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Planning Bill

My Lords, of all the noble Lords who might upbraid me I am perhaps happiest being upbraided by the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith. I will simply confine myself to noting that we have an anomalous situation in which conservation area advisory committees were set up in statute but are not statutory consultees. That is a wasted opportunity. We should better use these advisory bodies, design review and other advisory bodies of this kind. However, this amendment to the town and country planning regime, together with the amendments which my noble friend previously brought forward, strengthens our drive for good design and strengthens the duty to have regard to design on the HCA and in the development consent regime. I am deeply grateful to my noble friend and I ask her whether she will now turn her creative mind to how this new and good law can be made to work well.