Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

: My Lords, I apologise for having momentarily been out of the Chamber during the debate. I have corresponded—as has everyone in your noble Lordships’ House this evening, I am sure—with a wide variety of people. I have done my best to reply to every letter I have received. It struck me in the early stages that they all came from the north of England. There was clearly a degree of co-ordination, but they were highly individual letters. I have heard far fewer arguments from those in favour of easing the process. With one or two exceptions, they have been nothing like as individually or rigorously argued. In some cases, they have had their letters paid for by one of the umbrella organisations providing briefing; I regarded that as peculiarly careless. In the same way that my noble friend and those on the Liberal Democrat Benches made reference to Ashover, I can testify to a significant amount of correspondence from the village of Broadchalk in the next valley to my own in Wiltshire. There is considerable sympathy and openness towards the use of motor vehicles of one sort or another, going back 30 or 40 years, but absolute despair at every single possible thoroughfare in the parish being asked for. The village needs to raise £400,000 for a new school. It may be that the sense of oneness and integrity in the village that springs from having to raise the money for the school goes hand in hand with the sense of integrity that comes from the village being under siege in this particular way. I do not think the Minister is in any doubt about the strength of feeling; there are a wide variety of witnesses from all over the country to the consequences of this. I notice that each time one speaks to somebody in favour of easing the process, they are blissfully ignorant of what is being done in their name by some people.