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Sanitary Inspections of the District.
The visits to complaints have increased from 2,775 to 3,657.
This does not necessarily mean that causes for complaint have
increased, but rather that people are more ready, either with or
without cause, to call in the help of the local authority. With
this there has been an increase in the house inspections arising
from such complaints, a visit to the premises complained of often
leading to a further inspection of its neighbours.
The great increase of " visits to new buildings," which show
a twenty-fold growth, is largely the reflection of the Council's
activity in forming the new residential districts at Nunhead and on
the Casino estate.
The over-crowding figures remain about the same, but I do
not think they have ever given a true picture of the condition of
things in the northern part of the Borough. The desire of so
many people to live near their work has to be reckoned with, and
when one sees the storming of the buses and tramcars which takes
place morning and evening at many centres, and the loss of time
it entails, it is one that can well be understood. Hence, those parts
which are nearest to the centre will always remain crowded. The
condition can only be altered by greater decentralisation and the
building up of small subsidiary areas round London where the
factories could be put up with ample spaces round them for dwelling
purposes. Another factor which is increasing the congestion is
the gradual substitution, almost unnoticeable in its progress, by
the workshop of the private dwellings in whole or in part.
Most of the other routine inspections call for no comment,
inasmuch as they differ little from last year. The most notable
difference is seen in the workshops inspected, over 200 more visits
having been paid than in 1920. Although nearly 500 fewer
intimations were served, the number of statutory notices remained
about the same, indicating the continuance of the policy of speeding
up, and it is well that it is so. The difficulties encountered during
the war have practically disappeared, and there is no lack of labour
to execute the demands in the generous period usually allowed by
the Authority.
The number of visits to houses let in lodgings has shown a
noticeable increase, but we are still a long way behind pre-war
figures.
Schools.
All the schools, both public and private, have been kept under
observation during the year, there having been 194 inspections of
the former and 151 of the latter. In addition, there were the
usual inspections of Dulwich College and the Datchelor Schools,
which are made at the instance of the authorities of those institutions.
These, especially the former, take up a very large proportion
of the Inspector's time, for here not only the school buildings but
also the masters' houses are inspected and the drains examined.
Indeed, the Council does for nothing what a sanitary surveyor
would charge a fee for, and for these schools acts on lines it does
not follow for other ratepayers.