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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

We have Amendments 166ZA and 166ZB in this group. I agree with all that the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, just said. Our first amendment inserts the word ““sustainable””, and the second inserts, "““policies in relation to the preservation of greenbelt land””." We have talked a lot today about economic development, but we have to make certain—as the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, said—that it is sustainable. Therefore, we must particularly talk about the environment and the consequences of the social side of it. Unfortunately, we live with some of the problems of the rush for economic development and housing after the world war and even into the 1960s. We must consider the social side of all that we are doing and not put the economic crisis right at the forefront. All these things must be taken together, so one can have concerns about that, particularly the arguments about the greenbelt. I do not like to refer to my county again, but areas around London are particularly conscious of the greenbelt and the way in which it protects all the counties from the encroachment of London. The greenbelt is a very valuable part of that. I would like to hear the noble Baroness comment on how some parts of the country are losing their greenbelt, which is very precious to most of the population.