Commons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 222:"Page 22, line 20, leave out subsection (3)." The noble Lord said: This concerns a fairly technical matter concerning schemes set up under the Acts set out in Clause 40: the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866 and the Commons Act 1899. As it stands, the subsection will allow the appropriate national authority to override schemes of management where the schemes themselves prohibit works on commons and contain no provision for consent. It is suggested that in such cases that would undermine those schemes and weaken protection of the commons and their management. In particular, schemes of management under the Commons Act 1899 are intended to enable local authorities to manage and improve commons where the prime use is recreation. The schemes typically prohibit buildings and other permanent works from being constructed on the common unless they are for use in connection with the council’s management of the common for recreation, in which case consent from the owner and the Secretary of State must be obtained. The Bill will therefore weaken the effect of the schemes, which prohibit certain works on commons, because it will allow such works to take place regardless, as I understand it, with the consent of the appropriate national authority. These schemes were introduced for the valuable purpose of ensuring that commons can be enjoyed for recreation, and they should not be so weakened. On that basis, I beg to move and look forward to the Minister’s comments.