View report page

48
The 17 houses vacated without Closing Orders and outstanding at the end of the year were
situated as follows:—
1, 2, 4—6, Lion Mews 5
2-—6 and 8, Dunworth Mews 6
7, 10 and 12, Colville Square Mews 3
16, Russell Gardens Mews 1
7, Boundary Mews 1
2a, Admiral Mews 1
Total 17
Of the total number of houses under consideration, 168 were recommended for early inspection
for the first time in the course of the year 1913, and may be classified as follows:—
Mews dwellings 22
Houses recommended for the inspection of underground rooms 130
Other houses 16
168
General Character of Defects.—Of the above 22 mews dwellings the greater number
presented structural defects which permitted the access of effluvia from the stable beneath to the
dwelling rooms above. In a number of cases structural alterations for improving the ventilation and
lighting of w.c. apartments were required, and similar defects were remedied in six additional mews
dwellings which had been vacated in 1912, without Closing Orders, pending the completion of the
works required by the Council. In 9 three-room cottages dampness was remedied by the insertion
of damp proof courses, and other necessary works were carried out. Defects found on the other
premises dealt with during the year have been described in the following paragraphs which relate
to Closing Orders and to underground rooms.
Closing Orders.—During the year 59 houses were represented by the Medical Officer of Health
with a view to Closing Orders being made. The following tabular statement represents the action
taken, and the results which were obtained:—
Houses represented as unfit for habitation 7
Houses closed by Order of the Council 15
Houses rendered fit for habitation after the making of Closing Orders 5
Houses represented for the Closing of Underground Rooms 52
Houses where Underground Rooms were closed 52
Underground Rooms rendered fit for habitation after the making of Closing
Orders 8
Of the 15 houses closed, 8 were represented in 1912, and 7 in 1913, hence the discrepancy in
the above statement between the number closed and the number represented in the year to which
the figures relate. In each case the houses closed contained from 8 to 10 rooms, and were let or
had been let in lodgings of one, two, or three rooms to several families. The seven houses
reported in 1913 were verminous, and as regards all woodwork, plaster and internal fittings, so
dilapidated as to be totally unfit for habitation. The lodgers evicted by the Council's Order were
of the lowest type, and had in some measure been themselves responsible for the filthy and
dilapidated state of the houses. The eight houses represented in 1912 were also lodging houses,
which had been left empty and insufficiently protected against trespassers. Roughs in the
neighbourhood removed the greater part of the internal woodwork, and through holes in the main
roof rain found its way into the top floor rooms, and in some cases even into the rooms below the
top story. Extensive works being required to render the houses habitable, the Council ordered
them to be closed. At the end of the year the Council had determined the Closing Orders in respect
to 5 houses which had been rendered fit for human habitation.
One mews dwelling was closed during the year by an Order from the Magistrates under the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891, the owner having failed to carry out sanitary repairs which had
been required by the Sanitary Inspector for the district, for the abatement of nuisances. No
Demolition Orders were made by the Council.
Underground Rooms.—Underground rooms in 130 houses were inspected during the year.
In 49 houses, 72 underground rooms used habitually as sleeping places were inspected and found
to be fit for habitation. In 52 houses 56 rooms used as bedrooms were inspected and found
to be unfit for habitation in that they did not comply with the Council's Regulations under Section