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Planning Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister for being sympathetic towards Amendment No. 136AZB. We need greater clarification. Here is an example of the frustration that we are all facing, as the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, found, in trying to get hold of what the Government are about; it is like trying to hold the water in a wet sponge. The moment you think you have your hand on what the Government are trying to do; it pops up in another place. The Minister contradicted herself. In the answer that she gave on Amendment No. 136AZB, she wanted it to be much more definite and she sympathised with my thought behind the amendment. However, on Amendment No. 136AZC she had no sympathy at all. But here is a ghastly, wide, catch-all phrase that is going to take into account any sort of development, whether it is town and country planning, permitted development or even exempt development. That means that the Government, having got the Bill through when it is enacted in two years’ time, can change their mind completely without any consultation of this House, and say, ““Let us have power stations and let us have Lord Berkeley’s railways. Yes, we will have the whole lot now; we have it in the Bill””.