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58
Private enterprise, benevolent agencies and trusts had also made
very important contributions to housing in Chelsea prior to 1914. These
were as follows :—
' Population.
Sutton Model Dwellings, Cale Street 2,200
Lewis Trust Dwellings, Ixworth Place 1,390
Marlborough Buildings, Walton Street 500
Guinness Buildings, Draycott Avenue 940
Peabody Buildings, Lawrence Street 200
Chelsea Park Dwellings, King's Road 170
5,400
It will be seen that in Chelsea at the outbreak of war there was available
accommodation for about 7,000 persons of wage-earning class—an amount
which, in proportion to population, was considerably higher than that
Obtaining in any other metropolitan borough.
Since the war, the economic situation and other factors, particularly
the shortage of and greatly increased cost of building land in Chelsea
have rendered an already difficult situation still more difficult. The
Housing.Committee of the Borough Council has been actively engaged
in investigating possible sites in connection with further Housing Schemes
and from time to time various schemes have been formulated by the Council
and submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval. Of the schemes
Prepared and submitted to the Ministry, four have fortunately materialised,
approval of the others not being obtained on the ground that the
cost of the land was much higher than the price the Ministry could
sanction for the purchase of land to be used for the erection of buildings
to house the working classes. These buildings are now fully occupied.
Details of each approved scheme are as follows :—
(1) Hoktensia House, Hortensia Road.
This group of buildings completed in 1925, comprises an area of 1 acre,
12 poles. Accommodation is provided for 250 persons in 56 flats, namely
35 three-room and 21 four-room flats. The total cost of the site and
buildings was £48,970. The total weekly rents, including hot water
supply and electricity, vary from 25s. to £1 14s. 3d. This scale of
rents was drawn up on an economic basis, on the instructions of the
Ministry of Health, the Ministry's decision being based upon the high
cost of the site and construction. Such rents are obviously much higher
than the working classes proper can afford to pay and indeed most of the
tenants are classes in receipt of small salaries or earnings—a group not
Usually included under the term " working classes."
(2) Guinness Trust Buildings, King's Road.
This group of buildings, completed in 1929, comprises an area of
1 acre, 3 roods and 28½ poles, situated towards the western extremity of
the Borough and bounded by King's Road, Edith Grove and Tadema
Road. It was purchased by the Borough Council in 1928 at a cost of
£19,000. An additional small plot of land, 29¾ poles in extent, situated
at the north-west comer of the site and necessary for the purposes of the
Scheme, was subsequently purchased by the Borough Council at a cost
of £4,000, of which the Guinness Trust contributed £2,000.