Housing and Regeneration Bill

I think that the noble Lord needs to look at the matter in this way. Clearly, development issues are sensibly resolved through negotiation, and, in essence, that is all that this provision attempts to achieve. We are not seeking to put any additional draconian or excessive powers in place any more than was the case back in 1993. The arrangements appear to have worked very satisfactorily for English Partnerships and in the wider public interest, and that is what we are trying to achieve through this legislation. We are not seeking to do anything new; we are not seeking to achieve anything that has not already been put in place and achieved in terms of regeneration. This is probably a sensible provision which enables a lot of difficult situations to be sensibly resolved over time. It may be worth emphasising that these provisions apply only to land that the Homes and Communities Agency owns. I do not think that one can say that it privileges the agency in any respect; it is only in relation to its own land that these provisions work.