Mr John Taylor (Solihull, Conservative)

I do not intend to weary members of the Committee, for whose support I am grateful, by talking at length to the clauses. Those who attended the debate on Second Reading will appreciate that there was reasonably broad support in the House for the Bill, so I shall not be self-indulgent this morning.

Clause 1 sets out the complaints to which the Bill applies. Let us suppose that a person owns or occupies a domestic property and there is a high hedge on someone else's land. If that person thinks that the hedge obstructs the light to his property and affects his reasonable enjoyment of that property, he or she can complain to the local authority. The Bill uses the shorthand term ``neighbouring land'' to describe where the hedge is situated. However, that does not mean that the hedge has to be growing in the land next door to a person's house. It could be situated several gardens down the road, but if it casts a shadow across a person's property and impacts on that person's enjoyment, he can complain to the local authority.

In addition, the hedge does not have to be growing in someone else's garden. It could be situated on parkland that backs on to a person's property. It is the effect that the hedge has on a person's quality of life that is important, not where it is located. There is also special provision for the owner of an empty property to bring a complaint under the Bill. For example, the owner may not be able to sell the house because of the high hedge. Such a situation is not unknown. The Committee will note that the Bill is limited to complaints about obstruction and light. High hedges can, of course, be the cause of other problems such as blocked views and worries about roots.

The Bill deliberately concentrates on the main problem rather than trying to solve all the difficulties that people encounter. Obstruction of light tends to be the main problem. It is also the factor that most readily lends itself to objective assessment. The Building Research Establishment, in association with the Tree Advice Trust, has been asked by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to develop an objective way of assessing the obstruction of light by hedges. The aim is to come up with tests that show whether a hedge is causing any obstruction of light and, if so, by how much it needs to be reduced to remedy the problem. I recommend that clause 1 stand part of the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.