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HOUSING.
The Housing Situation Report submitted by the Housing
Committee to the Council showing the position at December 31st,
1948 gives some idea of the difficulties which still confront the
Council.
Number of applications outstanding 7,670
Houses requisitioned (net) 3,278
Number of tenancies—
Requisitioned properties 5,668
Prefabricated bungalows 519
Permanent housing 641
Total 6,828
Total number of families rehoused (representing 34,163 persons) 9,315
At the end of the year under review 254 houses were in the
course of erection by the Council.
Conditions associated with or resulting from war damage
present a complex problem the solution of which still causes
anxiety. Many dwellings were destroyed, many so badly
damaged as to be in a state of disintegration, and others, by
far the greatest number, requiring repairs. Many houses
scheduled as unfit for habitation remain occupied as the
procedure for their demolition must remain in abeyance for
the present.
The shortage of labour and materials has made it most difficult
to cope with the accumulated dilapidations and a long time
will elapse, in spite of the employment of all available building
labour, before the effects of the air raids can be relieved to such
an extent that numerous nuisances do not arise during inclement
weather.