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Localism Bill

My Lords, I support my noble friend’s amendment, which was moved by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. I say at once that I was extremely grateful to my noble friend Lady Hanham for acceding to my request that I should take a deputation from two of the community bodies interested in this subject. We met my noble friend on 31 August. The community bodies included representatives of some of the householders who have been so appallingly affected by these basement developments—““subterranean developments””, they seem to be called. So impressed was my noble friend by what she heard and read that she instructed her officials—I hope I quote her correctly—““to find a solution””. The delegation therefore left in some considerable hope that something might be done to meet their concerns. In passing, I asked them whether they had tried to raise this issue in the other place. Their answer was rather revealing: they had tried but they could not find any Member of another place who was prepared to take up the issue. There was no delegation to see a Minister in the other place. It has been left to this House to pursue the issue and to gain the assurance from my noble friend that her department should find a solution. I have four amendments in this group. The first two were tabled for Committee and have been carried through to Report. One was intended to provide a code of practice and the other to provide some form of recompense for the massive disturbance that householders face. However, I have subsequently received a letter from my noble friend explaining that those amendments were not acceptable. In the letter of 9 August she said: "““With regard to your proposals relating to the Secretary of State issuing guidance, in the spirit of localism, I believe it is best to leave it to local authorities to issue guidance””." Relying on that, I then tabled Amendment 230 to provide that the local authority shall issue guidance. However, my noble friend also was not keen on the idea of compensation. She said she believed that, "““the introduction of such a provision would set an unwelcome precedent for this to be adopted more generally””." I have therefore tabled a second amendment. My noble friend Lady Gardner of Parkes is absolutely right that we need an extension of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which was passed after a good deal of discussion in order to deal with the problem of party walls dividing two houses. I say this with some hesitation as the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, is a considerable expert. As my noble friend has already pointed out, he chaired the RICS panel which has recently produced the sixth edition of its guidance on party wall legislation and procedure. However, we need an amendment to the Party Wall etc. Act because, as presently drafted and operated, that legislation is not apt to catch the kind of experiences that neighbouring householders are facing as a result of these subterranean developments. It is perfectly clear from page 3 of the guidance that the Act, "““authorises work that may involve physical encroachment onto a neighbour’s land, or produce dust, vibration, noise or some other inconvenience””." However, the work must be carried out in such a way as not to cause unnecessary inconvenience. That is what we are talking about, and yet I have been advised—I think that this will be confirmed by the noble Earl, Lord Lytton—that the Act is not in a form in which it can be used to remedy these evils. I use the word advisedly. This applies to householders in many parts of London. It happens not only in Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster; I am told that it happens also in Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham. It occurs where the value of the land is so high that it is cheaper to carry out an expensive excavation downwards than to move into a larger house, on which of course there is now the extra stamp duty. That is what is driving it. It is a function of the value of land. Perhaps I may give an indication. A very old friend of mine, a distinguished former ambassador—he and his wife are now both over 80—sent me a message when he realised that I was taking an interest. He writes as follows: "““Our little London house in Hamilton Close St John’s Wood was once the groom’s cottage for the main house in Hamilton Terrace. When we bought it in 1985 Hamilton close was a quiet cobbled backwater. In recent years we have been plagued by noisy builders, excavators and concrete mixers obstructing the Close and damaging the cobbles as well as making an infernal noise during working hours””." As with the experience of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, they, too, suffered not just one but two failures by the contractors, who were building next door an underground swimming pool and gym. As for those employing the contractors, often these are people for whom it is only one of a number of houses, and as my noble friend said, these things are apparently considered necessary in modern society. When one is told that people can spend £750,000 on building an underground swimming pool in that sort of area, one can see that huge resources are involved. The effect on neighbours is simply horrendous. The owners of the house, of course, move out. They can go and stay in a hotel while it is all going on. The neighbours just have to put up with it. I am not in the least surprised that my noble friend Lady Hanham told her officials that a solution must be found. It may well be that none of the amendments I have tabled is sufficient to do this. It may well be that my noble friend’s reason—which she has put to me—is that if one is going to change the law in this respect, it must be the subject of consultation, but there really is not time for that. However, it should be possible for this House to ask the Government to table an amendment which would give the Government the power to amend the Party Wall etc. Act so that it can be extended to this sort of development, that it can provide for an effective code of practice, and that it can provide for some measure of compensation—as does the party wall Act—for the disturbance, and horrendous interference with normal life, which these developments are causing. I agree with noble friend that something must be done; a solution must be found. My noble friend has convened a meeting tomorrow to discuss this issue, and I am fascinated to know what we are going to discuss. However, I give her notice that if none of these amendments is acceptable to the Government, then I would want to table an amendment on Third Reading to give the Government the power to amend the party wall Act, so that it can be extended to cover precisely the problem that we have been discussing. There is no doubt about it: something has to be done. I hope we shall find a way that this House can achieve that.