§ '(1) Section 191(1) of the Act of 1971 shall have effect as if the land specified therein included land which—
- (a) is land within the outer lines prescribed by a new street order made by the appropriate council under section 159 of the Highways Act 1959; and
- (b) is within the curtilage of a dwelling house in existence or under construction immediately prior to the date on which the intention to make the order was first notified in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of section 159 of the said Act of 1959.
§ (2) Subsection (2) of section 202 of the Act of 1971 shall apply to an objection to a blight notice arising under subsection (1) above as it applies to an objection relating to a hereditament on the grounds mentioned in section 194(2)(c) of that Act'.—[Sir F. Corfield.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Sir F. CorfieldI beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.
The purpose of the new clause is to meet the point ably put by my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Michael Shaw) in Committee as an amendment to Clause 49. My right hon. Friend then kindly promised that he would consider the point, and indeed he has told me privately that he will go further and is prepared to devise more suitable words to meet it. I was never optimistic enough to think that the jealously of the parliamentary draftsmen for the arts they practice would permit the new clause to go through, although it is rather better than their efforts in New Clause 1.
However that may be, I am immensely grateful to my right hon. Friend. New Clause 5 deals with a fairly rare form of blight, but it is a real blight when it applies. It arises under new street orders, many of which are made and not acted on for many years, and can produce hardship. I assume that my right hon. Friend will confirm his acceptance of the principle and will promise to produce a more suitably drafted clause. If that is so, I will leave the matter there.
§ 11.0 p.m.
§ Mr. Graham PageI am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Gloucestershire, South (Sir F. Corfield) for drawing our attention to this. The House might be interested to 838 know that this has a personal history for my right hon. and learned Friend and myself. When I started to research into this I found that we had been debating this together as long ago as 1959, late at night on the Highways Bill of that time. I have sympathy with all the principles he has embodied in the clause. I go further and say that I have sympathy with every detail. We have to get the wording right. Neither he nor I would presume to do it without the assistance of the parliamentary draftsmen and I know that I will have it right by the time the Bill reaches another place.
§ Sir F. CorfieldOn the basis of that assurance I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.
§ Motion and Clause, by leave, withdrawn.