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could not pay for the repairs ; to have spent unaided any money on
the property did not appear justifiable to the Council; and no help
was forthcoming from the Central Authorities to assist in the carrying
out of a reconstruction scheme favoured by some members. At
the same time the condition of the place was deplorable. At the
end of the year, however, the homes were acquired by a private
firm with considerable interests in the neighbourhood, and now,
although much still remains to be done, and the result will not
have the eclat of a big scheme, definite progress has been made
towards its improvement. The Committee has, of course, all along
been hampered by the difficulty of finding accommodation for those
persons displaced and has had to go very slow lest worse evils might
supervene.
The house occupied by one family is, of course, the ideal, but
Utopian so long as the present relations exist between work place
and dwelling place, consequently it seems necessary to crowd more
persons on a given site than one would welcome, but given strict
attention to planning and to the provision of light, air and refuse disposal,
three-floor buildings offer the best solution. Nothing further
has been done in the way of improving the conditions of Carpenters
Place or Blue Anchor Lane, but the Report for 1922 will probably
show substantial progress in the treatment of other areas such as
Tiger Yard, which have been considered by the Committee, and with
the fall in prices there are other areas which are now quite fitted
for their present occupying families, but which by some rebuilding
could be adapted for a larger number.
Considerable trouble was caused by a certain number of families
who seized an unoccupied brewery in the Borough. From this they
were ejected by order of the Court, but then proceeded to camp out
in the yard of the building from which they had been expelled.
They managed somehow to obtain closet accommodation and
water, thus rendering it difficult to take any legal action, and at the
end of the year were still in possession.
Difficulty also arose in the case of two older houses in the
northern part of the Borough of Camberwell where the outside wall
was removed on account of its dangerous condition. The hardships
were alleviated by the provision of stoves, tarpaulins, &c.
APPENDICES.
Housing Conditions.
STATISTICS, YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1921.
1. General.
(1) Estimated population 269,600
(2) General death rate 2.1
(3) Death rate from tuberculosis 1.3
(4) Infantile mortality 74
(5) Number of dwelling-houses of all classes)
(6) Number of working-class dwelling-houses Provisional figures 41,018
(7) Number of new working-class bouses erected 236