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Protests were therefore made by the Public Health committee and
eventually after further consideration by the County Council various
modifications were made in their scheme, and as far as this area was
concerned it was agreed that the Lewisham Court should be retained
for a period of twelve months from the commencement of the proposed
scheme and that the matter be further considered then, in the light of
the experience of the working of the new scheme, before a final decision
is made.
Rodent control
A section, consisting from May to September of a foreman and
three operatives and from October to April of the foreman and seven
operatives, is maintained for the purpose of repressing rat infestation,
and this section is supervised by the senior sanitary inspector.
In his report on rodent control work during 1955, Mr. Walker,
the senior sanitary inspector, states:—
"The higher number of complaints received regarding rat
infestation reported in the previous year continued well into 1955,
the peak being reached in April, thereafter dropping, though still
remaining high compared with previous years. As no reason for
this rise was apparent locally, enquiries were made of neighbouring
districts. It appears that the trend was evident to a greater or less
extent in other areas, particularly those on the outer fringe of south
east London, notably Penge, Beckenham, Bromley, and Sidcup and
Chislehurst, and parts of Woolwich. This was discussed at some
length at the No. 2 Workable Area Committee for rodent control,
which covers the areas of Bermondsey, Deptford, Greenwich,
Lewisham and Woolwich. I also attended a meeting in October of
the No. 9 London Workable Area Committee which covers the area
of Beckenham, Bromley, Chislehurst and Sidcup, Crayford, Erith,
and Orpington, for a special discussion on this matter. No definite
reason for the increase came to light during the discussions, although
it was suggested that extensive advertising by private pest control
firms may have increased the sensitivity of the public, and that the
satisfactory service given by local authorities may have encouraged
people to notify the existence of infestation. It will also be noticed
that in both the sewer treatments carried out in the year there was
an increase in prebait takes over the previous year, which would
suggest a rise in the rat population in the sewers."
The undermentioned table gives a summary of the work on the
rivers and ditches:—