Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

moved Amendment No. 172:"Page 44, line 16, at end insert—" ““(   )   Crown land may be sold to a community trust for the purposes of benefiting the public interest.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, I moved this amendment in Committee to try to discover whether the Government were minded to do anything about the fact that Crown land can be sold off or leased only for the highest possible price under current statute. With the rise in marine energy, and because the Bill talks about alterations to the law governing Crown land, I was interested to know whether the Government would be minded to alter the law, particularly with regard to communities that wanted to set up community development trusts, for example. The communities in question are obviously on the coast, because that is where marine energy is likely to be of benefit. Communities that want to set up trusts should not be disadvantaged by the Crown having to realise a price that those communities will never be able to afford, so I have re-tabled the amendment in the hope that the Government can give me a slightly fuller reply than they gave me in Committee. I beg to move.