Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, on Second Reading I declared an interest as the owner of an estuary and some miles of Solent shore where for years my family has given public access, including a nature reserve. It did not feel right to intervene in Committee because of the extent of my knowledge of the situation. Now we are sending the Bill to another place, I want to say how delighted I am that progress has been made to make it a fairer and more workable situation. At an early stage, the Government stated that parks and gardens would be excepted, but later they retreated from this position and inserted the word "curtilage". I fear that the reference to curtilage will lead to many time-consuming disputes. I therefore urge the Government to provide in another place that that is replaced with "parks and gardens", which is much more understandable. The Government have made a very welcome concession on the important principle of an independent appeal. I am most grateful. I welcome that, but we must ensure that the Bill has clauses that give weight to legitimate concerns, such as those of coastal owners and businesses. The legislation has being drawn up on the assumption that rules and definitions of a coastal plan can be applied in the same way to a river valley. That is oversimplistic. Rivers are very different animals. They are often lined with high levels of residential and commercial property, while in other places there are sensitive nature reserves. Where a coastal path meets an estuary, for instance, I urge that the two sides of the river are as much as possible joined by one existing right of way. Sometimes, these will be further inland, but such a scheme would be much easier to implement. Finally, I am deeply concerned that in the passage of the Bill the need to safeguard wildlife has been largely ignored. Our coasts and estuaries contain some very important havens for animal life, but their condition could well be threatened. Let us be honest and say that there is a clash between nature and government policy. On the assumption that Natural England will decide on the route, it must make quite sure that it does nothing that would harm natural life. I fear that it will be overruled by its political masters. At a time when bird numbers are diminishing and birds are becoming extinct, it is very important that we apply the Sandford principle, that nature should take precedence over humans.