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
Carshalton 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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The following Table shows, for the various Parishes, the number of houses erected under the 1919 scheme, and the number erected, in course of erection, or for which tenders had been received in 1925 and have since been accepted, under the later scheme:—
| 1919 | 1923 | 1919 | 1923 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palish. | Scheme. | Scheme. | Parish. | Scheme. | Scheme. |
| Ashtead | — | 34 | Fetch am | — | 10 |
| Banstead | 10 | 56 | Headley | 12 | — |
| Cheam | 50 | 46 | Stoke d'Abernon | 16 | — |
| Cobham | 24 | 30 | Woodmansterne | 16 | — |
| Ewell | — | 34 |
Included in the first batch in Cheam Parish are two houses which had
been begun by a private builder, and were purchased and completed by the
Council.
In the two years 1924 and 1925 the District Council paid 223 subsidies
of £75 each to private persons or societies, with the sanction of the Ministry
of Health. They also received the sanction of the Ministry from time to
time to grant loans under the Housing Act, 1923, for assistance in the
erection of houses, in all up to the amount of £150,000, and by the end of
1925 they had advanced £101,946 under this Act, in addition to £5,015
under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act.
Iam indebted to the Surveyors for the following figures showing the number of new houses erected in each Parish in each of the past five years:—
| Parish. | 1921. | 1922. | 1923. | 1924. | 1925. | 1921—25. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banstead | 57 | 22 | 25 | 53 | 102 | 259 |
| Cheam | 47 | 60 | 141 | 162 | 222 | 632 |
| Cuddington | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 61 |
| Ewell | 15 | 24 | 64 | 123 | 162 | 388 |
| Headley | 12 | — | — | — | 1 | 13 |
| Woodmansterne | 33 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 75 |
| Ashtead | 15 | 26 | 25 | 33 | 51 | 150 |
| Great Bookham | 2 | 28 | 55 | 78 | 78 | 241 |
| Little Bookham | — | — | 4 | 11 | 3 | 18 |
| Chessington | — | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Cobham | 32 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 48 | 126 |
| Fetcham | 2 | 8 | 29 | 16 | 23 | 78 |
| Stoke d'Abernon.. | 20 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 38 |
| Whole District | 242 | 205 | 391 | 522 | 724 | 2084 |
Overcrowding.—The Census returns for 1921, quoted on page 5,
showed that 150 families, representing 3.4 per cent. of the population, were
then living under conditions of more than two persons per room, as against
79 families, representing 2.8 per cent. of the population, in 1911; the
percentage of the population living under these conditions in 1921 in the
County generally was 4.3. These figures indicate that overcrowding
increased in the intercensal period, and cases frequently come to notice in
the course of inspections, but a considerable proportion of them are of a
minor character, and a comparison of the results of recent inquiries with
those of five or six years ago shows that bad cases of overcrowding are
decreasing in number.