§ Lord Norrieasked Her Majesty's Government:
When will they issue their consultation document on landscape conservation orders.
§ Lord SkelmersdaleThe consultation document has been issued today, and I have arranged for a copy of the document to be placed in the Library of the House. It proposes that national park authorities and the Broads Authority (if Parliament approves the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Bill) should be able to make orders to prohibit certain harmful agricultural operations in the most vulnerable parts of their areas. Orders should be applied only where the authorities are convinced that operations are likely to be carried out in the immediate future. Those on whom orders are served would have a right of appeal, be eligible for compensation, and would be offered a management agreement if one had not already been refused. Furthermore, in the event of such an agreement being accepted, the order would be revoked. We expect these powers, which will underpin, not replace, the voluntary approach to conservation, to be employed in only a few cases each year. Comments are invited by 6th March next year.