Rural Amendments Head to Lords Committee Stage

Following our recent coverage of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s call for stronger rural recognition in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, we wanted to share a short update as the Bill enters House of Lords Committee stage.

Committee stage begins this week, with debates expected to take place across a number of sittings over the coming days and weeks. The exact timing of individual amendments is not yet confirmed, as Committee stage debates follow the order of the Bill rather than set themes.

Two key rural-focused amendments, covering “rural affairs” and a “duty to consider the needs of rural communities” have now been tabled by Baroness Royall. These amendments may be debated on different days, depending on where they fall in the running order.

The rural affairs amendment has been sponsored by Lord Best, Lord Cameron of Dillington and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, while the rural duty amendment is sponsored by Lord Best and Lord Cameron, with Baroness Bennett also proposing an addition to ensure public transport and active travel are explicitly included within the duty.

Now that the amendments have been formally numbered, the RTPI has circulated its House of Lords Committee stage briefing to a wide group of Peers.

Members may also find it helpful to refer to the RTPI’s Committee stage briefing which can be found here

The Rural Services Network supports these amendments, alongside the RTPI, recognising that they offer a clear and practical way to ensure rural needs are properly reflected within future devolution and planning arrangements.

We will continue to monitor Committee stage closely and will update members as debates take place and further developments emerge.