HL Deb 25 March 1959 vol 215 cc370-5

Amendments reported (according to Order).

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, before I move the Amendments standing in my name your Lordships may like to know that the noble Marquess, Lord Reading. has informed me that he regrets his inability to be present this afternoon, but has asked me to tell your Lordships that, if you decide that these Amendments should become part of the Bill, he is in complete agreement. Like my noble friend, Lord Forbes, I must apologise to your Lordships for moving Amendments at this stage, and I should like to start by reassuring your Lordships that none of those Amendments seeks to change the law in any way. All of them are, in fact, designed to ensure that the Bill more accurately reflects existing law. As the points with which they deal are somewhat technical, I think that it may assist your Lordships to consider them in groups and not necessarily in the order in which they stand on the Order Paper.

With your Lordships' permission, therefore, I will group together under the first head Amendments No. 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 16. The purpose of this group of Amendments is to ensure that the Bill reproduces accurately the provisions of the existing law which protects the works of land drainage authorities from interference by highway authorities. The Bill as it stands fails to do this now, because it omits certain protective provisions of the Public Health Act, 1875. Unfortunately, our attention has only just been drawn to this matter by the body representative of drainage authorities, whom we asked some time ago for any comments they might have. We are satisfied, however, that their points are good ones and that we have now got the Bill right on this particularly difficult aspect of what is, at best, a complex subject. With these Amendments, the Bill now reproduces existing law. I beg to move.

Amendments moved— Clause 20, page 18, line 9, leave out ("catchment board") Clause 288, page 213, line 38, leave out from ("seventy") to second ("and") in line 39 and insert ("three hundred and six and section (Saving for works, etc., of land drainage authorities)") Clause 294, page 220, line 35, leave out lines 35 and 36. Clause 294, page 224, line 1, leave out lines 1 and 2. Clause 294, page 225, line 30, at end insert?— ("(6) References in this Act to a river board shall be construed as including references to the Conservators of the River Thames and the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board.") After Clause 306, insert the following new clause—

Saving for works, etc., of land drainage authorities

(".—(1) Subject to the provision of this section, nothing in any of the provisions of this Act to which this section applies shall authorise a highway authority or council to use or interfere with any watercourse (including the banks thereof), or any drainage or other works, vested in or under the control of a river board or other drainage authority within the meaning of the Land Drainage Act, 1930, without the consent of that board or that authority, as the case may be.

(2) A consent required for the purposes of the foregoing subsection shall not be unreasonably withheld, and if any question arises whether the withholding of a consent is unreasonable either party may require that it shall he referred to an arbitrator to be appointed, in default of agreement, by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

(3) This section applies to sections forty-eight, one hundred and three and two hundred and fifty-five of this Act and to the other provisions thereof which are specified in the Seventeenth Schedule thereto, being provisions which re-enact with or without modifications public health enactments.")

First Schedule, page 235, line 9, leave out ("catchment board")

First Schedule, page 237, line 1, leave out ("catchment board")

Twenty-Fifth Schedule, page 228, line 13, after ("sixteen") insert ("one hundred and seventeen").—(The Earl of Gosford.)

On Question, Amendments agreed to.

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, the second group of Amendments comprises Nos. 3, 5, 13, 14 and 15. The effect of these Amendments is to restore to the Bill provisions reproducing certain provisions of the Highway Act, 1835, the principal effect of which is to enable highway authorities to deal with damage to the highway consequent on the exclusion therefrom of the sun and wind by a hedge or tree. The provisions were included in the draft Bill examined by the Committee, who stated in their Report that they considered that the provisions should be repealed without re-enactment, as highways were not now so constructed as to be susceptible to damage by the exclusion of the sun and wind.

As the provisions were originally enacted in the days of waterbound roads, this seemed a reasonable view to take; and when I read their Report I was not surprised that they had come to this conclusion. However, it has since been represented to my right honourable friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation that the provisions are in fact of great value to highway authorities, particularly in the South Western counties, and that these authorities would be at a disadvantage if the provisions were not re-enacted in the Bill. The effect of the Amendments is to bring the Bill strictly into line with the law as it now is. and we think it desirable that the Amendments should be made. I beg to move.

Amendments moved— After Clause 119, insert the following new clause

Damage to highway consequent on exclusion of sun and wind

(".—(1) If a highway which consists of or comprises a carriageway is being damaged in consequence of the exclusion therefrom of the sun and wind by a hedge or tree (other than a tree planted for ornament or for shelter to a building, courtyard or hop ground), a magistrates' court may, on a complaint made by the highway authority for the highway, or, in the case of a highway maintainable by reason of tenure, enclosure or prescription, by the person liable to maintain the highway, by order require the owner or occupier of the land on which the hedge or tree is growing, so to cut, prune or plash the hedge or prune or lop the tree as to remove the cause of damage.

