New clause 50 - Development of a listed building or
Planning and Compulsory Purchase (Re-committed) Bill
10:00 am
Mr Matthew Green (Ludlow, Liberal Democrat)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight on his new clause. He has identified a pertinent point about something that is a problem in many parts of the country. However, although I agree with him on the intention, there could be problems with implementation of the provision. I can think of two. One is that some listed structures are very old indeed, and are built using construction techniques that would be difficult to replicate in a modern environment. If such a building were to be destroyed deliberately, perhaps with a bulldozer, it would be extremely difficult to restore it to what it was. As my degree is in mediaeval studies, I am concerned about the danger of ending up with a replica that does not match up to the original.
My other concern is that, in contrast to the law on cars, under which motorists must have insurance, buildings insurance is not compulsory. If, for example, an elderly couple with no insurance or insufficient insurance allowed a listed building to burn down, through neglect rather than deliberate action, the new clause would force them to rebuild it at great expense, even though they had no money to do so. Presumably, that would force them to seek mortgages, which they might not be able to obtain. I foresee see practical difficulties with that.
I am not trying to dent the hon. Gentleman's enthusiasm for dealing with the problem. It needs to be dealt with, perhaps by increasing the maximum fine to above £25,000. If people can make tenfold profits, then let us increase the fine tenfold and relate it to the potential redevelopment value of the site. If the potential for profit were removed, the likelihood of people doing such things would be significantly reduced, although that would not deal with the issue of buildings falling down due to neglect. This is a difficult area, and I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on having a stab at dealing with it.