Clause 44 - The Street works register
Traffic Management Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Conservative)
Can the Minister give us some assurance that the amendment to the street works register requirement is not going to cover too much trivial and bureaucratic nonsense? Clause 44, as drafted, could put an obligation on a street authority to put on a register every pile of building material, rubbish or other things deposited on the highway, even though it might be there for a relatively short time. If we start requiring local authorities to do that, we are putting a disproportionate burden on them.
I hope that the Minister can give us some reassurance about the circumstances in which the duties will arise and an assurance that they are not going to cover those deposits that are not on the ground for very long. In some parts of the country rubbish is tipped and it takes a long time to have it cleared away. In the street where I live, in Lambeth, a car has been abandoned for several days and not removed. The idea that Lambeth council, which is a failing or failed council, should be required to put that on a register is as ludicrous as requiring the registration of skips that are there for a short time. I would be grateful for some assurances on that.