Commons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 210:"Page 20, line 28, leave out ““to”” and insert ““having rights in relation to, or occupying the land potentially affected by,””" The noble Duke said: Amendment No. 210 is intended to clarify the meaning of Clause 36(8), which gives consent to works on common land. The Bill provides that,"““consent given to works under this section does not affect any requirement arising apart from this section to obtain the consent of any person to those works””." That is too vague, given the potential conflict that could arise regarding proposed works on common land. I have voiced the importance of including in the Bill the rights of owners and it is just as important to acknowledge the rights of common. Yet in this instance, we again find the familiar phrase ““any person””. Surely, only the people whose extra consent would be needed are those whose lives would be affected by the work. The amendment is a simple point of clarification which seeks to ensure that the interests of individual rights holders and land occupiers are included and respected on the face of the Bill. I beg to move.