Debate contribution: Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on 16 June 2026.

MLA

Mr Andrew Muir

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

16 June 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5623766

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move amendment No 1:

I advise Members that most of the amendments that I have tabled arise from deliberations during Committee Stage. I express my deep appreciation of the sterling work of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in its detailed consideration of the Bill. Amendment No 1 proposes to align the wording of clause 2(2)(c), which refers to land "adversely affecting amenity", with that of clause 1(1), which refers to a building or other land being "detrimental to" the amenity. Amendment No 2 is to clause 4. The amendment proposes to strengthen clause 4 and close any potential loopholes in section 85 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, which provides for the offence of carrying out unauthorised works on a listed building. Officials in the Department for Communities' historic environment division (HED) confirmed that listed building consent for alterations or demolitions does not strictly relate to condition; it relates to architectural or historic character. The word "condition" needs to be inserted because, if the reference was removed, an interested person would be obliged to comply with all statutory provisions in relation to the building, which is not the policy intention. For example, if a building is in a state of disrepair, it may not be possible to comply with all health and safety obligations. Therefore, while the intention appears to be clear, I agreed that there is an opportunity to strengthen the drafting of clause 4(5) by revisiting the reference to "condition" to include reference to the obligation to comply with the building being a heritage site, as defined in clause 17. Amendment No 3 is to clause 7. The amendment is a carbon copy of amendment No 2 but applies to clause 7(6) by also clarifying the obligation to comply with the building being a heritage site. Amendment Nos 4 to 18 are to clause 11. The suite of amendments to clause 11 arose following discussions between my officials and the Department for Communities, which had concerns that clause 11 had the potential to cause confusion and conflation with the Defective Premises (Northern Ireland) Order 1975, which, Members will recall, was amended in 2024 in light of the Victoria Square situation. Clause 11 is a direct replication of article 65 of the Pollution Control and Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, which councils will already be familiar with. With the ongoing DFC work on new building safety legislation and recent post-Grenfell reports criticising the fragmentation in that area, the proposed amendments will remove any reference to defective premises. The provisions in clause 11 are not meant to overlap with the DFC legislation, but it is proposed that the defective premises notice be renamed "urgent abatement notice". That aligns more closely with the standard abatement notice provisions in Part 7 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, which we, of course, reference in clause 11(1)(b). These are cosmetic changes that do not alter the intention behind the provision. Amendment Nos 19 to 21 are to clause 12. Clause 12 enables councils to continue to recoup the cost of fencing a dangerous structure or site only until the danger has been removed. In cases where the owner has acted to remove the danger by repairing or demolishing a structure, councils should not be able to recover ongoing fencing costs, and they are content with that position. The amendment has been drafted in respect of ongoing maintenance and repair of fencing in cases where the property itself continues to be dangerous but the presence of the fence removes the danger. In that case, the fence presents an ongoing cost to the council, and the property owner has done nothing to address the danger presented by the building or site. There are also minor amendments to clause 12 that are consequential to the renaming of the defective premises notice in clause 11. Amendment No 22 is to clause 16. Clause 16 allows councils to obtain information on buildings or land. The amendment was requested by district councils, and it would strengthen the powers and mirror those already available to councils under article 72 of the Pollution Control and Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 so that they can serve a notice requesting information on anyone such as a solicitor or other person with a financial interest in the land.

726 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:48 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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