Subterranean Development Bill [HL]

Lord True Excerpts

Friday 10th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord True]

My Lords, as others have said, this is an important Bill. The issue was discussed at some length during the Localism Bill, and I pay tribute to my noble friend and to the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner of Parkes, for what they did during those debates to bring this matter to the attention of the House.

The great strength of the Bill is that it seeks to codify an overarching approach to an emerging and extending issue. I do not object to the liberty to develop one’s own house and property, but such development can cause serious problems, as we have heard, and it should come within a properly controlled and consistent regime. The procedures laid out in the Bill are clear and admirable, and I support them wholeheartedly. I join in the tribute to the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, whose professional expertise on this issue has contributed so much.

Whether this measure requires an Act of Parliament, accords or a code of practice—a question raised by the noble Earl, Lord Caithness—the fact remains that it needs to be done. The case has been made by enough noble Lords who have spoken.

This is often perceived as a problem relating to central London but, as has been said by others, it does not relate only to central London. I can say from my perspective—and I declare an interest as leader of a London borough council where subterranean development takes place—that the problem of controlling and managing it is far more widely distributed than many imagine. Of course, as property prices increase, people naturally seek to exploit the territory that is theirs wherever they can. One of my council colleagues was telling me only yesterday of a case where development has already caused damage of more than £50,000 to a neighbouring property during construction, when pumps were put in the wrong place, and so on and so forth. That damage occurs before the neighbour is necessarily aware, and certainly before the council is aware, and it then has to be dealt with under the procedures of the Party Wall etc. Act and through the civil law.

In another case, there is a proposal only 30 yards from the Thames to go down two floors, with pumps going full-time to keep the site dry. People have ambitions to do that, so it needs an element of control. I hope that the procedures in the Bill are somehow implemented. If the Government cannot promise to introduce a Bill of their own on this line, I hope that they will be sympathetic if my noble friend or a Member of the other place brings forward a similar Bill in another Session, because the case has been made that the matter needs to be addressed.

The noble Earl, Lord Caithness, said that councils could do more. Councils are used to being criticised; it is part of one's lifestyle. We try to do what we can—Hammersmith and Fulham has recently introduced what I think are very effective documents on this—but the reality is that councils are often chasing the problem. We get many complaints about basements during construction, usually about noise, but in many cases planning permission has not been required—an issue addressed in the noble Lord’s Bill—so conditions have not been imposed. Then, building control officers, who are one of the most hard-pressed and underresourced parts of many councils, have to try to get under control a project that has already started. Councils do not have adequate powers, because some developments do not require planning permission.

It is said that Article 4 directions can be put in place. That is certainly true, but delivering Article 4 directions is quite cumbersome and requires a good deal of consultation, and so on and so forth. Our experience is that permitted development of smaller scale activities is causing a lot of the problems. Under Clause 3(1)(a), they will be brought within the ambit of the system. I welcome that.

Councils’ planning control powers are not designed to protect neighbouring buildings from construction damage. That is regulated by the 1996 Act; it does not necessarily involve the council. Yes, environmental health laws can be applied to construction sites, but that is directed primarily at controlling pollution and nuisances related to noise, vibration and dust. We can use those controls on construction sites to keep problems within reasonable bounds, but they cannot stop the issues arising from construction. I would be interested to consider the point made about the extension of building regulations. They relate to matters such as structural stability and foundations, but they are focused on compliance with regulations on the application property itself, rather than the effects on the local environment down the road or on buildings on neighbouring sites. There are other things that councils can do. My council has been proactive in dealing with issues arising from piledriving, which in larger developments is extremely tiresome and troubling for neighbours. A lot can be done under the Control of Pollution Act and other legislation to contain both the timing and the method with which piling is driven in larger developments.

Without further detaining the House, I accept the noble Earl's culminating point that councils should do more; we will try. It would be enormously helpful if the excellent code and approach embodied in the Bill were adopted by whatever method, with government support and encouragement—it may not need government time. We could wrap up all the things in the Bill so that we have proper control, proper notice—as has been mentioned by other noble Lords—proper management and a proper sense of responsibility. People can then exercise their freedoms with a sense of responsibility to others. We have an outstanding model before us in the Bill, a template for the construction of a code of practice, and I hope that the Minister will give it a warm welcome.