London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hayes and Harlington 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hayes]
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PART II - AIR POLLUTION
(a) Smoke Control Areas.
The tea-year programme to bring the whole of the Urban District under Smoke Control continued according to schedule and By the end of the year the following progress had been made:-
| No. of Smoke Control Orders | Acres | No. of Dwellings Involved | Other Buildings Involved | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Authority | Private | ||||
| In operation | 19 | 3,800 | 2.068 | 8,727 | 665 |
| Confirmed but not yet in operation | 2 | 265 | 50 | 1,785 | 73 |
| Submitted for confirmation | - | - | - | - | - |
| Preparatory work in progress | 1 | 76 | 294 | 576 | 22 |
| Totals | 22 | 4,141 | 2,412 | 11,088 | 760 |
These areas account for 80% of the area of the district
and 66% of the dwellings in the district.
The establishment of Smoke Control Areas has proceeded
smoothly and is now regarded in the Department as routine work.
Before a Smoke Control Order is made for any part of the
District agreat deal of trouble is taken to explain to residents
in the area the effect of the Order and the benefits likely to
accrue. An assistant makes a personal call at every house for
this purpose.
Further consideration was given by the Council to the
peculiar situation arising from the wording of the Clean Air
Act whereby a person who already has a suitable gas or electric
point to which a firelighter can be connected is not entitled
to a grant on the actual gas poker or electric kindler; but if
a suitable point is not available then grant may be paid on
both the appliance and the cost of providing a point. The
legal niceties which give rise to this situation are not readily
understood by the man-in-the-street. To avoid anomalies
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