Ways and Means

My hon. Friends and I have a lot of questions about this proposal. As my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Robert Key) said, we all have our own particular set of problems that it will draw to the surface. I should like to give the Minister a few illustrations from my constituency. It is a city, not a rural area, but it has its own set of unique issues that will be exacerbated or affected by perverse consequences. One example is the West Hall site in Napsbury, formerly the site of a hospital. It has many buildings that do not come under the national listings but are locally listed as having importance. The site has been designated for housing, but many such applications get stuck in the system for a long time, and rightly so according to local residents, who do not want bad development in St. Albans. While they accept the need to have housing on the site, they also feel that a degree of caution should be exerted. They do not want to end up with 37 flats all squeezed into one commercial building; that is also seen as unacceptable by the local authority. Being stuck in the planning system can be a good or a bad thing. The problem is that we are not sure whether the proposals will make matters better or worse. Another example is the former Evershed’s commercial print works site, which has been vacant for a considerable period. It was redesignated for housing, and housing permission was sought and obtained. However, it has since been sold on to Tesco, which is trying to develop it as a commercial site again. We would prefer that it remained designated for housing. I am worried that the rush to try to make it a commercial development will stand in the way of local people who would rather see housing on what is a truly sustainable site, and that Tesco will try to get its big building up as quickly as possible before local people can exercise a degree of pressure on their local authority to ensure that the local district plan is upheld and housing is built there. Can the Minister tell me at what point the commercial building rates will be paid? Will they have to be paid until development occurs that changes the site’s use? On the London road in St. Albans, we have a listed cinema—the Odeon, which has an art deco façade. Unfortunately, it went out of use some 11 years ago. People are desperate to keep that landmark property in St. Albans. It has been stuck in the planning system for 11 years. Perhaps it will be turned into some form of housing development, but local people welcome the fact that there is no rush to do that because they hope to bring it back into commercial use as a cinema, which we do not have in St. Albans. There is huge support for that but, because the building is small, it is difficult to find somebody who is prepared to take it on. Delicate negotiations are going on all the time behind the scenes, conducted by those who want a cinema in St. Albans. However, 11 years have passed. At one point, the decision was held up speculatively and then applications for housing were constantly refused. However, local people do not want things to be rushed. They do not want the cinema, with its characterful façade, which could be revitalised, to be quickly put to another use because of the commercial rates that suddenly have to be paid on it. There are flip sides. Good results can be achieved through bringing buildings back into use, but I am worried that the process may mean the loss of the slow pace of change that local people welcome when they want to ensure that historic sites and buildings are not suddenly put to commercial use or demolished, with the site used for housing. We need answers, and I believe that the planning system will play a crucial role. A roof tax has been mentioned. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury and many reports stated, there is a concern that it may mean that the roofs are simply removed from buildings, resulting in some vandalism. The Odeon cinema still has its roof. The vandals have picked away at it, but it remains intact. I would hate to allow commercial vandalism, resulting in the removal of the roof, simply because people who are suddenly in the position of having to pay tax on a building want to ensure that it is useless, and thus take away all hope from local people. Estate agents, such as Cluttons, who have an interest in the matter, have expressed some views. I would like some answers to their concerns and to ascertain whether the Minister has conducted any assessments. People already challenge the Valuation Office Agency’s level of rating. Several cases of buildings, which currently pay only 50 per cent. but seek a nil value, have been heard before the tribunal office. If empty commercial property owners now have to appeal against rating assessments and any new categories that are introduced, surely the appeals will create an increased administrative burden, as people in the nil rating bracket find themselves in a new rating bracket. Has any assessment been made of the extra staff that the Valuation Office Agency may need and the extra costs that it will incur through the additional burden? I should like some clarity at some point in future, if not today—I understand that we are exploring the matter today—about buildings that might be considered exempt. I should like to ensure that the many historic buildings such as churches, which may not have charitable status and could simply be landmarks, do not face an extra tax burden. I am sure that it is difficult to identify the ownership of some buildings. I know of a house in St. Albans that was caught up in that sort of confusion for some time. It was eventually compulsorily purchased. I am also concerned to ensure that a retrospective charge is not levied against families who are unaware that they own and may have some ongoing interest in a building, which suddenly comes to their notice. There are some complex probate cases and I wonder whether the Minister has taken them into account. We are being asked to vote for a pig in poke if we are not absolutely sure that all the questions that my hon. Friends have asked today are considered. We do not want properties to remain empty. The Economic Secretary made the valid point that that makes no environmental sense, and I agree with him. However, it does not make environmental sense to rush towards removing roofs or damaging buildings in some way, yet such acts may be the perverse consequences of the proposals. As my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury said, it makes no environmental sense to charge people who are genuinely trying to market a building. In areas where there is a commercial property, people often have to fight the rigmarole of a local district plan to prove that the building no longer constitutes viable commercial premises. That can take such a long time that some poor family or small business could be left with an enormous charge on a property that has been incurred through no fault of their own. That is perverse. I welcome the exploration of the idea of bringing back buildings into use, because St. Albans is very tight on space. It is a matter of record that I feel that we are put under enormous pressure to build and develop in St. Albans, but we also consequently have commercial premises sandwiched in areas that we do not want to be vandalised. We want to see buildings brought back into use, but where that is not feasible, we want to ensure that time is spent considering the best uses for them and that nobody pushes through a quick commercial use order to avoid paying any form of development tax. I would welcome the Minister’s consideration of all the points raised in the debate, and particularly of whether, when a change is made under the planning system—as on the Evershed sites, for example—it should apply when planning is granted or when development occurs. Those vagaries will not provide much confidence or support for the measure. I agree with some of the business-related comments that have been made, as the proposal is seen as a stealth raid grab. If it is seen as a stealth raid grab with good consequences, there may be some support for it; but if it is seen as a stealth raid grab with perverse consequences, I feel that many Conservative Members will view it as a move too far. Given that the Federation of Small Businesses also has many concerns, I am sure that we are going to hear a lot more detailed comments about the measure in the future.