Agenda item

To consider any questions submitted by Members of the Council, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(a).

There were three questions submitted in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11.

Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Nigel Mason, Chair of the Planning Control Committee:

(1)   What is the Council’s policy regarding the application of its powers under the Listed Building Act 1990, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the Buildings Act 1984, in respect of holding building owners to account for the dilapidation of Listed Buildings, especially for registered Assets of Community Value?

(2)   In particular, if the Council becomes aware that a Listed Building or building within a Conservation Area is at risk from dilapidation, to what extent will the Council allow the building to deteriorate before exercising its power to take formal legal enforcement action under the above acts?

(3)   If the owner’s maintenance of a Listed Building falls below the Council’s minimum standard requirement (as in (2) above), and indeed the minimum standard required by legislation, how much time will the Council give the owner to restore the building to comply with informal requests and comply with statutory requirements before taking formal legal action to protect the historic building?

Audio recording – 6 minutes 15 seconds

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11, three questions had been submitted by the required deadline set out in the Constitution.

(1)   Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Nigel Mason, Chair of the Planning Control Committee:

‘What is the Council’s policy regarding the application of its powers under the Listed Building Act 1990, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the Buildings Act 1984, in respect of holding building owners to account for the dilapidation of Listed Buildings, especially for registered Assets of Community Value?’

Through the Chair, the Development and Conservation Manager provided the following response:

‘The Council do not have an adopted policy, as such, we apply the relevant Acts based upon basic Government guidance. As far as the listed buildings, as far as the Buildings Act that is a matter for Building Regulations and is not a matter for me to comment on and building regulations deal with dilapidation buildings generally.

With regards to listed buildings, as I said earlier we do not have a policy on such matters but we do follow government guidance, there is no specific duty on owners to keep their buildings in a good state or repair, but we do have powers to take action where a designated heritage asset has deteriorated to the extent that its preservation may be at risk. And there are various notices that we can use under the Listed Building and Conservation Area Act. Section 54 and 55 deal with urgent works to buildings, but that can only apply to an unoccupied building or parts of a building that is unoccupied. And then there is the repairs notice under section 48 of the Town and Country Planning Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Act, that can relate to listed buildings which are occupied and we can serve a repairs notice on the owner in regards to those. The notice would specify the works that the authority considers reasonably necessary for the proper preservation of the building it does not deal with the restoration of the building it just deals with  preservation and therefore the requirements of such a notice can only deal with buildings that are in such a state that the preservation is at risk and the works that we can require are to bring it to a point where it is no longer at such risk. We cannot require its restoration to a much better state than that which is just required to ensure that basically it does not fall down. There is the ability to compulsory purchase a listed building and that is outside my purview and delegated powers and then that would be a matter for others within the Council.

You asked a question about Registered Assets of Community Value, those have no relevance to the Listed Buildings Act and to whether something is a listed building.

Assets of Community Value were assets where the communities have the right to identify the building or the land that they believe to be important to the community and it really only deals with the ability of the community to purchase a building, and they can only apply that ability in the event that a building is put up for sale. So it does not really relate necessarily to listed buildings as such but to building where the community consider it an asset and should be given an opportunity to purchase that building in the event that it comes up for sale. An asset last about five years on a list before it has to be reviewed.’

Councillor Ralph Muncer asked a supplementary question, as follows:

‘Are there any plans to bring forward a policy to codify the enforcement approach in North Hertfordshire?’

Through the Chair, the Development and Conservation Manager provided the following response:

‘No there are not, the main reason for that is that the approach taken is very much dependent on the particular building concern. All listed buildings are very different and therefore you apply the law, the acts based upon the particular circumstances on each case, I am not sure that a policy would be particularly beneficial in that regards because each case is dealt with individually.’

(2)   Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Nigel Mason, Chair of the Planning Control Committee:

‘In particular, if the Council becomes aware that a Listed Building or building within a Conservation Area is at risk from dilapidation, to what extent will the Council allow the building to deteriorate before exercising its power to take formal legal enforcement action under the above acts?’

Through the Chair, the Development and Conservation Manager provided the following response:

‘As I said earlier that would very much depend on the particular circumstances of the building and certain buildings would be looked at on their own merits and we would normally undertake or commission a survey to be undertaken if we consider that building has reached a point where it is in danger of failing if it is a listed building with a view to preserving that building. Something that has fallen down basically.’

Councillor Ralph Muncer asked a supplementary question, as follows:

‘Within the last civic year do you know how many cases of formal legal action were brought against owners of property under the above acts?’

Through the Chair, the Development and Conservation Manager provided the following response:

‘We have not had any.’

(3)   Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Nigel Mason, Chair of the Planning Control Committee:

‘If the owner’s maintenance of a Listed Building falls below the Council’s minimum standard requirement (as in (2) above), and indeed the minimum standard required by legislation, how much time will the Council give the owner to restore the building to comply with informal requests and comply with statutory requirements before taking formal legal action to protect the historic building?’

Through the Chair, the Development and Conservation Manager provided the following response:

‘It would depend upon the particular building concerned, the degree of its state in terms of what is necessary to preserve it, and that will reflect the amount of work involved in its repair to a point where if can be preserved and therefore it is not possible to say what specific time period we would give, it would depend on the particular building and its state.’

Councillor Ralph Muncer asked a supplementary question, as follows:

‘In your experience, what is the average time?’

Through the Chair, the Development and Conservation Manager provided the following response:

‘I would not be able to, would not want to hazard a guess to an average time, they are quite rare, and so working out an average which would be quite difficult because they are such rare occurrences.’