Dangerous Structures
Where a building is in such a condition that it may place
people in danger, the City Council have legal powers to investigate
and to require that it be made safe. Typical examples would be
walls, which are leaning over or unstable, and roof tiles which are
being blown off in high winds.
In order to be considered dangerous, a building must actually
pose a threat of causing harm to a person. Buildings which are
simply dilapidated or run down would not necessarily therefore be
considered dangerous, and minor items (damaged timber fence panels
for example) are also unlikely to qualify.
Where we investigate a report of a dangerous structure, and
agree that action is required, this will usually take one of two
forms:
- If the building is so dangerous that we consider immediate
action necessary, we will contact our Direct Works Department and
request that they make it safe straight away. In many cases this
will take the form of fencing-off the affected area to allow
remedial work to be carried out later by the owner.
- Where the building is considered dangerous but not immediately so, we will normally try to contact the owner and require that the work be made safe within a reasonable period of time. If the owner fails to do so, we can apply to a Magistrates Court for an order allowing us to do so instead.
Note that in both cases we can only require the minimum amount
of work necessary to make the building safe, and will attempt to
cover any costs we incur in doing so from the building owner.
Please contact us if you:-
- are a building owner and are concerned that part of your
property may be dangerous, we will be happy to offer advice free of
charge.
- notice a building in the Peterborough City Council area which you think may dangerous and we will arrange for it to be inspected.