Sir, Mr Charles Holcombe’s local council may have a problem on its hands if it chooses to enforce section 160 of the Public Health Act 1875 against him (letter, June 18; see also letter, June 23).
That section includes provisions “with respect to naming the streets and numbering the houses”. It does not purport to legislate in relation to the naming of individual houses.
Mr Holcombe will be relieved to know that the penalty for any breach is a fine, not a flogging. He will be less pleased to hear that the Act has been amended to provide that the fine is not measured in Victorian currency but is level 1 on the standard scale: currently £200.
If the local council chooses to flog this dead horse, I will happily represent Mr Holcombe pro bono.
JULIEN FOSTER
(Barrister)
Leyton, London