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HOUSING.
Clearance Areas.
Since 1930 the council have dealt with thirteen clearance areas in which there were 219 premises
occupied by 1,117 people; in every instance the premises have been demolished.

Compulsory Purchase Orders.
The council, in pursuance of their powers to provide housing accommodation for the working
classes within the borough, had before 1938 made compulsory purchase orders in respect of six 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. The council
have demolished the existing buildings and are erecting 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. The council have demolished
the existing buildings (together with two houses already in their ownership) and are erecting
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. At the end of the year 60
flats and two shops were under construction and will provide accommodation for 354 persons.
(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. By the end of the year the premises had
been demolished and the Aubrey Trust were preparing to erect 45 flats on the site to provide
accommodation for 262 persons.
(f) 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 council have acquired
the property and are preparing a scheme for the erection, in 1939, of 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 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, ajid 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