Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, this has been a useful debate, and I thank the Minister for his response. It has brought us round to the importance of privacy as a factor in people’s lives. It is not just the interests of landowners that are being addressed by these amendments, but those of the people who use these assets for their enjoyment and leisure, such as people on holiday. I gave a few examples which help to put privacy in context. It is a privilege, to which people are entitled in normal circumstances. If the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, had been involved earlier in these debates, he would know that these Benches do not seek to do other than welcome coastal access. We are talking about the mechanisms to bring about such access, and to achieve the ends with a minimum sense of grievance on the part of the people who are being asked to surrender rights that they believe they have. We are legislating to give the general public access to their property, so it is reasonable to set up mechanisms that take their rights properly into account. I was disappointed by the Minister’s response to my second amendment because the Government are taking significant powers on themselves with the proposed 3A order to amend safeguards that people have worked hard to keep. Amendment 124SA is necessary to preserve those safeguards and to ensure that the power is not used inappropriately. I warn the House that I am likely to return to Amendment 124SA when we come to the appropriate point in our debates. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 124FZA withdrawn.