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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, my amendments in this group seek to add to the Bill the specific consideration of the loss of privacy that the establishment of this route and coastal margin will mean. My first amendment would add a special consideration for where a person with a relevant interest in land is making a livelihood from the expectation of privacy. Whether this is renting out an exclusive beachfront property to the rich and famous or providing a cliff-top wedding location, or the more prosaic question of whether it is a good idea to have members of the public wandering through a caravan park, there are many ways that a businessman needs to be able to guarantee privacy in order to sell a service. My second amendment addresses my concern that the Government will use the order-making power in Clause 293 to radically affect the list of excepted land that was established in Schedule 1 to the CROW Act. It would prevent any land where there is an expectation of privacy being designated as land over which to allow access. In particular, the amendment would address concerns about the Government’s intention to disapply the CROW Act restriction that land within 20 metres of a dwelling must be excepted land. I take the Minister’s point that 20 metres is often an arbitrary distance, but I believe that it is also near enough the length of a chain or a cricket pitch. So I can see not only the arbitrariness of 20 metres but also its importance. Rights of way often pass within this distance and there should be proper consideration of the fact that allowing access right up to a house, even where the land is not part of their garden, could severely compromise a reasonable expectation of privacy. Can the Minister reassure me that definitions of "excepted land" will not be dismissed without due regard to this expectation? I beg to move.