Planning Bill

I was delighted to give way to my noble friend Lord Dixon-Smith. I was not certain whether he was going to get up before or after the Minister, so I went for the gap. I did not have the benefit of reading the letter that my noble friend has received from the Minister. I support what the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, said. It is extremely important to the farming industry to have consistency the treatment of farmers by local authorities. My concern about the Minister’s Amendments Nos. 415 to 417 and 419 is that we could get a varying regime throughout the country. I hope that the Government’s eagerness to tackle the possible residential problem in Westminster under permitted development does not lead by accident to the closing down of businesses in the country. If farmers are prevented using their existing permitted development rights, there could be serious problems, particularly, as the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, said, for smaller farmers. However, it is more complicated than that because farms do not follow planning boundaries. Part of a farm could be targeted by the local authority under the provisions of the Government’s amendment, and the other part of the farm, in another planning authority, would not be subject to the same restrictions. I hope that the Minister will give a firm commitment that what she is outlining in her amendments will still permit agriculture, as we know it today, to continue with its general permitted development rights. If my memory serves me right, they go back to the 1947 Act which, once upon a time, I knew quite well, but which I have forgotten about.