Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

My Lords, while supporting my noble friend’s Amendments Nos. 132 and 170, I take this opportunity to oppose as strongly as I can government Amendment No. 131 to the 1949 national park Act. In my opinion—and I am sorry to use these words—this is no more than a crude and brazen attempt by the Government to widen the criteria for national park designation. As my noble friend said, that has been done without any proper national consultation whatever. It has profound implications for future designations of national parks and indeed for extensions to existing park boundaries. The Minister pointed out when moving his amendment that before any new national park could be designated it would require a public inquiry. I accept that. Yet the public inquiry and the decisions that are made will be based on the legislation. If the legislation is changed, then those given that task will clearly have to take that into consideration. So I simply say how much better would it have been if the Government had simply acknowledged that fact and stopped trying to pretend that this is a mere tidying-up operation to help clarify a rather vague and esoteric misunderstanding that happened to lead to a clear judgment against them. As I said, in my view this is a deliberate attempt to widen the designation criteria for national park status. One consequence of that will undoubtedly be the upgrading of the South Downs AONB, despite the fact that such a move has already failed three times. The Minister said that no decision had been made on the South Downs AONB. A decision was not reached because the proposal was rejected three times. For very good reasons; it did not qualify. As I said in Committee, I found it deeply unsatisfactory and indeed—and I speak for many others in this respect—discourteous that such a profound change in legislation should be introduced at such a late stage of a Bill in your Lordships’ House when the other place has not had the opportunity of giving it the high level of scrutiny that it deserves. The Government continually remind your Lordships that it is our duty to bend to the supremacy of the elected Chamber, yet here we find them bringing in significant legislation that the other place will not have had an effective means of scrutinising. The fact that the judgment on the Meyrick case came after the Bill had left the Commons is, to my way of thinking, quite irrelevant. Such a fundamental change in law should require it to go out to full consultation to all the stakeholders whom the Government are always so keen to get involved in such matters and then to come back at a later stage—even with a separate Bill, if needs be—when all relevant interests have been fully considered. I am bound to say that this is yet another example of the Government treating the countryside in a pretty shoddy way. I turn to the amendment itself. Clearly, the amendments that the Government are proposing to the amendment they tabled to the 1949 Act in Committee place the words ““wildlife”” and ““cultural heritage”” as being subsidiary to the existing requirement for natural beauty, which has itself been substantially widened by Clause 97. None the less, that overturns the High Court decision in the Meyrick case, when the judge confirmed that these were irrelevant considerations in designating national parks. Furthermore, the fact that cultural heritage is not defined in the Act further confuses the matter. The amendment under subsection (2A) to the open-air recreation criterion in the 1949 Act now includes the phrase:"““take into account the extent to which it is possible to promote opportunities””" for open-air recreation. As my noble friend Lady Byford said, that could apply to virtually any land and would certainly embrace all of the existing AONBs. Furthermore, I believe it undermines the special nature of the existing national parks. From Addison, Dower and Hobhouse to Sandford and Edwards, there remains a common theme—that national parks should be very special areas, wild, beautiful and suitable for public access at the time of designation. The Government clearly want to undermine that principle. To illustrate that further, current government guidance on national parks also emphasises the importance of wildness. It states:"““Particular emphasis should be placed on identifying those qualities associated with their wide open spaces, and the wilderness and tranquillity which are to be found within them””." As I said, however, the Government maintain that they are simply attempting to clarify the law so as to fit in with their interpretation of the existing legislation before the Meyrick judgment. The truth is that, in 2000, the Countryside Agency tried to redefine the law by introducing a new policy on the designation criteria, without any consultation, and it was found wanting. So instead of going quietly, the Government are introducing legislation of national importance to comply with the judgment—and to the best of my knowledge, the only body that has been consulted is the Council for National Parks. Well, there’s a surprise. There seems to be a view that the creation of a national park automatically results in a widespread echo of approval across the land. It is important not to forget that those whose real homes are in the park, and those who work in those areas, do not always share that euphoria. Designation means higher visitor pressure. It means extra constraints. It means a diminution of local democratic accountability. There are extra red tape and burdens on local businesses and communities, and a local house price distortion in favour of outside purchasers clambering for the distinction of having accommodation in a national park. Indeed, experience shows that in national parks starter homes are few and far between because of the inherent nature of restrictive planning policies. We must be under no illusion. Whereas national park status gives credit to the special nature of the landscape—well, it should do—it always delivers additional constraints to those who wish to make their living there, and such a designation is not always as welcome as some might think. One further point needs addressing. I have tried to stress that the imposition of a national park designation has profound implications for those who live and work in such areas. However, perhaps we should ask, in contrast, what additional benefits will accrue to the general public from any further national park designations. When national parks were first designated, we lived in a very different world from the one that we live in today. Today, the countryside is littered with a variety of new designations. We have SSSIs, SPAs, SACs and the like. There are government grants for an array of land management schemes—we have entry level 1, entry level 2, and the CAP has moved away from production subsidies to support for land management. That is all good stuff—I love it. There are conservation sites and heritage sites, and the CROW Act offers access opportunities to all open country, with provisions for the Government to extend such areas when deemed appropriate. So can the Minister please tell me exactly what benefits will accrue to the general public should an AONB, for example, be upgraded to a national park? It is incumbent on the Government to spell out in some detail just what benefits will accrue to the public given the additional cost that will be incurred and the diminution of democratic accountability suffered by the local community with the Secretary of State appointing so many non-democratically elected members of a national park board. These are hugely important issues and I do not believe they can be taken lightly. Given the nature of the amendment, a strong body of opinion feels that the Government should withdraw it and come back another day with a clear conscience in the knowledge that the job has been done properly. I know that that is not likely, and in the mean time I have great pleasure in supporting the two amendments tabled by my noble friend Lady Byford. To my way of thinking, they are at least akin to the original designation criteria.