Commons Bill [HL]

The Bill has been carefully framed to ensure that the Secretary of State and the Assembly take proper account of a range of interests in considering an application for consent. These include the interests of the holders of rights of common, the public interest and the interests of the neighbourhood. The last of these reflects the historical and present position under Section 194 of the Law of Property Act and it is only right that particular regard should be paid to the views of those who live within the vicinity of the common when determining an application for works. We have in mind a distinction between the interests of the neighbourhood, which comprise the interests of the community living nearby, and the interests of the public, which are self-evident. Works which might be in the interests of the public might well be resisted by the local community or vice versa. Paragraph (b) will enable both sets of interests to be taken into account. We are grateful to the noble Baroness for reminding us of the previous debate, but that was about village greens rather than common land as such. I do not know whether I am right about that.