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63
From what I can ascertain the hopes of the London
County Council are premature, there is no prospect
of this area being redeveloped by private enterprise for
many years, and in the opinion of the Borough Council
it is nothing less than a public scandal that the present
condition of things should continue indefinitely.
The early rebuilding excuse is an old one and does not
redound much to the inventiveness of the L.C.C. and its
Officers; for recently Mr. Foot, our Chief Inspector,
during a search in the Record office at Spring Gardens,
amongst some old plans and drainage applications fell
across a bundle of correspondence, dated 1854, respecting
the removal of some cesspools and the redrainage of
certain premises in this very area. The then Surveyor
to the Metropolitan Board of Works (the predecessors of
the London County Council) recommended:—
"That having regard to the small and fourth class character
of the property and its aged and worn out condition
generally, it would only be necessary to make arrangements
for its temporary drainage as the premises would
soon come down."
This occurred over fifty years ago, yet the temporary
system of drainage was only recently remodelled and the
houses are standing and inhabited to-day, notwithstanding
my repeated representations under the Housing Acts
backed up as these are by the Borough Council.
As a result of the frequent inspection of the area by
the officers of the London County Council and the supposed
probability of the early acquirement of the property
by that Authority, some speculative house jobbers thought
they saw their way to make a profit out of the scheme by
resale at an advanced price. Upon the abandonment