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The population of Kensington at the Census of 1921 was 175,859, and the Registrar-General
estimates the present population at 176,000. It seems probable that this will be an under-estimate
but until the new Census figures are available it is the only figure on which conclusions can be based
In South Kensington, since the Census of 1921, several large blocks of flats have been erected
on open sites or on sites previously occupied by single-family houses; in addition, over 1,000
houses have been converted into self-contained flats or maisonettes. There is, therefore, a considerable
increase in the housing accommodation provided in South Kensington in the last ten years,
and those who desire homes in that part of the borough have no difficulty in finding satisfactory
accommodation. But the accommodation which has been provided in South Kensington has not
been for the working classes ; on the other hand there has not been the demand for such accommodation
in that part of the borough as there has been elsewhere.
In North Kensington the Borough Council, the Sutton Trustees, the Kensington Housing Trust,
the Improved Tenements Association and other voluntary bodies have either acquired or built
houses since 1921, which provide accommodation for about 9,500 people. Not all this, however, is new
accommodation; for example, many of the houses acquired by the Kensington Housing Trust
and Improved Tenements Association and subsequently reconditioned are still occupied by the same
people as were in occupation before the date of purchase. Further, some of the tenants in the new
accommodation have come to the borough from other districts. In the same period, private owners
have provided new accommodation for 445 persons, but there is no information available as to the
places from which the new tenants have come. Certain derelict houses unoccupied at the last Census
have been repaired by the owners and are now occupied as a result of action taken by the Borough
Council. On the other hand, some houses have been demolished for business purposes, with the
result that accommodation has been reduced. Approximately 4,620 Kensington persons have
left the borough to occupy the 99 houses on the Wormholt Estate or houses on other County Council
Estates, but it is presumed that the Registrar-General has made certain allowances for this migration.
Whatever the population may be to-day it is quite clear that there is much more accommodation
available than there was ten years ago, and if the Registrar-General's estimate that the population
is only 141 more than in 1921 is correct, the shortage of houses in the borough must be definitely
less acute than it was ten years ago.
The sanitary inspectors, the health visitors and myself, who are in daily touch with the working
classes in their homes, have formed a definite impression that the congestion has been relieved
considerably in recent years, but a considered judgment of the present position must be deferred
until the new Census figures are available.
MEASURES TAKEN TO DEAL WITH OVERCROWDING AND INDECENT OCCUPATION.
As far as it has been possible with the existing staff of sanitary inspectors, the Council have
rigidly enforced in all tenement houses (whether registered or not) the minimum air-space per person
prescribed in the by-laws with respect to houses let in lodgings. In other words, they have required
that in a room used exclusively for sleeping purposes there must be 300 cubic feet of air-space for
each person over ten years of age and 150 cubic feet for each under ten years of age; in a room
used partly for living and partly for sleeping there must be 400 and 200 cubic feet respectively.
It is true that this legal standard is a low one, and there are many families in North Kensington,
particularly in basement rooms, living under conditions which are within the legal standard but
in which the rooms are definitely congested: in view of the absence of alternative accommodation,
it has not appeared practicable in the past to work to any higher standard.
When a sanitary inspector discovers a case of overcrowding in any house, or a case of indecent
occupation (persons of the opposite sexes over twelve years of age, not living together as man and
wife, occupying the same bedroom) in a house let in lodgings, an Intimation Notice is served and
the facts are reported to the next meeting of the Public Health Committee.