Airey Houses (Hansard, 23 June 1982)

§ 1. Mr. Edwin Wainwright
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange for his Department to monitor the results of the inspections he has recommended of every Airey house in England for structural defects.

§ The Minister for Housing and Construction (Mr. John Stanley)
I did so in May of last year.

§ Mr. Wainwright
Will the Minister take account of the fact that there are 800 such houses in Doncaster, 200 in Barnsley and 300 in Rotherham and that the tenants are now worried about the fire hazard and structural defects? Is he aware that the local authorities are deeply worried about the future costs to them of replacing those houses? Will the hon. Gentleman also bear in mind that the poor owners—like some local authorities—purchased those houses not knowing about their structural defects and the fire hazard, and are extremely worried about how much they will cost them in the near future?

§ Mr. Stanley
I assure the hon. Gentleman that I am well aware of the number of Airey houses in his constituency, which, geographically, has one of the highest concentrations of such houses in the country.
As regards the capital implications for local authorities, we have made it clear that refurbishment and, if necessary, replacement work on Airey houses are factors that we would take into account in making HIP allocations. I am sure that the local authorities in his area will draw attention to that fact in their HIP submissions for 1983–84.
In reply to what the hon. Gentleman said about the owners of Airey houses, I am aware that there have been a number of sales at valuations which did not reflect the defects that have now become apparent in those properties. I assure the hon. Gentleman that the position of private owners, who bought their houses before the defects became known, is under consideration.

§ Mr. Cormack
I should like to reinforce what was said by the hon. Member for Dearne Valley (Mr. Wainwright). As my hon. Friend will be aware, a number of my constituents have purchased Airey houses. Will he ensure that, however the sum is arrived at, the owners will get at least as much in compensation as they would get if the houses were compulsorily acquired for a motorway or some other purpose and were perfectly good houses?

§ Mr. Stanley
I assure my hon. Friend that I am aware of the problem. I, too, have constituents in the same position. I cannot today make any commitment of a financial nature, but I have said that we have this aspect under consideration.

§ Mr. Dormand
Will the Minister confirm that he has received the report from the National Building Agency about defective houses in new towns? If so, will he guarantee that the district councils involved will have the opportunity to study not only the report but the Minister's comments before he takes any action? Is he aware—I am sure that he is—that thousands of tenants are involved, including hundreds of tenants in my constituency in the new town of Peterlee?

§ Mr. Stanley
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that that matter does not arise on this question. I am not aware of there being any Airey houses among the new town housing that he mentioned. I can confirm that we have now received the report.

§ Mr. John Wells
Is my hon. Friend aware that in rural areas many Airey houses have large gardens? If they are to be demolished, there may be scope for building perhaps three times the number of new dwellings, but there will be no scope for providing special dwellings for old people. Therefore, there will be a grave knock-on effect from the defects of Airey houses. Can my hon. Friend assure us about the provision of special accommodation for old people, because many old people are living in Airey houses?

§ Mr. Stanley
I am well aware that my hon. Friend and geographical neighbour in constituency terms has a considerable concentration of Airey houses in his area. The decision about the type of accommodation that may be provided is entirely a matter for the district council, but I am sure that the Maidstone borough council will want to draw attention to the capital implications in the HIP submission that it will shortly make to the Department.