Greater London Authority Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 6:45 pm on 26 June 2007.

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Photo of Baroness Hanham Baroness Hanham Deputy Chief Whip, Whips, Shadow Minister, Scotland, Shadow Minister, Transport, Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government 6:45, 26 June 2007

My Lords, I thank both noble Baronesses for their comments. The trouble is that while the policies and PPS 3 may be available, the Royal Horticultural Society and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds think that they have to run campaigns to protect gardens. Somewhere along the line messages are not getting through or local authorities are not paying "special attention" to what is going on. That is apparent particularly on the outskirts of London where people are taking the opportunity to put in buildings here and there, completely destroying garden areas.

I hear what the Minister says about boroughs being able to control all this, but that is clearly not happening. Gardens are seen as brownfield sites and are being destroyed at a regrettable rate. We need to be sure that we can stop that and that far more attention is paid to those garden areas, even if they are sometimes not very well maintained.

The Minister is not going to give way today. I shall think about this before Third Reading. For today, I beg leave to withdrawn the amendment.