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173
BRICK BURNING.
Your Vestry requested the County Council, in 1889, to
add the business of a brick maker to the scheduled list of
offensive businesses. The Council, however, thought that
the business might be regulated by bve-laws, under the provisions
of the Local Government Act, 1888, and Section 23
of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882; and. under circumstances
set out in my Annual Report for 1891 (page 179), the
Council made bye-laws accordingly. The Local Government
Board did not confirm the bye-laws, being of opinion that the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891, section 21, would, when it
came into operation, enable Sanitary Authorities to cope with
nuisances due to this cause. The nuisance is a serious one
causing great annoyance over a very large area. For many
years, including the year 1891, it was the cause of numerous
complaints in this parish, so surely as the burning season
came round. In 1892 not a single complaint was received, a
striking fact seeing that, for the first time since I entered
upon the duties of my office, no bricks were burned at Wood
Lane, Hammersmith, the reputed locality of the nuisance,
as it affects Kensington. In 1893, with the resumption of
brickmaking, the nuisance from brick-burning recurred and
many complaints were received from parishioners in various
parts of the parish. The brickmakers were communicated
with, and warned that if the nuisance should continue proceedings
would be taken to put a stop to it under the
provisions of the Act. The nuisance naturally did continue,
and in November summonses in the police court were issued
under Section 2L of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891,
against three of the brickmakers, on account of the nuisance
created, and on the ground that they did not adopt " the
best practicable means for abating the nuisance, or preventing
or counteracting the effluvia." The proceedings at the
police court commenced in January, but as the case is still
sub judice at the present time (July), I forbear further
reference to the subject.