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The recommendations in this report were adopted, and this
was really the beginning of the regulation of the street markets
in Bermondsey. After these had been working a couple of months
a case occurred in one of the Metropolitan Police Courts which
had a direct bearing on the question of our street markets. A
full account will be found in the extract dated September 27th,
1925. This interfered with the smooth working of our voluntary
scheme, and it was then decided to seek special Parliamentary
powers to regulate the markets, and put the whole question on a
proper legal basis. A Bill was accordingly drafted by us largely
on the lines of the West Ham Street Trading Act, and in doing
this we had the assistance of one or two officials connected with
the Government. The Bill was read the first time in Parliament
in February, 1926. It passed the second reading in March, and
was amended by the Committee for the consideration of private
Bills a little later. It came up in May for "consideration" by
the whole House, preliminary to the third reading, and was passed
by a majority of 81 to 26. The Bill passed the third reading in
June and received the Royal Assent on the 15th July, 1926
Extract from Minutes of Council Meeting of 21st July, 1925 —
"We have had under consideration a report from the Medical
Officer as follows: —
The Council removes refuse from Southwark Park Road,
Tower Bridge Road, Albion Street, Lower Road, and certain
portions of Bombay Street, Blue Anchor Lane, and Plough Road,
which is deposited in receptacles or in the roadway by the various
stall-holders during the progress of the market. It is done under
Section 33 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, and for
this the Council is empowered to charge a reasonable sum for
its removal as trade refuse.
In considering the question of obtaining payment for such
removal from stall-holders, a difficulty arises in fixing the amount
each stall-holder should pay. In the case of some stall-holders
there is very little refuse, and in other oases the amount is
considerable.
Various methods have been adopted by the Sanitary
Authorities in London, but I think the most satisfactory and