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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 3,124 inspections were made of the houses in the area, and 461 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 1,101 inspections of basement rooms in the area were carried out, and in 107 cases notices
under the by-laws were served requiring cleansing works, the removal of rubbish, etc.
(2) Crescent Street Improvement Area.—This area, consisting of 129 premises with a population
of 1,782 persons, was declared an improvement area in April, 1934. The by-laws for the abatement
of over-crowding and the improvement of the houses were confirmed by the Minister of Health in
June, 1934.
During 1935 the council closed 193 unfit basement rooms for living and sleeping purposes, and
displaced therefrom 82 families comprising 299 persons. In addition, there were 65 families of
349 persons living under overcrowded conditions in rooms above basement level. All these 147
families have been satisfactorily rehoused and all the unfit closed basements are now unoccupied.
Reconditioning of the houses should have been undertaken in 1936, but in that year a joint
sub-committee was appointed to consider proposals for the entire redevelopment oi the area, including
other houses and land adjoining.
On the 5th April, 1938, the Council approved, in principle, the redevelopment of this area by
the provision of blocks of working class flats and arrangements were made for plans and estimates
to be obtained.
At the end of the year the council had acquired a large proportion of the land and were negotiating
for the acquisition of the remainder.
(3) Treverton Street Improvement Area.—This area, consisting of 238 houses, was declared an
improvement area in May, 1935. The population at that time was 2,449 persons.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining for this area by-laws similar to those in
force in the Southam Street and Crescent Street improvement areas. After negotiations between
the Ministry of Health, the county council and the borough council, special new by-laws were made
under the Housing Act, 1935 ; these came into operation on the 1st August, 1936, and they are
practically the same as those for the other two improvement areas.
The preliminary steps taken were the closure of unfit basement dwellings, the rehousing of
persons so displaced, and the elimination of overcrowding. Closing orders were made in respect of
219 underground rooms and undertakings from owners to make the rooms fit for habitation were
accepted in 52 cases.
The number of families occupying closed underground rooms and needing other accommodation
was 114, consisting of 420 persons. These families have been rehoused and the underground rooms
are now empty. The number of overcrowded families (living in rooms above basement level) was
113, comprising 605 persons, and these have all been rehoused.
Reconditioning of the houses was commenced in December, 1936, by the service of notices
under Section 9 of the Housing Act, 1936, and the following table gives the results obtained up to
the 31st December, 1938 :—
Notices served up to the 31st December, 1938 189
Notices satisfactorily co/nplied with by owners 153
Notices in respect of which the council carried out the work following default by
the owners 5
Notices in respect of which progress was being made by owners on the 31st December,
1938 7
Notices in respect of which nothing had been done on 31st December, 1938. (The
time allowed had not expired in these cases) W
It is satisfactory to know that although these Housing Act notices were necessarily of an extensive
nature require the provision of extra sanitary accommodation, such as water closet apartments,
sinks, etc., "there has been no appeal to the county court in any case.
During 1938, 15 houses were reconditioned voluntarily by the owners and the number of houses
found to be satisfactory on inspection was 10. The only houses remaining to be inspected and
dealt with on the 31st December, 1938, were 24 in number. When these 24 houses have been
dealt with the reconditioning of the Treverton Street area will be complete.