Commons Bill [HL]

I support the amendments tabled by my noble friend Lord Greaves, who may speak to them himself. Noble Lords who were there will remember that we debated the issue at length during the passage of the CROW Act and came to a happy conclusion. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, that we need greater definition of various terms. To that end, I have tabled Amendment No. 50 because I am not clear about what would qualify as a ““pastime”” and what would be regarded as ““recreation””, and whether or not it would disallow some activities. As to the amendments of my noble friend Lord Greaves, I would underline Amendment No. 58. There are many reasons why an area of land may be temporarily closed, even for a long period, and the people in the neighbourhood or the locality may have a great deal of trouble with such applications. The noble Baroness, Lady Byford, has said that her amendment is a probing amendment. It would of course be virtually impossible to find a ““majority””, and a ““significant number”” is a much safer phrase. However, the questions that she raises are the correct ones. If elections were decided by majority, the Government would not be in power today.