View report page

37
human habitation. Several houses in White Horse Court have
been closed permanently owing to their not having sufficient
light and air. The Table annexed will show in detail the
results of the various representations made under the provisions
of this statute.
With reference to the scheme of Lomas Buildings, which
has been from time to time before you, I hoped to be able to
chronicle in this report that this insanitary area had been
demolished, but I have, I regret to say, to allude to the fact
that owing to the refusal of the Local Government Board to
sanction it, the whole scheme has fallen through. This refusal
was entirely due to the stipulation that new buildings should
be erected to provide for the people who would be displaced.
The present and past Sanitary Committees have, during the
last few years, done all in their power to obtain the demolition.
The County Council consented to contribute half the cost, the
Vestry contributing the other half, and all that was wanting
was the sanction of the Local Government Board, but that
body has evidently laid down a hard and fast rule that in
such cases new dwellings should be erected. It has been
pointed out to that body that there is ample accommodation
in the immediate locality for more than all these people, and
that the Vestry was not prepared to erect new dwellings.
This condition of affairs is much to be regretted, as this
insanitary area is the greatest blot we have in the district.
There is nothing which tends to demoralize the working classes
more than narrow, badly lighted, and unventilated courts.