Localism Bill

Lord Cotter Excerpts

Tuesday 12th July 2011 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Cotter]

148ZZA: Clause 96, page 74, line 15, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
“(2) For subsection (3) (requirements as to preparation of schemes) substitute—
“(3) The local planning authority must have regard to sustainable development and Town Centre First Policy, as defined in accordance with subsection (3A).
(3A) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament an order to define sustainable development and Town Centre First Policy.
(3B) A statutory instrument containing an order under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.””

[Lord Cotter]

My Lords, this amendment addresses the issue of keeping trade local. I am sure many Members, Ministers and others will be aware over a number of years that there have been sustained campaigns on this issue of keeping variety and choice for the consumer, the issue of protecting small shops and the issue for people in business as well as the local community of having choice.

The Federation of Small Businesses carried forward a strong campaign, including coming to Parliament, lobbying and getting a lot of support for this. In the light of this very large Bill, which we are struggling to get through in time, I could speak at great length on this issue, although I will not. However, it is a very big and important issue.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Greaves]

I shall say one more thing. I apologise if I am going on too long. I invite the noble Lord, who is into flowers, to come to Colne and look at all the flowers in Colne now, done by the wonderful organisation Colne in Bloom as part of the Britain in Bloom system. He would be proud of it and it is the kind of thing that keeps people in the town and encourages people to shop there. I invite him to come to Colne; he would be proud of all the flowers there.

[Lord Cotter]

I thank the Minister for his responses. I deliberately said, in proposing my amendment, that I did not want to go on too long, because it is a very big issue and we know what pressure we are under on the Bill, so I will try to resist going on too long now. However, I say to the Minister that this is a very big issue. The few of us here this evening, including my noble friends Lady Byford and Lord True, and the noble Lords, Lord McKenzie and Lord Beecham, have come forward with tangible examples. If the House was full, which I do not expect it to be at this time of night—let us say that it was Question Time and everybody was here—I could guarantee that many people would come forward with many more.

I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Greaves for his support and for his example from Cambridge, which encapsulated what has been happening throughout the country for many years. Other noble Lords came up with other examples. Were we to have had a full debate, the number of examples would have been enormous. I shall resist trying to go on too long. It was good to hear the Minister express awareness of many similar problems throughout the country and talk about the need for healthy town centres. He spoke of the coalition’s commitment to high streets and local shops and its desire to strengthen shopping areas. Although it is above my pay grade, he referred to the national planning framework coming along the line, as if that were something we can hope will help in this particular area.

It has been striking that, while the amendments are quite different, their whole thread expresses the same concern. I shall not go on very much longer, because I realise that we are under pressure. I did not wish this to become a discussion about the benefits or otherwise of market forces—we all approve of market forces, and I do not wish there to be a battle between supermarkets and small shops. However, when one goes down that road, one picks up the fact that, if you get a supermarket in an area, it reduces its prices until such time as it drives other competitors out. I shall not pursue that further save to say that very complicated issues surround market forces, competition and such like. Although I shall seek to withdraw my amendment, the concerns remain. I am sure that the Minister has listened to this debate, and will perhaps have a fresh look at my retail development Bill—which addresses a particular aspect of this matter—but also have regard to the points put forward by my noble friend Lord Greaves, the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, and many others, which tangibly express a major concern for this country. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 148ZZA withdrawn.