Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

In general, the approach and aim of the amendment that I and Members of the Committee of all sides have tabled is to conserve and enhance the marine environment by raising awareness of the importance of heritage, historic and archaeological considerations. Both Ministers who have answered two previous debates on these issues gave some comfort and useful explanation in support of the principle. For that, of course, we are duly grateful. So far, however, they have not been prepared to agree that this should be made clear in the Bill. I therefore move Amendment 130, which would add "seascape" to Clause 114 as a separate ground for designation. By "seascape", I mean an area of sea, coastline and land, the character of which results from the actions and interactions of land with sea by natural or human factors. This definition is based on the definition of "landscape" set out in the European Landscape Convention, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory. It is intended to reflect the fact that the convention embraces the seas as well as land. Adoption of our amendment would contribute to the fulfilment of the Government’s obligations under the convention, which is in itself an important point. The amendment would ensure that, by broadening the purposes for which marine conservation zones are designated, our nationally important seascapes can be formally recognised. In so doing, we would ensure that the full breadth of the marine environment is protected within a truly sustainable framework contained in the marine plans in the Bill. The Bill relates to one, albeit important, dimension of the marine environment, about which we have just now heard a considerable amount: nature conservation. However, the important point is that seascapes are not defined simply by the view. They embrace not only the natural world as expressed in terms of biodiversity and physical features, but also the human world in terms of historic and cultural heritage, opportunities for recreation and enjoyment, scenic resources—another way of saying "views"—and connections and associations between them. Amendment 131, spoken to on a previous Committee day by the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, also sought to do this, but perhaps in a slightly wider way. In support of the Government’s obligations under the European Landscape Convention, English Heritage has been undertaking a programme of historic seascape characterisation, the results of which should help the Government in reaching their conclusions. The issue for coastal protected landscapes is that there is no means of recognising seascapes in statute. The current system of planning and management of coastal protected landscapes does not embrace the marine environment. There is an artificial divide between land and sea, with no recognition of the continuum between them that is so important for our coastal protected landscapes. The statutory management plans and development plans for these areas stop at the mean low-water mark, rendering them useless for planning and managing the special qualities derived from the marine environment. This is why we want to try to do something about it. The Bill provides an opportunity to address the issue, but it does not provide a mechanism for designating seascapes, notwithstanding the indication in the marine Bill consultation of 2006 that a mechanism was under consideration that could protect, inter alia, important seascapes and views. This possibility was not followed through in the White Paper of 2007; however, it was indicated that important seascapes and views from land would be considered in the marine planning process, and that the United Kingdom’s marine policy statement could include objectives describing the importance of seascapes and views and how we wish to treat them. More detailed plans would allow us to consider seascapes and views in the context of the priorities for specific areas. While in some ways it will be important for the conservation of seascapes and views from land to be addressed in the marine plan process, the absence of any mechanism for defining our nationally important seascapes, including the seaward extent of our coastal-protected landscapes, is a fundamental weakness of the marine planning system proposed in the Bill that could so easily be put right if our amendment were accepted. I suspect that the Government will deploy the argument that the marine planning statement and the marine plans will be the way that seascapes can be dealt with. I accept that this is one way of doing so and will welcome any statements from the Minister which make this clear. There remains the concern that there is no mechanism to designate nationally important seascapes without amending the Bill. Can the Minister explain why, during the consultation on the Bill in 2006, Defra seemed to think that seascapes could be dealt with by marine conservation zones—then called marine protected areas—and on what basis this was dropped? Also, how will the national importance of particular seascapes be expressed in the marine policy statement or in marine plans without any form of designation process? I am troubled by the Government’s attitude to our amendments on these issues. There seems to be an assumption that it is not necessary to take advantage of this Bill to protect not only natural flora and fauna but also our marine heritage. Goodness knows it has taken long enough to reach these heritage amendments because of the extent of debate on other aspects of the Bill, suggesting it is not regarded as perfect as it stands in many respects. The noble Lord, Lord Greenway, said earlier that it will be a long time before we have another opportunity of a marine Bill and that is why we want to take full advantage of this one to do as much as possible to get our marine heritage protected. As the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer reminded us, conservation issues are not mentioned in the long title and heritage issues are in the same boat. There is considerable concern in your Lordships’ House on this issue and many organisations worry about the outcome of our deliberations. I will mention some because it is a distinguished group—the Campaign for National Parks, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, the English National Park Authorities Association, Europarc Atlantic Isles, the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the National Trust, the Welsh Association of National Parks Authorities and English Heritage. The noble Lord, Lord Chorley, had hoped to be here to support the amendment, and he asked me to say that it has his full support but, unfortunately, he had to leave. There are many others who wish to speak in support of the amendment, so I should allow them to have their say. I beg to move.