Draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Compulsory Purchase) (Corresponding amendments) Regulations 2016

Mark Field Excerpts

Wednesday 7th December 2016 General Committees

[Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)]

I was impressed by the manful way in which the Minister dealt with this issue. Given my own experience in the past week or so, I definitely subscribe to the cock-up rather than conspiracy theory about any problems that occur in political life.

It was worth having a short debate on this issue. Compulsory purchase is critical, and it is important that the Government get it right. We understandably have a culture in this country that respects the idea of an Englishman or Englishwoman’s home being his or her castle. As a result, we do not have the rather roughshod approach that applies in much of the rest of the continent, and indeed across the world, to issues of compulsory purchase.

As has been mentioned, if we are to make infrastructure changes and to turbocharge our infrastructure development in this country, whether in housing or across a range of other areas, it might well be necessary to exercise compulsory purchase on others’ behalf—particularly utility companies. It is therefore critical that we get the law entirely on all fours.

It is right that the Minister has looked at a vast array of different bits of legislation, which seems to be slightly in conflict, but it is better to have a belt-and-braces approach than to let it be. This will be a controversial issue in the years to come if we are to have the infrastructure development that is of great national importance, particularly where it interrupts individuals’ rights.