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96
accommodation in the working-class congested areas of the Borough,
and are situate as follows:—
Battersea Park Road 1
Beechholme Estate (Nightingale Lane) 47
Queens Road 1
Sudbrooke Road 4
Thurleigh Road 1
Total 54
Repair of Unfit Houses.
A good deal of useful work in the repair and re-conditioning
of unfit houses was carried out during the year under the provisions
of the Housing and Public Health Acts, details of which will be
found summarised on pp. 98-102. The work of the Council in
this direction has been fully described in previous Annual Reports,
so that it is unnecessary to say more than that the policy of the
Council in using the powers of Housing Act, 1925, in securing the
re-conditioning of serious defective house property continues to be
fully justified.
It is satisfactory to record that during 1927 the right of appeal
by owners against notices under Section 3 of the Housing Act,
1925, was not exercised. The appeal against the notice served
by the Council under Section 3 in respect of No. 58 Winstanley
Road, which was made in 1926, was the subject of a local inquiry
by the Minister of Health early in 1927. In this case the owner
objected to a requirement in the notice to remove the unsuitable
material used to repair a ceiling in one of the rooms of this house,
and to provide approved materials and carry out the repairs in a
durable and workmanlike manner. The appeal was dismissed.
Considerable progress has been made in the re-conditioning of
houses in regard to the provision of adequate light and ventilation
to the staircases and landings. A large proportion of the older
working-class houses in the Borough have been found on inspection
to be lacking in these essentials, and the owners have been called
upon to remedy the defect, either by the provision of a small window
made to open (if sufficient wall space is available) or alternatively
by means of a suitable ventilated skylight. Many hundreds of
houses have been dealt with in this manner during the past years,
and in 1927 in the case of a large estate of some 800 houses the
owners, after negotiation, asked for a period of five years in which
to carry out the work, and eventually the Housing Committee agreed
to a period of four years. During the year 229 houses on this
estate were provided with windows, made to open, on the staircase.
Closing Orders.
No Closing Orders under Section 11 (1) of tne Housing Act,
1925, were made by the Council during 1927.