View report page

37
The following are particulars of the progress which has been made in the three declared areas.
Southam Street Improvement Area.
As a measure of administrative convenience, the Ministry of Health divided this area into two
but in this report and during the progress of the work they have been dealt with as one with a total
population of 5,818 in 410 houses.
The declarations were made on the 23rd January, 1934, and the by-laws for the abatement of
overcrowding and the improvement of housing conditions were confirmed by the Minister on 27th
April, 1934.
The public health committee appointed a sub-committee to visit all overcrowded houses and
basements within the area in order to decide which families should be transferred to the new accommodation
on the Dalgarno Gardens housing estates. After these transfers had taken place, the rooms
vacated by the overcrowded families were used for the accommodation of basement tenants who
had not been taken out of the area. With a view to securing the best results, a very considerable
amount of reshuffling of tenants took place during 1934, and at the end of that year all unsatisfactory
basements had been closed and all overcrowding had been abated.
In the abatement of overcrowding the by-laws provide that every person remaining in the
area, irrespective of age, must have 450 cubic feet of free air space in his sleeping apartment.
The number of basement rooms closed was 778, but virtually all the upstairs rooms which had
been vacated by overcrowded families were refilled by smaller families. The total number of people
transferred from the area to new homes outside was 1,309, and the number transferred from one
home to another within the area was 933 ; 493 found other accommodation on their own initiative.
The work of improving the condition of the 410 houses in the area remained to be undertaken,
and this task commenced in December, 1934.
Only four houses were found to be so bad as not to be repairable at reasonable cost ; demolition
orders were made and the houses were vacated and demolished. It was ascertained that satisfactory
conditions could be secured in the remaining 406 houses by the application of section 17 of the
Housing Act, 1930, and the special improvement area by-laws which came into operation during
1934.
Following a routine inspection of each house, a comprehensive schedule of repairs was prepared
and served upon the owner together with a notice requiring him to carry out the necessary work.
In addition to general repairs and decorations, the notices required :—
(а) Adequate water-closet accommodation ;
(б) „ supply of water for domestic use ;
(c) „ accommodation for washing clothes ;
(d) „ „ storage of food;
(it) „ „ preparation and cooking of food ;
for the use of and readily accessible to each family.
The following is a record of the reconditioning work carried out in this area during 1935 :—
Houses cleansed 257
House drains reconstructed 6
„ „ additions to 85
Defective drains repaired 15
House drains cleansed 22
Water closets reconstructed or repaired 91
„ „ (new) provided 85
„ „ supplied with water 85
Soilpipes ventilated, repaired, etc. 12
„ (new) provided 85
Ventilating pipes (new) provided 85
Sinks (new) provided 497
Waste pipes (new) provided 497
Cisterns cleansed, covered, etc. 55
Taps fixed on rising main 463
Yards and areas paved, drained, repaired 102
Dustbins provided 49
Accumulations of filth, etc., removed 54
Roofs repaired 249
Dampness in dwellings remedied 30
Ventilated food cupboards provided 506
Artificial lighting of staircases provided 161
At the end of the year 172 houses had been brought up to the highest standard practicable under
improvement area procedure, work was in hand at 109 houses, and 125 houses remained for attention
during 1936.
The improvement of the area as contemplated in the 1930 Housing Act will probably be
completed during 1936 ; but that Act further contemplated that, when once this improvement had
been brought about, the houses in these areas should receive more constant and rigid supervision
than others. Therefore, as soon as improvement had been completed in any house, that dwelling