Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

After that very erudite contribution by my noble friend perhaps I may add just a general word. I should say that I am honorary president of the Friends of the Royal Naval Museum. In that capacity I am very concerned by what my noble friend is putting forward. I think that he is right. I want to emphasise a wider policy point. The Government are taking exciting and commendable steps in the direction of getting planning in so many spheres into better shape, and I find myself with them not only intellectually but enthusiastically. But if we are trying to get that right then, where we have other national priorities concerning the quality and character of our existence, it is not enough just to leave them to be taken into consideration as a kind of appendix in which there are certain moral obligations, they have to be central to the whole strategy. If we care about heritage then it is not something that just has to be taken into account, it is something that is central to the whole design. The noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, and my noble friend have done a valiant job in bringing this amendment before the Committee. I commend it and hope that the Government will feel able to give it serious consideration.