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It may be well to put on record briefly, at the commencement of
this Report, an account of what has actually been done, in so far as
the Borough Council and the late Vestry are concerned, under the
powers conferred by the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, the
Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, and the Housing, Town
Planning, etc., Act, 1909.
Systematic house-to-house inspections have been made,
amounting to a total of over 20,000 since the year 1895, when I was
appointed Medical Officer of Health, and resulting in most of the
dwelling-houses inspected being put into proper order and condition
and rendered reasonably fit in all respects for human habitation, or
(a) voluntarily closed (and afterwards demolished) by the Owners,
rather than that such Owners should go to the expense of carrying
out the sanitary notices served, or (b) officially closed (and afterwards
demolished by the Owners), as the result of representations, made
by the Medical Officer of Health, to the effect that the houses were
in a state so dangerous or injurious to health as to be unfit for human
habitation. Such representations were made in 513 instances—
385 under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890 (section 32),
and 128 under the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909 (sections
15 and 17).
Pari passu with this official work, either directly or indirectly
as a consequence of it, or voluntarily, large Private Owners' Improvement
Schemes have assisted in effecting a similar purpose by
getting rid of dwelling-houses which were unfit for human habitation,
being more or less dangerous or injurious to health, by virtue of their
defective structure, planning, site, etc., and general insanitary
conditions, amongst which are to be included dirt, dampness, dilapidations,
bad lighting and ventilation, defective drains, defective or
obsolete or badly placed sanitary conveniences, defective sanitary
and water fittings, etc.
Taking the Marsh Ward, where, up to the present, the greatest
(in area) improvements have been effected, the following courts and
alleys and cul-de-sacs and streets have been demolished (names
arranged alphabetically) : —-
(a) Between Belvedere Road and Tower Street : Arnold's Cottages,
Aubyn Street, Barnes Terrace, Bell Court, Charlotte
Place, Chartley Place, Commercial Buildings,
Cosham Place, Cottage Place, Coxe's Buildings, Granby