London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Lewisham 1952

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]

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60
authority was engaged in discussing with the Minister the resumption
of slum clearance.
At the request of the Minister, the county council formulated a
slum clearance programme for the whole of the LCC area for the five
year period 1951-55, involving some 3,000 dwellings per annum.
The county council reached agreement with the various metropolitan
borough councils with respect to the number of houses unfit for human
habitation to be dealt with by clearance area procedure each year in each
borough and as to which of these houses should be dealt with by the
county council and the borough councils respectively.

The programme for Lewisham was as follows:—

YearLocalityApproximate No. of dwellingsResponsible authority
1951Southend Lane12Lewisham Borough Council
1952Willow Way, Sydenham16Lewisham Borough Council
Wells Park Road, Sydenham55London County Council
Lee Church Street120Lewisham Borough Council
1953Davids Road, Forest Hill10Lewisham Borough Council
Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill9Lewisham Borough Council
1954Hither Green Lane7Lewisham Borough Council
1955--
229

The twelve properties in Southend Lane have already been dealt
with by the Lewisham borough council as individual unfit houses.
With regard to the programme for 1952, a detailed report on the Lee
Church Street area will be found below. The Willow Way area
is zoned for light industry and the area will be dealt with by a clearance
order or orders which will leave the owners responsible for the necessary
demolition. The properties have been inspected and a preliminary
report submitted to the committee. The Wells Park Road area is
being dealt with by the county council, and the requisite rehousing will
be carried out by that authority.
Clearance areas
Lee Church Street clearance area
The Council, in pursuance of section 33 of the Housing Act, 1936,
gave notice to the London County Council that it was intended to
consider a proposal that seven areas in the neighbourhood of Lee
Church Street should be declared clearance areas. The County Council
replied that it did not itself propose to deal with these areas and that
an application for assistance in rehousing displaced families would be
considered on its merits. All the properties affected are within an
area designated for residential purposes on the Development Plan for
the Administrative County of London with the exception of 19-33,
Lee Church Street, which are within an area designated for educational
purposes.