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Broads Authority Bill (By Order)

There is obviously a fundamental difference. The Broads Authority board has an executive function, while the forum is a kind of talking shop where there are exchanges of views but no executive function. In my view, and in that of several colleagues, that is insufficient. The map of the Broads Authority’s executive area shows that its boundary merely skirts some settlements, and the population included is incredibly small—about 5,000 souls—as compared with the Lake district and other areas. However, that is still a reasonable number of people. Moreover, at a time when local elections are going on and we are all continually saying that we must bring democracy down to the lowest possible level, we should be encouraging parish and town councils to participate in this.