNT Sør, Bjørn Andersen-Steinsland, says they would use the coastal property for their holiday offer for low-income families. Photo: Geir Ingar Egeland / news Published 23.07.2024, at 18.26
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– Could secure the area forever – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
