View report page

17
The main effect of this new policy will be to increase the cost and
difficulty of creating Smoke Control Areas. The installation of appliances
which are now to be regarded as "reasonably necessary", i.e., openable stoves,
under-floor-draught open fires, fixed gas fires, electric storage heaters and
fixed oil heaters, will have the effect of substantially increasing the cost
of any future areas. This is based on the assumption that many of the
existing coal users may wish to continue to use solid fuel in openable
stoves. So far as electric block storage heaters (whose use is advocated)
are concerned, the cost of installation of two of these is £54 to provide the
same heat as an open grate, burning gas coke, costing £7.
For the foreseeable future, it will therefore remain essential that
owners and occupiers in smoke control areas should, for grant purposes,
continue to have freedom of choice between appliances using solid fuel, gas,
off-peak electricity and oil. In particular, it will remain essential that,
in smoke control areas where designation by the local authority of open
grates under Section 95(2) of the Housing Act, 1964, is under current
arrangements not required, owners and occupiers should continue to have the
freedom of choice between solid fuel appliances capable of burning only open
grate fuels and appliances capable of burning other solid fuels, as well as
appliances using gas, off-peak electricity and oil.