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113
Housing Scheme No. 1.
Betterton Street.
The Housing of the Working Classes Committee have from time to time
considered a number of schemes for the construction of houses for the working
classes, but owing to the high cost of land in the Borough most of these have
been found impracticable.
The Committee were of opinion that useful improvements might be effected
by the acquisition of unsatisfactory, old and worn houses, and their reconstruction
or demolition and rebuilding.
An opportunity occurred for a small scheme on these lines by the acquisition
of three adjoining tenement houses in Betterton Street, together with the site
of the fourth house which had already been demolished. The houses were not
suitable for reconstruction as the existing walls were not in the required positions
nor of the required thickness or condition. The Council decided to acquire the
vacant site and the three houses for demolition and the construction of selfccntained
flats. The scheme entails the displacement of about fifty persons
occupying the three houses but the fifteen self-contained flats to be provided will
probably provide accommodation for seventy persons, so that, in addition to
securing much improved housing accommodation, a larger number of residents
will be provided for.
The plans of the new building were prepared in the Borough Surveyor's
Department and the work is being carried out under the supervision of Mr. J. E.
Parr, A.M.Inst.C.E., the Borough Surveyor. Describing the proposed building,
Mr. Parr writes:— "It will be constructed of brickwork with fireproof floors and
a tiled roof, and the basement will be used for storage purposes. The block will
comprise 15 flats, three flats being on each of the five floors, giving accommodation
for approximately 75 persons. With one exception, each flat will have a livingroom,
two bedrooms, a scullery, W.C., bathroom and a coal bin. Entrance from
Betterton Street will be through a doorway leading to a court at the back of the
block, and there will be one principal fireproof staircase. Access to the flats
on the upper floors will be by means of this staircase and balconies running the
whole length of the rear of the building on each floor. Each living room will be
provided with a dresser and other fittings, and the general equipment of the
flats will contain all the latest improvements."
The tender of the Canonbury Construction Company, Ltd., was accepted for
the erection of the dwellings, and on the 27th October, 1926, the foundation stone
of the new building was laid by the Mayor (Alderman H. Warren Coleman, J.P.).
At its meeting in September, 1926, the Council agreed to extend the scheme
to the sites of two adjoining properties, Nos. 25 and 27, Betterton Street.
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