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Housing and Regeneration Bill

moved Amendment No. 43A: 43A: After Clause 30, insert the following new Clause— ““Duty to monitor and promote the re-use of brownfield land The HCA shall promote the re-use and reclamation of brownfield land and will monitor its use and publish its findings.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, I apologise for Amendment No. 43 having been tabled in error. This amendment is shorter than the one spoken to in Committee by the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, who addressed mainly the back-garden issue, which is important, but did not cover the development and use of brownfield land. The amendment proposes an extra new clause, which would require the HCA to promote and monitor the reuse and reclamation of brownfield land and to publish its findings. The reason for tabling a shorter version of the amendment is to obtain from the Government positive—or even better—comments on the HCA’s promotion of the regeneration of brownfield sites. The work of English Partnerships on the National Land Use Database and the national brownfield strategy has been important and should not be sidelined. One can see that the HCA will be under a great deal of pressure to deliver numbers and we are all aware that remediation, or simply reuse of land if work is not too extreme, is more complicated and perhaps more time-consuming. We are also aware of the pressures on greenfield sites and the great benefits of redeveloping brownfield, however it is defined; to my mind, it can include very small sites as well as bigger ones. In Committee, the Minister said that regeneration would continue to be within the agency’s remit and that he did not want to tie up too much the specific managerial responsibilities regarding where the money and resources would be allocated. That had antennae twitching, with the concern that in a time of tight resources brownfield blight might take a rather low place in the order of priorities. Hence this amendment, which I hope that the Government can use as a basis for giving the right assurances, or even accept. I beg to move.