Clause 4 - Procedure for dealing with complaints
High Hedges Bill
10:45 am
Mr John Taylor (Solihull, Conservative)
I could not agree more. I believe that one of the hon. Lady's constituents incurred enormous costs to achieve a remedy through the civil courts, with all the uncertainties of the English law on nuisance. Her constituent would have felt that paying £100 to Birmingham city council for redress would have been infinitely preferable to the amount that that constituent ultimately had to pay.
The Minister elegantly covered the point about land charges. The answer to the general question about consistency throughout the country is that £100 is the maximum. My opinion is that the maximum will become standard but that it will be alleviated in cases of hardship.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill.