Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The noble Lord will have listened with the same care that I did to the part of the debate which the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, initiated on parks and gardens. The noble Baroness, Lady Byford, identified the Committee’s views on that. A range of significant views exist on a number of these issues. The Government have given very careful thought to what needs to be included in exemptions with regard to parks and gardens, which is the burden of the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Greaves. It will be recognised that there is conflict of opinion in the Chamber on this issue. I hope that the noble Lord will forgive me if I put amusement parks into the same category. We know the principles on which we intend to work: the nature of excepted land, derived from CROW, is clear from the Bill. The noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, asked about land within 20 metres of a dwelling. We intend to remove the category of land within that 20-metre range: we have accepted the point. The noble Duke will have to accept that considerable discussion will go on for a long time before the Bill is completed, and there will be further discussion before the order is drafted. It is the order that will give effect to the Bill in this area. There will be a need for the Government to gain the support of both Houses for the order. We will have to engage in additional consultation about these issues. I hope that the noble Duke will accept that, at this stage, it would not advance the legislation, nor indeed the cause of those expressing proper anxieties about the boundaries of the concept of excepted land, if amendments produced rigidities in the framework of what is proposed in the Bill. We have the bedrock definition of excepted land from the CROW Act, and some points that have been raised today, which I understand are the subject of considerable controversy and concern, will need to be worked through before we eventually complete our deliberations.