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38
A large proportion of the houses in the above list has been
demolished, but the demolition has been carried out by the owners
of their own free-will without any compulsion on the part of the
Vestry, which has never yet seen fit to make a demolition order.
Some houses shut up years ago on my certificate remain closed and
unrepaired, of which the following is a list:—
List of Premises closed under the Housing of the Working Classes
Act, 1890, and not repaired or demolished.
1 and 2, Parliament Court, closed 26th August, 1891, occupied as
workshops, 4th September, 1895.
3, Digby Walk, closed 2nd November, 1891.
1, 2, 3 and 4, Abingdon Court, closed 7th June, 1892, action being
taken to make a demolition order.
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Manchester Place, closed 30th November, 1892.
181 and 183, Cambridge Road, closed 18th January, 1893.
137 and 139, Columbia Road, closed 25th October, 1895.
40, Gossett Street, closed 24th, July, 1896.
It seems to me that the demolition or repair of premises closed
under the Act is decided upon, not so much by the condition of the
premises as by the nature of the holding and the terms of the lease
under which they are held.
As a general rule I refrain from certifying houses under the Act
unless I consider them incapable of being rendered fit for habitation,
but as there is no power in the Act to forbid repairs if owners choose
to undertake them, I think it would be very much better if nothing
of the kind could be commenced until it had been shewn to the
satisfaction of a competent and unbiassed expert that such repairs
could be satisfactorily carried out. Year after year houses are
patched up and rendered temporarily fit for habitation by leaseholders
who are not in a position to rebuild, and large sums of
money are wasted, which could have been profitably expended in
reconstruction, after demolition of the worn-out ho uses.