View report page

22
Dustbins.
Under Section 105 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936,
if any house is found to be without a proper dustbin, the Council may
serve notice on the owner or occupier requiring provision to be made.
The same Section provides that any person aggrieved may appeal to
the London County Council.
Similar provisions are contained in the Public Health Act, 1936,
which applies to England and Wales outside the administrative County
of London. Under that Act, however, any appeal against a notice has
to be made to a court of summary jurisdiction. In the last two or
three years, a number of such appeals have been made, some of them
being subsequently taken to the Divisional Court. As a result, the
principle has been established that, in deciding whether notice should
be served on the owner or on the occupier, the local authority must
consider all the circumstances of the individual case. Towards the
end of 1949, the London County Council allowed an appeal by the
owner of a house in another London Borough, and although the
grounds on which this decision was made were not disclosed, there
is little doubt but that they had the same principle in mind.
It had previously been the practice of the Council, save in very
exceptional circumstances, to regard the provision of dustbin accommodation
as a matter for the owner, and accordingly to serve notice on
him. In view, however, of the situation created by the various appeals
referred to above, the Health Committee decided that in future the
circumstances of each case (e.g., net rent of house, number of tenants,
existence of any tenancy agreement, financial circumstances of the
occupier, etc.) should be submitted to them for their decision as to
whether the notice is to be served on the owner or occupier.
It should be made clear that the right of appeal to the London
County Council still remains.
Common Lodging Houses.
At the beginning of the year there was only one common lodging
house in Battersea, this being the one for females at No. 67 Winstanley
Road. The premises were authorised to accommodate 50 lodgers,
and 10 inspections were carried out by the Council's inspector. The
house was generally found to be in a sanitary condition, and conducted
in accordance with the requirements of the by-laws, and it
was not necessary to serve any notices in this connection.
This house was closed in June, and there now remain no common
lodging houses or Seamen's lodging houses in the Borough.
Public Lavatory Accommodation.
Five public conveniences for both sexes and one for females
only are provided by the Council in various parts of the Borough,
two being underground. In addition to the usual lavatory accommodation
(at least one free water-closet being provided for each sex)
facilities for washing are also provided. Three public urinals are
also maintained.
In addition, the urinals attached to seven licensed premises were,
by arrangement with the owners, available to the general public at
the beginning of the year. The arrangement in regard to one of them
was, however, later terminated by the owners, but during the year
similar arrangements were made in respect of two additional premises.