Clause 5 - Remedial notices

High Hedges Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:00 am on 21 March 2001.

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Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

Photo of Mr John Taylor Mr John Taylor Conservative, Solihull

The clause deals with remedial notices drawn up by a local authority which set out the action to remedy an obstruction of light caused by a high hedge. In practice, those notices will contain a specific requirement to reduce the height of the hedge; they might also contain an on-going requirement to maintain the hedge to prevent problems arising in future. The point made earlier about the registered land charge is relevant.

The local authority cannot require removal of a hedge, or reduction of its height to less than 2 m. The clause sets out in detail what must be included in the remedial notice: as well as the work to be carried out on the hedge, it must specify when the initial remedial work should be carried out and explain the consequences of failing to comply with the notice.

Photo of Lynne Jones Lynne Jones Labour, Birmingham, Selly Oak

I should like to highlight subsection (2)(d), which refers to action preventing recurrence of the nuisance. Will the hon. Gentleman explain how that will be done—how the local authority can ensure that the problem will not recur?

Photo of Mr John Taylor Mr John Taylor Conservative, Solihull

The matter will be neighbour-policed and the aggrieved person will know whether the remedy has brought satisfaction. If it has not, the aggrieved person will return to the local authority, so a specific self-starting inspection will not be necessary. The local authority will have a vested interest--intangible, but real--in ensuring that its remedial notice is complied with, as it would be difficult for a local authority to maintain its position as an enforcer if it did not follow through.

I believe that the problem will be self-solving because the aggrieved person will know whether the grievance has been addressed. If satisfaction has not be obtained, in Solihull as in Birmingham, the person who made the complaint and parted with £100 will return quickly to the local authority to state that he has not received satisfaction.

Photo of Mr David Madel Mr David Madel Conservative, South West Bedfordshire

If a property is unoccupied and a notice has been agreed, can the local authority trim the hedge?

Photo of Mr John Taylor Mr John Taylor Conservative, Solihull

The Bill later provides that after a remedial notice has been served and if the owner of the property does not comply, penalties can be imposed, ultimately on a daily basis. In the final analysis, the local authority can trim the hedge and deliver the bill to the offending party. Remedies of last resort are available and they become more severe, as they should.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 5 ordered to stand part of the Bill.