Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Ann Cryer (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 26 January 2010 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Garden Development

Question: Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is a degree of bullying going on in areas such as the Bradford district? A person buys a detached house with a very large and sometimes beautiful garden but the neighbours object at the planning stage and so permission is refused. The owner of the house then allows it to go to wrack and ruin—I know two houses that are in a deplorable state—in the hope that the neighbours will then beg the local authority to give planning permission for the development to get rid of the eyesore that they have had wished on them.

Answer: The problem that my hon. Friend describes is slightly different from the one we studied in the research report. Local authorities have some fall-back powers to deal with extreme cases of the sort that she has described. If she would like me to, I shall write to her with details of those powers.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 504 c660
Session: 2009-10
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2010-0414
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects: Construction Housing Gardens Planning permission
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk