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by the staff, prove that overcrowding shows no signs of abating.
The whole question of housing, especially in a Borough like Bermondsey,
where there is no room to put up extra houses, is a
most thorny one. A large section of the population here, being
mostly labourers with a low rate of wage, cannot afford to avail
themselves of accommodation on such estates as Becontree or
Downham. If their work happens to be in central London they
have to be prepared to spend 4/- or 5/- a week in travelling
expenses, and this, in addition to a largely-increased rent, makes
it impossible for any except the better-off class of workmen,
earning say £4 to £5 a week, to move to one of the new estates.
Much of the property in Bermondsey is old and worn out, and
although prior to the war some small groups of houses, which
were specially bad, were swept away, nothing was attempted on
a large scale until about five years ago, when the County Council
decided to proceed with the Dockhead area, which I had represented.
This was followed by a representation of the Salisbury
Street area about four years ago. This area is situated on the
north side of Jamaica Road, between that and the river Thames,
and comprises about four acres. The Council decided, however,
not to rehouse all of the displaced people on this site, but to
provide sufficient houses to enable them to clear the area by
sections. Accommodation was first provided by converting Parish
Street Workhouse into 47 flats, and further accommodation was
found for a considerable number of families in other parts of the
Borough, as houses became vacant owing to removals to some
of the outside London County Council estates. Houses were
also built by the Council on some odd pieces of ground. In this
way a good beginning was made towards pulling down the Salisbury
Street area, and it is proposed to rehouse the remainder of
the displaced families to the number of 52 on the Salisbury Street
site. The general policy of this Council, so far, has been to
reduce the number of houses and the number of families per acre,
and to rehouse somewhat on the lines suggested by the Ministry
of Health of twelve houses to the acre. It is too soon to judge
what the final result will be, especially as the Council is contemplating
clearing another area, known as Vauban Street area,
and later another area in the region of Bermondsey Street.