Harbours Bill [HL]

My Lords, it would be appropriate to congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, on persevering and introducing this Bill to your Lordships’ House for a third time. I do not know whether he has set some kind of record—that is probably one for the students of parliamentary history. I have not been involved with this legislation previously, but the issues have been discussed at some length. As the noble Lord’s measures have received support from all sides of the House, I shall keep my comments pretty brief. We support the Bill’s attempt effectively to streamline—one could say, deregulate to a small degree—the procedure for handling objections to harbours orders. As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has said, it is effectively a technical measure which will bring harbour order procedures into line with other recent arrangements. He referred to the highways legislation, but I would like briefly to touch on the planning legislation, because it is not a million miles away from what we are discussing. It is important that when there are inquiries, local voices are heard and local views cannot be ignored. As one who took part in the discussions on the planning Bill that passed though this House, and being a member of a local authority, I know only too well that anything that looks like compulsorily taking people’s land, or affecting their land or living in any way, immediately becomes a complex and emotional issue. I think that we would all agree that we want to make sure that that local representation is paramount; I am sure that that is the Government’s aim. But we must also ensure that major projects of considerable importance are not delayed because one person has major objections, which is clearly what this Bill is about. Those objections should be handled as quickly and effectively as possible. As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has said, there are four deep sea container ports with applications. The economic benefits of those ports and facilities, especially with regard to job creation, are potentially immense. Noble Lords will be aware that the new developments are being proposed for some of the most economically deprived areas in the country. So striking a sensible balance between the need for new development and protecting the rights of the ordinary citizen is of the utmost importance, and I believe that the Bill is able to do that. I am also pleased that the legislation extends the right to call for a public inquiry to English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales, as that gives important recognition to the concerns about how the legislation will interact with the need to protect some of the most sensitive environmental areas in the country. Indeed, our coastlines must fall into that category. I said that I would be brief—and I will. We support the principles behind the Bill. We may want to probe a little further into it during what I imagine will be a short Committee stage, but in the mean time we welcome the Bill and wish it well.