text: A furious landowner was forced to fork out thousands of pounds to restore a public path to one of Britain's most popular beauty spots. James Weld stumped up £15,000 to bring an end to a three year stand-off with Natural England over who was responsible for the coastal path down to the beach at Durdle Door on Dorset's Jurassic Coast. The previous steps that lead down to the popular tourist attraction were washed away in storms in 2012. James Weld has stumped up £15,000 to end a three-year stand-off with Natural England over access to Durdle Door beach . Since then visitors have faced a perilous scramble down a crumbling cliff to reach the shore, even resorting to sliding down on their backsides. The iconic rock archway and neighbouring Lulworth Cove are part of the Weld family's 12,000-acre Lulworth estate. The family have maintained the steps since they first bought the land in the 1600s. But in 2009, Natural England was handed responsibility for the country's coastal paths under the Coastal Access Act. The government also announced a 630-mile path along the south west coast which was to be opened in time for the Olympics. However, Mr Weld says that Natural England 'shirked' its duty to reinstate the steps under the law for three years by claiming they did not form part of the coastal path. Calling the long-running dispute 'laughable and ludicrous', he also accused the organisation of ignoring advice given to them on how to manage tourist hotspots like the Lulworth Estate. The steps to access the iconic rock archway on the Dorset Jurassic coast had been washed away during storms in 2012 . Natural England said they were happy the steps had been reopened but declined to comment on Mr Weld's claims. The estate took the decision to rebuild the 88 steps themselves after becoming 'utterly fed-up with the bureaucracy', Mr Weld said. Mr Weld, a chartered surveyor, said: 'For quite a number of decades now people have visited our coasts and beaches quite freely. 'About 20 or so years ago we decided to put in steps leading down to the beaches so they didn't have to scramble down the cliffs to get to them. In 2009 the Coastal Access Act came along and we had lots of meetings with Natural England about managing 'honeypot' sites like Lulworth. 'We had assurances from them that they wouldn't interfere with the Lulworth Estate because they were happy with the way we were running things. 'Then they announced their big idea, which was to open a 630-mile path along the south west coast in time for the Olympics - a path that had already existed for about 40 years - and duly spent a vast amount of money on it. The washed-away steps meant visitors were left to scramble up and down the dangerous crumbling cliffs to try and access the beach . The Government body had been granted responsibility for the country's coastal paths under the Coastal Access Act 2009 . 'You can understand the idiocy of this plan. Our view was that if the coast path was now a public right of way under the Coastal Access Act and controlled by Natural England then Natural England should pay for it. 'One would have thought that would have been the logical answer but Natural England disagreed. 'Their response was that they were giving the public access to beaches but not the means to actually do it. 'In 2012 the steps down to Durdle Door were washed away in the heavy spring weather we had. It was clear the steps needed replacing but Natural England said they weren't responsible for them. 'We got to a stand-off with Natural England - we wanted them to accept their responsibility while they were saying 'it's nothing to do with us'. 'About six months ago we got utterly fed up with all the bureaucracy and took the decision to get on with it and pay for the steps ourselves. 'The cost was about £15,000 - not a huge amount of money for a huge Government body like Natural England but a lot for us. Mr Weld says Natural England 'shirked' its duty for three years by claiming they did not form part of the coastal path, leaving him to pay the £15,000 to rebuild the steps which have now been reopened (pictured) 'We have a very good relationship with Natural England in all other areas but with coastal access they have ignored all the advice right from the beginning about managing honeypot sites. 'The whole thing has been laughable and ludicrous and I've lost patience with it. 'In the end, regardless of who was officially responsible or the cost, we felt the need to step in to put Durdle Door back on the map for walkers and sightseers, and to help minimise the environmental impact to this extraordinary coastal feature. 'Durdle Door is a national icon as well as one of Dorset's icons so we're delighted to be able to reopen it, but it's sad it's taken so long.' The £15,000 will add to the £40,000 the Lulworth Estate currently spends each year maintaining paths on its land. A spokesman for Natural England said: 'It's good news that the Durdle Door beach steps have been reopened and that local visitors can have safe access to the beach to enjoy this wonderful stretch of the English coast. 'We're not going to be responding to those remarks made by Mr Weld.' Humphrey Weld, a direct ancestor of James Weld, bought Lulworth Castle and its sprawling estate in 1641 from politician Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon. The Weld estate owns around five miles of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove . Natural England said it was glad Durdle Door's beach steps have been reopened but would not comment on the landowner's claims . It has remained in the Weld family ever since. It was gutted by fire in 1929 and only fully restored in the 1990s by the Weld estate and English Heritage. The estate owns around five miles of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. The two beauty spots attract more than 500,000 visitors a year. Agriculture plays a large part in the estate, and it still produces 25 million litres of milk a year, much of which is sold to Marks and Spencer. In 2013 Natural England said claims made by Lulworth Estate owner James Weld that the 2009 Coastal Access Act handed them responsibility for the steps to Durdle Door were untrue. A Natural England spokesman said in 2013: 'Contrary to Mr Weld's statement, the legislation does not take land away from landowners or interfere with their freedom to manage it. 'Durdle Door beach still belongs to the Lulworth Estate and is managed alongside the estate's nearby holiday park, generating revenue from visitors to the park and more widely. 'The estate has always maintained the steps down on to the beach and remains able to do so now.'
target: James Weld had to stump up £15,000 to restore steps to the beach  at Durdle Door which were washed away in 2012 .
  Decision ends a three-year stand-off with Natural England over who was responsible for access to tourist attraction .
  In 2009, Natural England was handed responsibility for the country's coastal paths under the Coastal Access Act .
  But the government body claimed steps weren't part of coastal route and refused to pay for repairs for three years .