(2) If a person against whom an order under the foregoing subsection is made fails to comply with it within ten days from such date as may be specified in the order, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable in respect thereof to a fine not exceeding forty shillings, and the highway authority or other person on whose complaint the order was made may carry out the work required by the order and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them or him in so doing from the person in default.

(3) No person shall be required by an order made under this section, nor shall any person be permitted by the last foregoing subsection, to cut or prune a hedge at any time except between the last day of September and the first day of April.

(4) If it appears to the highway authority for a highway to which this subsection applies that the highway is being damaged in consequence of the exclusion therefrom of the sun and wind by a tree or hedge or other vegetation growing in or near the highway, the highway authority may, at any time, with the consent of the owner and occupier of the land on which it is growing, prune or lop the tree or cut, prune or plash the hedge or other vegetation.

This subsection applies to any highway, being a trunk road or a county road (other than a claimed county road), situated in any of the following counties, that is to say, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.")

Clause 133, page 105, line 25, at end insert— ("(5) If it appears to the highway authority for a highway to which subsection (4) of section (Damage to highway consequent on exclusion of sun and wind) of this Act applies that an obstruction is caused in the highway by a hedge or tree, or by a bank, or by any vegetation growing on a bank adjoining the highway, the highway authority may, at any time, with the consent of the owner and occupier of the land on which the hedge or tree is growing or the bank is situated, cut, prune or plash the hedge or vegetation, or prune or lop the tree or remove the obstruction.")

Twenty-Third Schedule, page 274, line 34, at end insert ("and")

Twenty-Third Schedule, page 274, line 35, leave out from ("sixty-one") to end of line 36 and insert— ("Section sixty-five so far as it relates to a hedge or tree which causes an obstruction in a carriageway or cartway. Section sixty-six so far as it relates to the felling of trees. Section seventy.") Twenty-Third Schedule, page 274, page 275, line 34, leave out lines 34 and 35.—(The Earl of Gosford.)

VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGH

My Lords, I am not sure whether this matter has gone back to a Committee of the House. I gather that this Amendment is included in the general assurance by the noble Earl that all these Amendments seek to maintain the law as it is, but, of course, we have had no time to look that up and check it. Obviously, the offences which might be committed under the third Amendment might have serious consequences to people who have land bordering highways. If I could be assured that this involves no alteration of the existing law, I should have to be satisfied, but the practice which is being adopted to-day does not seem to be in general a very desirable one.

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, I think I can fully reassure the noble Viscount. This set of clauses was in the original Bill as it went to the Select Committee. The Committee considered the matter and inasmuch as roads nowadays are not apt to be built with trees near the edges, they thought that they could well be omitted. However, it was pointed out by local authorities in the South Western part of England that they would be at a disadvantage in not having these clauses, which were in the original Bill, and which have hitherto always existed. These Amendments merely seek to put back in the Bill what was in it when it went to the Committee.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT KILMUIR)

My Lords, would the noble Viscount who leads the Opposition prefer that I should put every Amendment separately? I am only trying to meet the convenience of the House, but I will do that with the greatest pleasure.

VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGH

My Lords, I have no objection.

On Question, Amendments agreed to.

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, there remain two further Amendments. The first is No. 2, relating to Clause 50. This is purely a drafting Amendment. The words it is proposed to take out refer to a subsection which is no longer in the Bill, it having been deleted at an earlier drafting stage. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Clause 50, page 45, line 12, leave out from ("or") to ("make").—(The Earl of Gosford.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, this is the last Amendment standing in my name. Clause 126 reproduces provisions of the Highway Act, 1835, which seek to prevent the pitching of traders' booths, and so on, on highways. Some difficulty was experienced in dealing with this provision as its somewhat archaic language (it refers, among other things, to "higglers") prevented its being inserted verbatim in the present Bill. It has been represented to the Minister that in the process of rendering this provision into modern language a defect has been introduced. In its present form the provision would not enable local authorities to deal with gipsies who become a nuisance by camping on the highway in the way they can deal with them now. Naturally we have no desire to put gipsies at a special disadvantage, and we are not proposing to do so; but it seems clear that, since they can be dealt with under the law as it now stands, the new Bill ought to reproduce the law on this point. This, I am satisfied, the Amendment effectively does. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Clause 126, page 100, line 3, after ("trader") insert ("or a gipsy").—(The Earl of Gosford.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Then, Standing Order No. 41 having been suspended (pursuant to the Resolution of March 23):

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to signify to the House that, Her Majesty having been informed of the purport of the Highways Bill, has consented to place Her Majesty's interest, so far as it is concerned on behalf of the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a third time.

Moved, That the Bill be now read 3a.—(The Earl of Gosford.)

On Question, Bill read 3a; Amendments (privilege) made: Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.