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Broads Authority Bill

Indeed, my Lords. I support my friend the Abbot of St Benet’s, better known to your Lordships as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich, in putting forward the Bill. My interest is not just romantic and recreational. In 1977, I was chairman of the Norfolk County Council planning and transportation committee when the then Countryside Commission suggested that the Broads be a national park. We set up a steering committee that led eventually to the 1988 Bill and the creation of the Broads Authority. Many of us hoped that this would lead to a national park—at this stage, I must declare an interest as a vice-president of the Campaign for National Parks. The Broads Authority has done an excellent job, but it is time to move on and complete the job that we started. I have some sympathy with the Norfolk County Association of Parish and Town Councils on direct election, but agree that, with the present uncertainty about the future of Norfolk and Suffolk local government, this should be debated later. Indeed, I shall bore your Lordships on the subject of unitary authorities in due course—although I am not saying which way. This is a complex subject. I reiterate the curious area that is covered by the Broads Authority: it is only part of 92 parishes, and no complete parish is included. Only some 6,000 people live in the area. I am not totally clear, therefore, how an election could, would or should take place, but I have some sympathy with the view that some elected members should be present. I also emphasise the importance of the boat safety aspects of the Bill, which would require boats to have what one might call an MOT and third-party insurance. Over the years, I have had personal experience of many boating tragedies and know how important these measures will be for everyone. I remember, many years ago, the staff whom my parents employed going on a Broads cruise. A child fell overboard and was drowned. At the age of 13, I was absolutely shattered; I did not believe that that sort of thing could happen. Many of us thought that the Act that went through in 1988 was a temporary solution, but it seems to have taken 20 years to start to improve it. That may not be a very long time in relation to the medieval peat-diggings that created the Broads, but it is quite long enough. Let us get on with it.