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sultation with owners. In some houses the new accommodation has been provided by cutting
off parts of back rooms and forming closets approached from the half-landings, and in other
houses the water-closet apartment is being constructed on the back addition roof at
approximately first floor level.
Supply of Water for Domestic Use.
Every house had a water supply in the basement and at least one water tap at the level of
the ground floor or higher. The upstairs tap was generally installed on a half-landing of the
staircase, with a small angle sink beneath it. This sink, however, was in most cases much too
small to be used for washing-up or for preparing food, and was in common use by several families.
The inadequacy of water supply for domestic use and the consequent difficulty in
satisfactorily preparing food have for some years been one of the great handicaps from which
people have suffered in this particular area, and it was decided to require a water tap and sink
in the back room on each floor unless the family occupying that room had the use of an
adequate water supply and suitable sink in some other readily accessible position.
Accommodation for Washing Clothes.
In nearly every house there was a washing copper in the washhouse at the rear of the
basement. The usual place for drying clothes was the back yard, but it was found that
sometimes clothes were dried and aired in the rooms and on staircases and back addition
roofs. As it is possible that closed basements may be used for the purpose of washing clothes,
it has been decided not to enforce the provision of such accommodation upstairs.
Accommodation for Storage of Food.
No attempt has been made in the past to secure in these houses properly ventilated food
storage accommodation in reasonably cool positions, and it was decided to enforce the
provision of a properly ventilated larder for every family.
Accommodation for Preparation and Cooking of Food.
It was decided to regard the provision of a proper water supply and a suitable sink as
adequate accommodation for the preparation of food, and that every family should have a
gas cooking stove or a fire cooking range in good repair.
The reconditioning work and the improvements referred to above are now being enforced
throughout the area, and in some houses the requirements have actually been completed. Whilst
the work is in progress the council's officers help the owners in carrying out the work of disinfestation.
As the upstairs rooms in the area are of good size and well lighted, the works which are being carried
out in the houses, together with the great reduction in the number of people in the area, are bringing
about a considerable improvement. It is true that there are no bathrooms and that all the rooms
lead on to common passages, and thus the houses remain houses let in lodgings. Nevertheless they
do provide satisfactory accommodation at low rents, and the improvement area machinery, as
applied in this area, has contributed to the solution of the housing problem in the borough by
preserving a large amount of accommodation in houses which are of sound structure, but which had
deteriorated as a result of overcrowding and disrepair following heavy usage.
Use of Closed Basements.
Under the "Kensington section" of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1933,
it is an offence for any person to use a closed room in an improvement area for any purpose other
than one approved by the borough council. During the year the council gave approval in 18 cases,
and the following table shows the purposes for which the rooms may be used :—
To use basements under shop premises in connection with the businesses 8
To use basements in dwelling houses for the storage of household articles
(mainly surplus furniture due to occupiers having to vacate basement
rooms) 6
To use basements for washing purposes 2
To use basements as workplaces 2
Withdrawal of Closing Orders.
In 18 cases owners of closed basements submitted comprehensive specifications of work required
to make the basements comply with the council's regulations and thereby render them fit for
habitation. In three cases the work was completed during the year, and the closing orders were
determined ; and in 15 cases the work was in hand at the end of the year.
Prevention of Nuisances in Closed Basements.
The following by-law is included in the improvement area by-laws for preventing nuisances
from or in any room which has been closed :—
" Where a closing order has been made in pursuance of part II of the Housing Act, 1930,
as extended by section 70 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1933, in
respect of a room, the occupier shall remove any rubbish or refuse from such room and keep
the room clean and wholesome and, in so far as it is necessary for effective cleansing, the
owner shall strip off all unclean or unwholesome paper and remove any woodwork infested
with vermin or affected by wet or dry rot."
An amending by-law, which came into operation on the 1st March, 1935, requires the boarding
or wiring up of windows and the removal of lath and plaster partition walls in closed basements.