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condition, however, of the remaining 79 houses (accommodating about 150 persons)
was in most cases poor : practically all these houses are old and worn, but when
necessary the general sanitary defects found are always remedied. During the last
year two of these houses were declared unfit for human habitation, but the defects
were dealt with without the necessity of formal representation, and the houses made
fit. A few of the houses remaining after the agreed clearance in 1906 have been
demolished, and replaced by factories; the area will probably continue to be cleared
and used for industrial purposes.
The vacant site in Short's Gardens was acquired by the Council for housing
purposes in 1914; the work was deferred till after the War, when, owing to the
altered conditions, the Ministry of Health considered the site not suitable for housing
purposes.
Owing to the extreme difficulty of finding alternative accommodation it has not
been found possible to deal with more than a few cases of overcrowding during the year.
One of the most unsatisfactory features with regard to housing in the district
is the presence of so many houses let in lodgings. These houses were not built for
the purpose to which they are now put : the using of the staircases, water supply,
washhouses, yards, waterclosets, ashbins, &c., in common leads to misuse and neglect;
the tenants suffer much inconvenience in carrying out their ordinary housework.
In most of the houses there is no suitable provision for the storage of food and cooking.
The structure of these houses is in many cases satisfactory; the conversion into selfcontained
tenements would much improve the accommodation.
HOUSING CONDITIONS.
Statistics.
Year Ended 31st December, 1921.
1.—GENERAL.
(1) Estimated population 43,520
(2) General death-rate 12.8
(3) Death-rate from tuberculosis (all forms) 1.10
(4) Infantile mortality rate 79
(5) Number of dwelling-houses of all classes 7,985
(6) Number of working-class dwelling-houses (Census, 1921) 9,021
(tenements)
(7) Number of new working-class houses erected nil.
2.—UNFIT DWELLING-HOUSES.
I.- INSPECTION.
(1) Total number of dwelling houses inspected for housing defects
(under Public Health or Housing Acts)1,120*
(2) Number of dwelling-houses which were inspected and recorded
under the Housing (Inspection of District) Regulations, 1910 nil†
(3) Number of dwelling-houses found to be in a state so dangerous
or injurious to health as to be unfit for human habitation 2
(4) Number of dwelling-houses (exclusive of those referred to under the
preceding sub-heading) found not to be in all respects
reasonably fit for human habitation 933