Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I very much support the principle behind the amendment. I was not intending to speak, but I have been provoked to do so by the noble Lord, Lord Judd, who is sitting behind me. I am a bit disturbed by the doctrine that we should preserve the countryside merely so that we, as human beings, can enjoy it. We need to be concerned about conserving and preserving our landscapes for their own sake. To take it to the ultimate limit, there would be no countryside to enjoy if we had not preserved it. I think that the substance of the amendment is right: where there is a conflict of interest between access to the countryside and preservation of the countryside, preservation of the countryside must come first. Therefore, in principle, I support the amendment.