Subterranean Development Bill [HL]

Viscount Bridgeman Excerpts

Friday 10th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Bridgeman]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to have my noble friend Lord Selsdon back on these Benches after his very brief sojourn on the Benches opposite. He is to be congratulated on bringing forward this small but significant Bill, and I hope I am not anticipating things when I say that we are very pleased that the Minister will be giving it her support.

As my noble friend has pointed out, the Bill aims to strike an equitable balance between those who want to improve their properties and the owners of neighbouring properties who need proper safeguards against the disruption that these developments are inevitably likely to cause. There are three categories: the commercial developer, the private owner who wishes to improve the capital value of his property with the intention of at some stage selling it and—this is important—the owner who simply wishes to extend the property and improve its amenities for personal and family reasons.

As noble Lords have pointed out, these measures will apply principally to three London boroughs where there are high-value properties, Westminster, Kensington and Camden. Here the authorities are familiar with this kind of development and already apply high standards. However, the Bill will also apply across England, involving diverse properties where local authorities will have differing levels of experience in this field.

The Bill is a simple and straightforward one. It sets out standards of practice that form a common minimum requirement, including the size and extent of the development and the control of the nuisance and inconvenience that may be caused to local residents. While the majority of developers are reputable and experienced, there are unfortunately some who are not, and my noble friend has referred to these. One of the welcome effects of this Bill, when, as I hope, it becomes law, will be to eliminate these rogue operators who will either disappear from the scene or have to improve their practices. My noble friend has been advised by a team of wide professional experience in subterranean developments, and at the core of the Bill is a code of practice that is practicable and unequivocal, to which any developer will be obliged to adhere.

I would like to refer to the protection to adjacent property owners, which the Bill seeks to address. The radius within which notification to adjacent owners is required has been extended, and significantly strict obligations are imposed on the developer in respect of the control of noise and dirt and time overruns. Many residents will put up with large measures of inconvenience for relatively short periods. It is the extended periods of many subterranean works that cause so much aggravation and can poison neighbourly relations for years to come. The social effects of this Bill, to which my noble friend has referred, should not be ignored.

There is one particular point that I would like to make, and again my noble friend has referred to this. Many of these developments take place in terraced properties. When a development has been commenced, in many instances it excites the interest of other owners of similar properties in the street, and planning permission on terms similar to the first one cannot reasonably be withheld—a compelling reason for proper standards to be in place from the outset, which is the purpose of this Bill.

This well presented Bill seeks to fill a small but significant gap in amenities legislation. I hope that your Lordships, with the assistance of the Minister and her department, will be able to expedite its progress through Parliament.