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Planning Bill

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on this amendment. I thank her for the exemplary way in which she has kept the House informed of developments in the Bill, and for her kind words. My noble friend Lord Howarth of Newport said on Report that she could take her place in history and that she could open the way to a new and better era of architecture and design in Britain. The amendment completes a legal framework that will enable our talented architects and designers to give of their best for ordinary affordable social housing as well as for big infrastructure projects. We shall have a better society because of it if we make sure that all concerned take full advantage of the new duty to achieve sustainability by good design. The first crucial step would be taken by these amendments, and I applaud my noble friend’s achievement in getting them through.