London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
- 55 -
Under Section 90, the Council may serve a notice on the occupier,
or the person having the control and management of a house or part of a
house, where excessive numbers of persons are accommodated, specifying in
relation to any room on the premises the maximum number of persons by whom
it is suitable to be occupied for sleeping purposes at any one time, or, if
appropriate, that the room is unsuitable to be occupied for sleeping purposes.
It will be an offence after the notice has become operative to cause or
allow any rooms to be occupied otherwise than in accordance with the notice,
or to cause or permit the accommodation to be so occupied that it is not
possible to avoid persons of opposite sexes over the age of 12 years
(excluding persons living together as husband and wife) occupying sleeping
accommodation in the same room.
The premises affected vary considerably and render impracticable
the provision of a single rigid code of requirements applicable to all
cases; indeed, such a code would appear to be contrary to the wishes of
the Minister, who has expressed the view that the provision of the
prescribed services and amenities should be decided on the merits of
each case.
The Council have adopted certain standards of the essential
services and amenities which will be considered as satisfactory in
appropriate cases.
Slum Clearance
Action already taken
The following table gives details of the clearance areas declared by the Council since 1950, when slum clearance work under the Housing Acts was recommenced, up to the end of the year:-
| Name of Area | Date of Declaration | No. of houses | No. of persons displaced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin Mews | 25. 4. 1950 | 28 | 86 |
| Lionel Mews (Nos. 1 and 2.) | 3.10. 1950 | 13 | 38 |
| Lonsdale Mews (Nos. 1 and 2.) | 2. 1. 1951 | 19 | 14 |
| Munro Mews | 2. 1. 1951 | 24 | 55 |
| South End Row and Gardens | 3. 4. 1951 | 10 | 4 |
| East Mews Road | 3. 4. 1951 | 14 | 40 |
| Powis Mews | 13.11. 1951 | 13 | 30 |
| St.Lukes Mews | 13.11. 1951 | 20 | 41 |
| Portobello Road | 13.11. 1951 | 4 | 3 |
| Kensal New Town (No. l) Area | 11.12. 1956 | 34 | 309 |
| Kensal New Town (No. 2) Area | 14. 1. 1958 | 62 | 441 |
| Kensal New Town (No. 3) Area | 14. 1. 1958 | 15 | 146 |
| Portland Road (No. l) Area | 11. 3. 1958 | 5 | 31 |
| Portland Road (No. 2) Area | 11. 3. 1958 | 10 | 71 |
The Minister of Housing and Local Government has confirmed that
all the above-mentioned areas may be dealt with as clearance areas with
the exceptions that (a) in the case of St. Lukes Mews seven properties
were excluded from the confirming order and, (b) in the case of South End
Sow and Gardens, the owners carried out the necessary demolition works
prior to the Minister's decision.