Crown Estate Foreshore Permit

[mrix]

NOTE YOU ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO GET A CROWN ESTATES PERMIT - see below for more info

Metal Detecting on Crown Estate Foreshore
Anyone wishing to go metal detecting on Crown Estate foreshore will require a permit.
This page contains a brief description of The Crown Estate’s general position regarding metal detecting and treasure hunting on our foreshore.

Applying for a Permit for Metal Detecting on Crown Estate Foreshore
Note – this does not apply to searching below the foreshore, i.e. on the seabed for which a separate consent may be required. Please direct any enquiries over seabed searching to:

The Crown Estate generally seeks to encourage access over, and responsible use of, the foreshore and as a result our consent for non-commercial metal detecting on the foreshore will not incur a charge. Foreshore in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is defined as the land between mean high water and mean low water. In Scotland the definition is between mean high water of spring tides and mean low water of spring tides

updated 07/02/2017 note
We are currently looking into the metal detecting registration process and as such you are not required to obtain a permit.

In the meantime however you are allowed to metal detect on Crown Estate foreshore, but must read their terms and conditions here before doing so.

Updated Map Link (11/07/2018 Dave8472)
https://crownestate.maps.arcgis.com/app ... a5aa1660db

Link to the main portal (updated 10/01/2019)
https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/ ... ne-flying/

[galaxion]

its all free and come the summer wat be better than a stroll along the local beach with the beloved un moaning ..............metal detector lol even my gaffer , wife downloaded her own for wen we up the caravan next year she even toying with the idea of a ace 150 for herself im not to bothered coz it,ll be a good back up for myself wen she gets sick that,ll be the 150 and 250 not bad lol give her 5 rainy days then its mine lol

[furriner]

Hi all,

I applied for a permit a few months back and got one back within a week (mine was a postal consent form - I signed two copies and returned one). So, the service was swift and the next thing is to determine which parts of the shoreline they 'own'. There is an online map though, if in doubt, I highly recommend contacting them to clarify ownership areas.

One happy permit holder!

[DetectorDaz]

Seems like some people got their permits via different methods. When I filled in my details on the Crown Estate website I got an Email back within a few minutes that had the Crown Estate logo in the corner and said 'The holder of this permit has been granted consent by The Crown Estate to metal detect on Crown Estate foreshore', etc etc. Is this the actual permit or do they send you one by snail mail? The one I got via email I printed off but it doesn't look very 'official'.

Daz.

[DetectorDaz]

Yea its far easier if you have a printer just to get the permission sent through email and just print off as you say B-)
Cheers
mrix

But the Email I got back doesn't look like a proper permit. It looks like something that anyone could knock up in a minute or two using Wordpad! I'm worried that if I go to the beach to detect and someone should happen to ask if I have permission and I show them the piece of paper they're gonna say "This aint no permit". lol

Daz.

[Ian]

I must admit I thought the same when I got mine through, but it is correct.
I have not met anyone yet that has been asked for it, but always better to be safe than sorry B-)

Ian

[mrix]

Basically the permissions form has your unique ID number on so if they were anyone who really knew the area law, that number would show them, you are who you say you are etc
Cheers
mrix

[Bedfont Dan]

Thanks, clicked the like and after filling some real basics I now have a premit sitting in my inbox even at this hour so it must be automaticly done.

Thanks Again

Dan

[Rasty]

They are real guys I have applied once before and they run for 12 months as you know no one can stop you detecting the beach with this apart from the crown estates but its very rare

[Damo]

So is this permit onlyvalid for beaches, how can I get a permit to go detecting on Royal land, like Richmond park?

[Jay1973]

I've tried to read the maps on the permit website and find them unreadable no matter what magnification I use! does anyone know any better maps or maybe we could get a list of beaches together of what the crown owns and weather or not you can detect on them.

[DOGMAN]

Hi jay1973,
Contact Iain Mills at Crown Estates 0207 851 5267 explaining your requirements. He will (as he did me) email you better quality maps so you can see exactly where you can/ can't go. Be aware though, that some of their coastline is marked in a sloppy fashion which has resulted in them marking private beaches as Crown Estates. Regards Dogman

[deanothehunter]

thinking of doing some beach detecting but when you look at map and you see the red parts shown etc by looking at a map even zoomed in shows areas you can and cant go but surely the bounderies cant be seen clearly from map as you could be 100 yards or more out, on a part of the beach that you thought was crown estates but actually private ? or do all beaches have signs saying its private or no metal detecting signs

[Blackadder43]

If its private it will probably tell you...
If its a non detecting beach then you would have to see a sign to know...
If its council run and Crown then i suppose we must use our common sense and discretion on the day B-)
Hope that helps you...
You have to look at it this way....
You have done the best you can by getting the permit, the rest just comes down to common sense and if approached, show permit and say it was very hazy as to where the boundarys were....very sorry, i'll wander back up there and continue on kind sir....
I think the only people that will challenge you would be National trust, or private owners.....

[deanothehunter]

cheers for that, its just i never done beach detecting before and want to do it all properly, i read a lot on beach hunting and tips and even had a chat to a couple of blokes i seen on beach who were happy to give a few tips