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49
FITNESS OF HOUSES.
Bethnal Green is an old Borough, and a large proportion
of the property was never, even when new, up to
modern requirements as regards planning, size of rooms,
dryness of walls, etc. Add to this fact the consideration
that such property is now old and beyond further repair,
and is suffering from the neglect of a five-years' war
period, and some idea of the conditions will be obtained.
No doubt a great deal can be done in some houses to
make them less unfit for human habitation, but in a very
large number no amount of repair will ever make them
satisfactory houses. Even when repair is practicable
this may involve very heavy expense, and far more than
is justifiable, having in view the fact that the cost of
the repairs will fall on the landlord and tenant. There
are in Bethnal Green numerous houses where, for
instance, damp-proof courses should be inserted in the
walls, proper foundations laid, the brickwork requires
pointing, doors and windows require replacing and resetting,
not to mention new roofing and guttering
required. Such houses are only fit to be pulled down
and carted away, and it is waste of money to do anything
else. However, in an important matter such as
this any exaggeration is to be avoided, and one must
have in view the abnormal times in which we are living.
Most of the newer housing accommodation in the
Borough comprises blocks of flats, usually of four or
five stories, and about 16 per cent. of the population
lives in these structures. It is unnecessary for me to
dilate on the disadvantages of such a mode of life. The
principal sufferers are the children, who suffer from the
confined life and the lack of room for playing, and the