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141
tenants. Both Courts and the contained houses were therefore
closed by the end of April, and subsequently demolished.* In
due course the shell of the square will also be cleared.
Summary of these five small Areas. Three of these areas
have been closed and cleared. Thus 33 insanitary houses have
been demolished and 186 persons have been displaced. Sixty of
these persons found fresh accommodation in the Borough and
about 73 more elsewhere, mostly in the vicinity.
Two areas have been altered, repaired and made habitable,
including 17 houses accommodating about 110 persons.
Insanitary Areas now under consideration.—
In addition to the above 10 areas upon which work is now
being carried out, there remain in the Borough several other
insanitary areas which have received attention. In respect to
two or three of them negotiations are still proceeding, and it
would be undesirable to enter into details in the present report.
Dwelling-houses closed in 1903.—In addition to the
closures on the insanitary areas or on account of insanitation,
there have been a number of dwelling-houses closed by their
owners for reconstruction on the sites of premises for commercial
or industrial purposes. As I have pointed out elsewhere, the
Borough tends to become more and more a commercial district
and dwelling-houses are being superseded every year by business
premises. How rapidly this is taking place will be seen in the
following returns.
During 1903 dwelling-houses have been closed in the following
streets:—
° I possess particulars as to each house, its measurements, conditions and
defects, and as to each family of tenants, how long they had resided there,
whither they had removed, and the nature of their employment.