The Dilapidation Bill aims to provide district councils with a modern, consistent and fit for purpose Northern Ireland-wide enforcement regime to deal with the negative impact of dilapidated and dangerous buildings and neglected sites, which reflects the powers already available to enforcement bodies in the rest of the UK.
Clauses 1 to 3 - Detriment to local amenity
Q1. Do you agree that Clauses 1 to 3 will empower councils to tackle the issue of ‘detriment to local amenity’ (regarding buildings or other land in its district) that because of its condition is/are detrimental to the amenity of a part of the council’s distractor of an adjoining district - If not, why not?
Yes
Please provide comment on your understanding of ‘detriment to local amenity’’ in the context of this Bill:
When buildings or land are of 'detriment to local amenity' it means that they detract from the safety (perceived or real) and character of an area. They also represent a lost opportunity to provide another, vibrant and positive, use of the space, which could potentially revitalise the area and support its economic development.
Please comment on the maintenance notice, the appeal and action for breaches as appropriate:
Appropriate training and resourcing of Council officers will be required. Will Council Planning Enforcement Officers be responsible for serving maintenance notices, managing appeals and action for breaches? If so, this could lead to greater time and training requirements for enforcement teams (who are already overstretched in many Councils as it is often the first department to receive resourcing cuts and the least attractive planning job to recruits due to potential levels of abuse from the public). It also is not clear who is covering the cost of training and staffing - where is the budget coming from? There are likely to be additional costs/time of monitoring as well, as the same buildings or sites might be tidied up and then neglected again if the same ownership remains.
Clauses 4 to 6 – Serious detriment to local amenity
Q2. Do you agree that Clauses 4 to 6 will empower councils to tackle the issue of ‘serious detriment to local amenity’ (regarding buildings or other land in its district) that because of its condition is/are seriously detrimental to the amenity of a part of the council’s district or of an adjoining district - If not, why not?
Yes
Please provide comment on the dilapidation notice, the appeal and action for breaches as appropriate:
Whilst changes to outdated legislation are welcome, appropriate training and resourcing of Council officers will be required. Will Council Planning Enforcement Officers be responsible for serving dilapidation notices, managing appeals and action for breaches? If so, this could lead to greater time and training requirements for enforcement teams (who are already overstretched in many Councils as it is often the first department to receive resourcing cuts and the least attractive planning job to recruits due to potential levels of abuse from the public). It also is not clear who is covering the cost of training and staffing - where is the budget coming from? There are likely to be additional costs/time of monitoring as well, as the same buildings or sites might be tidied up and then neglected again if it is the same owner.
Clauses 7 to 10 - Dangerous structures
Q3. Do you agree that Clauses 7 to 9 will empower councils to tackle the issue of ‘dangerous structures’ (apart from if Clause 10 Emergency Action is to be used) regarding a building in its district that is in such a condition as to be dangerous, or issued to carry such loads as to be dangerous - If not, why not?
Yes
Please provide comment on your understanding of ‘dangerous’’ in the context of this Bill:
'Dangerous' in this context means that the structure is unsound, weakened and parts or whole of it could come down, particularly in extreme weather events. This could represent a serious risk to human life.
Please provide comment on the dangerous structure notice, the appeal and action for breaches as appropriate:
Whilst changes to outdated legislation are welcome, appropriate training and resourcing of Council officers will be required. RTPI NI would recommend that dangerous structure notices, appeals and action for breaches be done by Building Control officers, as is the case in England and Wales, rather than planners. Such action requires an assessment of structural/fire safety which planners are not qualified to give.
Clause 10 (Emergency action)
Q4. Do you agree that Clause 10 will empower councils to tackle the issue of ‘dangerous structures’ requiring ‘Emergency Action’ regarding a building in its district that is in such a condition as to be dangerous, or is used to carry such loads as to be dangerous and immediate action should be taken to remove the danger, and that the council may take whatever steps are necessary to remove the danger - If not, why not?
Yes
Please provide comment on any aspect of the Emergency Action powers provided for in Clause 10, including the assessment the council must conduct; the notice of its intention to exercise the power; the proposal of a fee; the appeal; and the timescales:
Whilst changes to outdated legislation are welcome, appropriate training and resourcing of Council officers will be required. Who exactly will be responsible for conducting the assessment, serving the notice of the Council's intention to exercise power, proposing the fee, and managing any appeals process? RTPI NI recommends that Emergency Action powers should come under the responsibility of Building Control officers, as is the case in England and Wales, rather than planners. Such action requires an assessment of structural/fire safety which planners are not qualified to give.
Clause 11 - Defective premises
Q5. Do you agree that Clause 11 will empower councils to tackle the issue of premises units district which are in a defective state, but there would be an unreasonable delay in remedying the defective state of the premises if the procedure under Part 7 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (statutory nuisance) were to be followed - If not, why not?
