HC Deb 29 June 1951 vol 489 c1802
Mr. Lindgren

I beg to move, in page 18, line 44, at the end, to insert: (2) If the Minister is satisfied in the case of any land not belonging to a local authority—

  1. (a) that a person having a sufficient interest in the land is willing to make arrangements with the local authority under subsection (2) of section fourteen of this Act for the carrying out of any such works as are authorised by that section, being works which in the opinion of the Minister ought to be carried out; and
  2. (b) that all persons interested in the land consent to the carrying out of the works, but the local authority have refused to make such arrangements, or to make such arrangements upon reasonable terms,
the Minister may make those arrangements on behalf of the local authority; and for the purposes of this Act those arrangements shall be deemed to have been made by the local authority with the approval of the Minister under the said section fourteen. There are in the Bill default powers to enable a local authority to step in and do work on land in someone else's ownership, if the landowner defaults and fails to do the work. Perhaps it may be said that we on this side of the Committee are very unkind in our remarks about landlords; but it is true that there might be a landowner who wishes to do the work, who wishes to get finances to do it, and who finds that the local authority are apathetic in the matter. We think that the default powers ought to apply to the local authority as well as to the landowner, and that is why we move this Amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made: In page 19, line 1, after "order," insert "or arrangements."

In line 2 after "authority," insert "concerned."

In line 3, leave out from "land," to end of line 4, and insert: affected by the order or arrangements."—[Mr. Lindgren.]