Housing and Regeneration Bill

I am grateful for the opportunity to put this on the record and particularly grateful for that last contribution from my noble friend, which reinforces the unique nature of the situation and why we have the provision in the Bill at all. I start by saying to the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, that ““land of the HCA””—it is a wonderfully ringing title, is it not?—means land that the HCA owns. He is quite right about that. I know that the issue of burial grounds and consecrated land is very emotive and we are all agreed around the Committee that we must be very careful that we treat such land in a sensitive and considerate manner. I am sure that the deceased giraffe was treated with great respect when English Partnerships uncovered its haul. This amendment would hinder our ability to do that. It goes without saying that it has never been the intention of English Partnerships to target land of this nature for regeneration or development. It would certainly not be the intention of the HCA, to reinforce the point that the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, made. As the noble Baroness said, it might well have come down through transfer of surplus land, and the example that she gave of the hospital was a useful one, because that would be very possible. If land were ever to come into this category as part of a critical element of a larger regeneration scheme, and strategic to it, any such land would almost certainly be disused and historic. We might be talking about, for example, a medieval plague pit or an Iron Age burial site, which have great historical significance, must be treated with great care and would come under a lot of other protections. We will make regulations that will contain comprehensive procedures to deal with the issues raised when human remains are encountered or consecrated land is involved. We are taking the opportunity in the Bill to do that. The procedures in the regulations must be no less stringent than any provisions disapplied and, of course, the use of the land must be in accordance with planning permission. That goes without saying. We are in discussions with the Ministry of Justice over the content and nature of the prescribed requirements and will consult on them in due course. The paragraphs as drafted are modelled on those in the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. I would be pleased to report to the Chamber on the progress that we make with those regulations. If I accepted the amendment, that condition would occasionally, though not significantly, hold up important developments. But we will have the regulations and bring them forward.