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48
of the property is held under short leases, any repairs
carried out are mere surface work. It would obviously
not pay to rebuild.
The houses were originally constructed in the
cheapest manner, and of inferior materials; many are
mere two-roomed huts with a small yard in rear, and
almost without exception the buildings are worn out
and insanitary.
Twenty houses in Gloucester Gardens were certified
in 1883 under the Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings
Act of 1868, but the then Vestry declined to take
action. The houses were afterwards closed under the
Nuisances Removal Act of 1866. The structures were
too old and decayed to be worth repairing, and
remained closed for some years. Ultimately they were
demolished, but no attempt has been made to rebuild,
as the approach is so bad.
Part of Neath Place was similarly dealt with in
1888; the houses were closed and partly rebuilt, after
which they were reopened. The width of the alley in
this portion is only 8 feet 10½ inches from house to
house. The dwellings are from position and condition
quite unfit for habitation.
A number of houses in Pereira Street and Tapp
Street were similarly dealt with, and were reopened
after being patched up.
In 1893 the greater number of the houses in Little
Collingwood Street were closed under the Housing of