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39
Compulsory Purchase Orders.
The council, in pursuance of their powers to provide housing accommodation for the working
classes within the borough, had before 1936 made compulsory purchase orders in respect of four sites
which are not included in the category of clearance areas. Particulars of these sites are as follows :—
(a) Kensal Road and West Row.—This site consisting of five premises was made the
subject of a compulsory purchase order on the 24th July, 1934. The order was
confirmed by the Minister of Health ; the properties were acquired and transferred
to the Kensington Housing Trust on condition that the Trust used the site for the
purpose of providing working class housing accommodation. A building scheme was
approved by the council for the erection of 30 flats to provide accommodation for 180
persons. The new flats were ready for occupation at the end of 1936.
(b) Portland Road, Walmer Road and Clarendon Road.—A compulsory purchase order
was made on the 8th October, 1935, in respect of this site containing 22 premises.
The Minister confirmed the order, and the council have prepared a scheme to erect
100 flats. At the end of the year negotiations were still taking place for the acquisition
of the land.
(c) Bramley Road and Blechynden Street.—This area containing 11 premises was made
the subject of a compulsory purchase order on the 8th October, 1935. The Minister
has confirmed the order, and at the end of the year the council were still negotiating
for the acquisition of the land. A scheme has been prepared by the council for the
provision of 43 flats on this site, augmented by the site of two premises already in the
council's ownership. These flats will provide accommodation for 250 persons.
(d) South Row and Great Western Terrace.—This area containing 33 cottages was
declared for compulsory purchase by the council on the 8th October, 1935. The Minister
confirmed the order, and the council have approved a scheme for the erection of 60
flats, which will provide accommodation for 354 persons, and two shops. At the
end of 1936 the council were still negotiating for the acquisition of this site.
Portland Road and Heathfield Street.—On the 1st December, 1936, the council made a
compulsory purchase order in respect of 25 premises in Portland Road and Walmer Road, and added
the 19 houses in Heathfield Street, which were declared a clearance area in May, 1936. In this case
two owners objected to the council's action. The Minister held a public inquiry on the 15th February,
1937. If the order is confirmed it is the council's intention to allow the Aubrey Trust to erect
working class flats on the site.
Improvement Areas.
The council's five years housing programme, adopted in 1933, proposed that seven areas in
the borough, containing 910 houses with a population of 12,010, should be dealt with as improvement
areas under the Housing Act, 1930. The Act of 1935 abolished improvement area procedure
except in those cases where the declaration had already been made before the Act received Royal
Assent on the 2nd August of that year. On that date three of the areas had been declared, and it
is fortunate that these were the most important from the point of view of improvement area
procedure. Other steps will have to be adopted in deeding with the remaining four improvement
areas.
(1) Southam Street Improvement Area.—As a measure of administrative convenience, the
Minister divided this area into two parts, but in this report and during the progress of the work
they have been dealt with as one.
The declarations were made in January, 1934, and the by-laws for the abatement of overcrowding
and the improvement of housing conditions were confirmed by the Minister in April, 1934.
During 1936, the obligations imposed upon the council to improve this area were completed,
and it will be of interest to submit a concise record of the steps the council have taken.
Description oj area in 1934.
The area, comprising about 15 acres, was a black spot in the Golborne ward; it contained
410 premises with a population of 5,818 persons. The average number of separate families per
house was over four. The Golborne ward as a whole was the third most densely populated ward
in London and the improvement area itself had as great a density as 390 persons to the acre.
The majority of the 410 premises consisted of tenement houses of the four-storied basement
type, built in long terraces. Generally, each house contained seven rooms above ground level, two
rooms in the basement and a common washhouse at the rear of the basement.
The water closet accommodation, judged by the standard of one convenience to every twelve
persons, was generally sufficient, but was usually found in the rear yard at basement level. This
meant that all the occupiers, except basement tenants, had to descend one, two or three flights of
unlighted stairs by night or by day to reach the apartments.
In every house there was one sink situated in the basement washhouse for the common use of
all families. The only other water supply was usually a tap situated on one of the landings or
on the back addition roof. The washhouse in nearly every case contained one copper for the
common use of all the families in the house. Cooking accommodation, in the form of gas stoves
and fire ranges, was generally adequate but there was practically no food storage accommodation.
It will be seen, therefore, that the people in this area enjoyed very limited domestic comforts.