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37
Compulsory Purchase Orders.
The council, in pursuance of their powers to provide housing accommodation for the working
classes within the borough, had before 1937 made compulsory purchase orders in respect of five
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 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.
Thirty flats have been erected and provide accommodation for 180 persons.
(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.
Negotiations for acquiring the land proceeded during 1937 and at the end of the
year the council were preparing to demolish the existing buildings and to erect 100
working class flats to accommodate 585 persons.
(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. Negotiations
for acquiring the land proceeded during 1937 and at the end of the year the council
were preparing to demolish the existing buildings (together with two houses already
in their ownership) and to erect 43 flats to accommodate 256 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. During the year
the purchase of the land was completed, the buildings were demolished and at the
end of the year contractors were in the process of erecting 60 flats, which will provide
accommodation for 354 persons, and two shops.
(e) 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 condemned houses in Heathfield Street. In this case
objections were lodged and the Minister of Health held a public inquiry on the
15th February, 1937. The order, with slight modification, was confirmed, and at the
end of the year negotiations were still proceeding for the acquisition of the properties.
It is the council's intention to allow the Aubrey Trust to erect on the site 45 working
class flats, providing accommodation for 262 persons.
St. Mark's Grove (South Kensington).—On the 2nd March, 1937, the council made a compulsory
purchase order in respect of the seven houses in this area. The order was confirmed by the Minister
of Health, and negotiations are proceeding for the acquisition of the property.
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 persons, should be dealt with as
improvement areas under the Housing Act, 1930. The Housing Act of 1935 abolished improvement
area procedure except in those cases where the declaration had been made before that Act
received Royal Assent on the 2nd August of that year. On that date three of the areas had been
declared, and these were the most important from the point of view of improvement area procedure.
The remaining four improvement areas have been absorbed into the council's present housing
programme.
The following is a summary of the action taken in respect of the three declared areas.
(1) Southam Street Improvement Area.—This area was declared in January, 1934, and the
by-laws for the abatement of overcrowding and the improvement of housing conditions were
confirmed by the Minister of Health in April, 1934. The obligations imposed upon the council
to improve this area were completed by 1936, and a concise record of the steps taken is contained in
the annual report for that year.
The Housing Act, 1930, contemplated that, when once the improvement had been brought
about, the area should receive constant and rigid supervision in order to maintain the high standard
achieved, and an inspector has been specially engaged for the work. This supervision has a two-fold
object, namely, (a) to maintain the improved housing conditions, and (b) to assist owners in keeping
their houses in such a state that they can expect some return for the considerable outlay they have
been called upon to make.
During the year 2,829 inspections were made of the houses in the area, and 253 notices under
the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, and the improvement area by-laws were served.
In the improvement area by-laws, the council have power to prevent nuisances arising in
basement rooms closed for living and sleeping purposes, and owners have been required to wire or
board up windows, remove all rubbish and litter, and to remove dirty or verminous wallpaper and
woodwork. Routine inspections of the basements are carried out at regular intervals. During
the year 1,855 inspections of basement rooms in the area were carried out, and in 141 cases notices
under the by-laws were served requiring cleansing works, the removal of rubbish, etc.