Yes
Please provide comment on any aspect of the Defective Premises powers provided for in Clause 11, including the Defective Premises Notice, the timescales and the appeal:
Whilst changes to outdated legislation are welcome, appropriate training and resourcing of Council officers will be required. RTPI NI recommends that Defective Premises powers should come under the responsibility of Building Control officers, as is the case in England and Wales, rather than planners. Such action requires structural assessments which planners are not qualified to give.
Clauses 12 – 15 Liability for Costs etc.
Q6. Do you agree that Clauses 12 to 15 will empower councils to recover the costs which it incurs in so acting under section 3(1), 6(2), 9(2) or 10(2) (carrying out work) of the Bill, from the persons (who at that time have an interest in the land in question) as the council considers appropriate - If not, why not?
Yes
Please provide comment on any aspect of the cost recovery actions provided for in Clauses 12 - 15, including costs of the district council; charge on land; costs of interested person and obstruction by occupier:
Costs recovery actions for remedial work do not take into consideration the cost of training or time for these additional duties for Local Authority planning or building control officers (or whichever other Council officer will be covering this new role). The cost of training and officer time will need to be considered and a budget identified.
Clauses 16 – 20 Miscellaneous functions of district councils
Q7. Please provide comment on any of the miscellaneous functions of district councils to be found in Clauses 16 to 20.
Consultation with planning regarding heritage sites (Clause 17):
RTPI NI welcomes this as it recognises the importance of preserving and conserving sites of heritage value. However, as noted in previous responses, there will be an officer time implication of this function, which will put more strain on an already-stretched planning system. Consideration must be given to adequate financial, people and skills resourcing to fulfil these functions.
The powers of entry or an authorised officer of a district council (Clause 18):
No comment.
The fixed penalty provided for in Clause 19 when an authorised officer of a district council has reason to believe that a person has, in relation to land in the council’s district, committed an offence under section 3(2) (breach of maintenance notice), or an offence under section 16(4) (failure to provide information without reasonable excuse):
No comment.
The guidance for the time being issued by the Department for the purposes of this Act. A draft of the guidance, or a proposed revision of the guidance, must be laid before the Assembly:
Again, the Guidance must be clear in terms of a) who is responsible b) what training needs do they have c) how will the costs of training and officer time be covered? In addition, we recommend that consideration be given to safeguarding of Council officers (planning or building control), as they are potentially going to be subject to harassment and abuse for their enforcement actions, in person and/or online. Recognition of this aspect of the job must be paramount, to ensure that there are proper escalation processes in place and wellbeing support available to officers.
Clauses 21 – 23 General procedural matters etc.
Q8. Please provide comment on any aspect of the general procedural matters provided for in Clauses 21 - 23, including notices served under this Bill (Clause 21); appeals against a notice brought under this Bill (Clause 22) and for the procedures in cases where proceedings have been brought but the defendant ceased to be the owner/occupier before the end of the notice period (Clause 23).
General procedural matters Clauses 21 - 23:
No additional comment.
Clauses 24 – 25 Interpretation
Q9. Please provide comment on any aspect of the interpretation clauses provided for in Clauses 24 and 25, regarding the meaning of ‘interested person’ and other definitions.
Interpretation Clauses 24 and 25:
No further comment.
Clauses 26 – 28 Supplementary
Q10. Please provide comment on any aspect of the supplementary clauses provided for in Clauses 26 to 28.
Supplementary Clauses 26 to 28:
No further comment.
Clauses 29 - 31 General Interpretation, Commencement & Short Title
Q11. Please provide comment on any aspect of Clauses 29 – 31 regarding general interpretation.
General Interpretation Clauses 29 – 31:
No further comment.
Schedules
Q12. Please provide comment on any aspect of Schedule 1 regarding the fixed penalties, fixed penalty receipts and the power to make regulations regarding the use of receipts.
Schedule 1:
No comment.
Q13. Please provide comment on any aspect of Schedule 2 regarding the necessary repeals.
Schedule 2:
No comment.
Additional Information/Comments
Q14. Please provide any additional information or comments on any aspect of the Bill that you feel is relevant.
Additional information or comments:
Whilst we acknowledge that the revisions in this Bill are required to update legislation which is very outdated, careful consideration needs to be given to the following points:
- which Council officers will be responsible for serving notices, appeals, and breaches, along with managing the timescales and communications? This is a significant time requirement and will require extra resource and skills.
- where will the budget for officer time and training come from?
- what support will be available for Council officers who are likely to receive harassment and abuse, in person and/or online?
Proposed Additions and Amendments
Q15. Please provide information on any potential amendments that you feel would enhance the Bill and the rationale for those.
Information on any potential amendments:
Again, the Bill must be clear in terms of a) who is responsible b) what training needs do they have c) how will the costs of training and officer time be covered? In addition, we recommend that consideration be given to safeguarding of Council officers, as they are potentially going to be subject to harassment and abuse for their enforcement actions, in person and/or online. Recognition of this aspect of the job must be paramount, to ensure that there are proper escalation processes in place and wellbeing support available to officers.
