§ 52. Mr. Leslie Haleasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the increasing hardship of the operation of the existing laws relating to private streets; and whether he will now take steps to relieve this hardship.
§ Mr. MacCollI know that some people consider it a hardship to have to pay road charges, but it is a long42W established principle that the cost of making up private streets should be shared between the frontagers, in proportion to the length of frontage. The Advanced Payments Code, where it is in operation, has greatly eased the position for purchasers of new houses whose share of road charges is now included in the purchase price. For owners of older houses, there are various means by which hardship can be mitigated—for example, under the 1892 Code a council may have regard to degree of benefit, and under section 210 of the Highways Act 1959 they can make a contribution to the cost of the work.