---

Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I support the noble Lord’s amendment. I will speak at greater length when I move my amendments. He has identified a real problem because there are at least two definitions in the Bill. The Minister may say that one definition applies to wildlife and the other applies to planning areas. The planning area definition concerns me more because the interface in planning just on those margins will need greater definition. The noble Lord is right that definitions of exactly what constitutes ““sea”” throughout the Bill will create confusion, especially where different bodies have different powers potentially over the same areas or perhaps a disputed area. As sea levels rise, the mean high water level will change. I was talking to my local estuary forum, the Taw Torridge Estuary Forum, where all the organisations with any interest in the estuary come together, whether it be recreational, wildlife or the local authority. The chairman told me that one of the biggest problems with this Bill is in what is defined and where we decide finally that the powers should begin and end. If they are at high water, that leaves an immense place, as the noble Lord, Lord Holbeach, has just identified. All of us who have seen ““Shakespeare in Love”” will have seen that beach at the end of the film.