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75
On 16th June the Council adopted the following draft regulations,
which were submitted to the Local Government Board for approval.
These regulations are in effect the requirements of the Public Health
(London) Act relating to underground rooms occupied separately as
dwellings: —
(a) The room shall have at least three feet of its height above the surface of
the street or ground adjoining or nearest to the room : Provided that, if
the width of the area hereinafter mentioned be not less than the height
of the room from the floor to the said surface of the street or ground, the
height of the room above such surface may be less than three feet, but
it shall not in any case be less than one foot, and the width of the area
need not in any case be more than six feet.
(b) Every wall of the room shall be constructed with a proper damp course,
and, if in contact with the soil, shall be effectually secured against
dampness from that soil.
(c) There shall be outside of and adjoining the room and extending along
the entire frontage thereof and upwards from six inches below the level
of the floor thereof an open area, properly paved, at least four feet wide
in every part thereof: Provided that in the area there may be placed
steps necessary for access to the room, and over and across such area
there may be steps necessary for access to any building above the
underground room, if the steps in such case be so placed as not to be
over or across any external window.
(d) The said area and the soil immediately below the room shall be
effectually drained.
(e) If the room has a hollow floor, the space beneath it shall be sufficiently
ventilated to the outer air.
(/) Any drain passing under the room shall be properly constructed of a
gas-tight pipe.
(g) The room shall be effectually secured against the rising of any effluvia or
exhalation, and for that purpose the site of the room shall be covered
with a layer of good concrete, at least six inches thick, and smoothed on
the upper surface. The concrete must be composed of clean gravel,
broken hard brick, "properly burnt ballast, or other approved hard
material, well mixed with cement in the proportion of one of cement
to eight of the other material.
{h) The room shall be effectually ventilated.
(i) The room shall have a fire-place with a proper chimney or flue.
(j) The room shall have one or more windows opening directly into the
external air with a total area clear of the sash-frames equal to at least
one-tenth of the floor area of the room, and so constructed that one-half
at least of each window of the room can be opened, and the opening in
each case extends to the top of the window.