London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Chelsea 1934
Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the year 1934
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TABLE No. 37. Properties erected by Private Enterprise, Benevolent Agencies, Trusts, etc.
| Property. | No. of Flats. | Population (approx.) | Rents. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton Model Dwellings, Cale Street | 660 | 2,200 | 3/4 to 8/11 per week. |
| Lewis Trust Dwellings, Ixworth Place | 398 | 1,390 | 3/1 to 10/3 per week. |
| Marlborough Buildings, Walton Street | 162 | 500 | 9/0 to 20/0 per week. |
| Guinness Buildings, Draycott Avenue | 303 | 940 | 2/3 to 7/5 per week. |
| Peabody Buildings, Lawrence Street | 68 | 200 | 3/8 to 8/4 per week. |
| Chelsea Park Dwellings, King's Road | 54 | 170 | 3/5 to 12/0 per week. |
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 shown in table No. 38 (Page 60).
Reviewing the history of the past 35 years, it would appear that the
housing policy of the Borough Council has been firstly to preserve,
where possible, in areas threatened with demolition, such working class
accommodation as was of reasonably good type ; and secondly, to
provide accommodation by means of new buildings in an accessible
situation within the Borough for those persons of the working class who
are average representatives of their class, and for whom the necessities
of their trade or calling render residence within the Borough desirable
or necessary.