Commons Bill [HL]

My noble friend is very rarely provocative, although this may be one of those exceptions. The noble Baroness, Lady Byford, asked about definitions of the expression ““electronic communications apparatus””. The terms are defined in the Communications Act 2003. Broadly, they relate to telecommunications equipment and equipment for Internet access. My noble friend Lord Williams asked about wind farms. As well as any normal planning consent, consent for wind farms will usually be needed from the national authority under Clause 36, as will any works that prevent or impede access to common land. Each case is judged entirely on its merits. Of course, an inquiry is likely to be held into any proposal for controversial or large-scale works. As my noble friend knows, wind farm developments are considerable in scale, and that will be one of a number of factors to be taken into account. In some case, developers may conclude that a more appropriate mechanism for obtaining consent would be to provide exchange land and to apply instead under the Part 1 powers and deregistration and exchange provisions in Clauses 15 and 16. Constructing wind farm developments on common land will certainly not be an easy option as the tests will be rigorous. Commons associations will be set up to protect and manage common land and not to encourage works that are inconsistent with their interests. So if my noble friend fears that it will be easy for those who want to build wind farms to do so under some kind of exemption, the answer is that that is not the position. With regard to easements, I refer my noble friend to Clause 36(6)(c), which ensures that consent is not required for laying or erecting telephone lines on common land. Otherwise, the same rules apply as do those in respect of other land. The owner must grant an easement or the operator must use its compulsory powers to acquire easement.