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150 Annual Report oj the London County Council, 1914.
Brady-street
area.
During the year correspondence passed between the Council and the Local Government Board
as to the manner of dealing with the Brady-street area, Bethnal Green, which had been represented
by the medical officer of health of the district as an unhealthy area under Part I. of the Housing of the
Working Classes Act, 1890. The matter was still under consideration at the end of the year.
High-street,
Woolwich,
area.
On 16th January, 1914, an official representation under Part I. of the Act of 1890, was made by the
medical officer of health of Woolwich with regard to an area in High-street, Woolwich, about half an
acre in extent, consisting of an island block and a few other houses. Some of the houses were old and
showed signs of decay, in some cases the lighting and ventilation were defective and some of the basement
rooms were damp. There was nothing, however, in the arrangement or the condition of the area
generally which, in the Council's opinion, would justify the making of an improvement or reconstruction
scheme under Part I. or Part II. of the Act, and the Council decided therefore to take no action upon
the representation. It appeared to the Council that the proper course was for the borough council to
deal with the houses in the area by means of closing and demolition orders, and by the service of sanitary
notices under the Public Health or Housing Acts.
Capital
expenditure
on clearance.
The amount expended on capital account by the late Metropolitan Board of Works and the
Council up to 31st March, 1915, in respect of the clearance of insanitary areas (exclusive of the cost
of erecting new buildings), amounted to £3,571,319,. while the receipts derived from rents and sales
of land, including the amounts charged against the accounts of the dwellings for the housing values
of sites appropriated for that purpose, together with the contributions from local authorities towards the
cost of carrying out Part II. schemes, amounted to £906,740 thus leaving the net expenditure at
£2,664,579. The capital expenditure during the year 1914-15 amounted to £101,417, and was almost
wholly for the new Tabard-street, etc., scheme.
Displacement
of
persons of
the working
classes.
The displacement of persons of the working classes by the Council does not always involve the
provision of rehousing accommodation, and, in several cases the Local Government Board has, in the
exercise of its powers under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1903, dispensed with the necessity
for a special housing scheme.
During the year the Local Government Board released the Council from rehousing obligations
as regards 3,230 persons of the working classes to be displaced from properties proposed to be acquired
under compulsory powers for purposes of the education service. The Council also decided during the
year that special rehousing schemes were not necessary in respect of the displacement of 259 persona
involved in the demolition of certain other properties for similar purposes, there being no statutory
obligation to rehouse these people.
Development
of estates,
The Council has proceeded during the year with the development of the suburban cottage estates
which it has acquired under Part III. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890.
Roads have been constructed on a further portion of the White Hart Lane estate, Tottenham,
the amount of the contract being £2,149 8s. 8d. On the site 79 cottages have been erected, the total
expenditure involved including all incidentals amounting to approximately £19,500. A11 estate office
with a residence for the superintendent in addition to a workshop and stores has been provided on the
estate at an estimated cost of £1,615.
On 7th July, 1914, the Council agreed to a proposal to exchange a portion of land about 5¾ acres
in extent, forming part of the southern portion of the estate, in consideration for two plots of land
comprising about 4¼ acres, adjoining the northern (detached) portion of the estate, and a money payment
of £1,800. The transaction has been carried out by means of mutual sales, the Council receiving £2,900
for the 5¾ acres and paying £1,100 for the 4¼ acres.
A scheme has been prepared under Part III. of the London County Council (General Powers)
Act, 1912, for the laying out and development of part of the White Hart-lane estate on the lines of a
garden suburb. The scheme provides that the Council may erect and maintain workmen's cottages on
64 acres, and may sell or let on lease 48 acres for the purpose of the erection of houses of a better class.
It is proposed to reserve to the Council in connection with any such sale or lease the right to impose
conditions and restrictions as to the elevation, size and design of the houses to be erected. Five plots
of land are reserved as sites for public buildings and the scheme provides that the Council may sell or
let on lease any such plots accordingly as it may think fit. The scheme provides for a number of small
open spaces to be maintained by the Council as recreation grounds with facilities for games, etc. The
estate is situated in the urban districts of Tottenham and Wood-green, and the by-laws of the two
local authorities differ in some respects from each other. The requirements of some of these by-laws are,
in the Council's opinion, unduly restrictive in their application to an estate such as this, the effect being
to increase unnecessarily the cost of the roads and the building work. The scheme accordingly provides
for the by-laws in the respective districts to be relaxed, varied or modified in certain particulars. The
scheme has been submitted for the approval of the Local Government Board as required by the Act and
the Board still has the matter under consideration.
On the Norbury-estate, the erection of 26 further cottages was undertaken during the year. The
estimated cost of the work, including incidental expenses, is estimated at £6,854.
The construction of roads and sewers on the eastern section of the Old Oak estate was further
proceeded with. The work of finishing roads and paving footways on the western section was undertaken
by the Hammersmith Metropolitan Borough Council on the basis of actual cost, estimated by
the borough council at £3,200. The portion of Ducane-road from Wood-lane to the eastern end of
Wormwood-scrubs prison leading to the estate has been made up and taken over by the borough council
as a new street, the cost of the work being apportioned amongst the frontagers. As, however, the road
will be subject to exceptional traffic in connection with the development of the estate, the Council has