Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I shall speak to Amendment No. 115, which is in the same group. It is a probing amendment which explores whether the Government believe that it is a good idea to expect the landscape to be enhanced. ““Enhancement”” may be a subjective term: one person’s enhancement may be another’s prettification or gentrification, which are rather undesirable in landscape terms. I thank the Minister for his reply about the marine environment. I hope that debate on this clause will underline why, if Natural England is envisaged to have a big part to play in the draft marine Bill, the general purpose clause should be drafted in such a way as to apply to marine areas as well. I shall make a couple of remarks on the planning system, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, referred. She made some important points. Since local development frameworks and regional spatial strategies are forward-looking, local authorities find it easier to accommodate sustainable development and to do a better job. Where there is perhaps still a big gap is in the reactive bit. Technically, the system is known as development control; in shorthand, it is often known as the planning system, because people are applying for planning permission. There is still quite a long way to go in accommodating real sustainable development in material planning considerations.