View report page

98
low rateable value to bear the burden of such provision.
Fortunately, the recently adopted " Redevelopment
Area " procedure gives hope of quicker
and thorough treatment of the whole problem of
replanning London housing and adjusting its relationship
with industry, commerce and transport. This
procedure applied with vigour by the L.C.C. should
bring about large scale improvements during the
next 5 to 10 years. As will have been noted from
the figures on pages 90-93, the L.C.C. rehousing
programme is now making accelerated progress.
If it be taken for granted that a large resident
population must be housed in Central London (a
conclusion which is, however, strongly contested by
many town planning experts) it is desirable that such
housing should be of a sufficiently high standard to
provide some compensation for the loss of privacy
and amenity in the separate house and garden which
is still generally regarded as the ideal family residence.
I must confess that I am rather doubtful
whether this standard is being attained. To a large
extent, such matters as height of buildings, closeness
of blocks, size of rooms and character of fitments
arc controlled by economic considerations. There
are, however, other features of the tenement building
which deserve attention, even if they may involve
a slightly increased expenditure, such as the provision
of lifts, hot water supply, modern scientific methods
of refuse disposal, and gardens and other means of
recreation for young children. In previous reports
I have pointed out the serious hardship which bears
on families on the upper floors of tenement buildings,
in climbing to and from their flats for every occasion
of shopping, work, school, exercise, etc. With regard to
the disposal of refuse, there is available an up-to-date