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In addition to those mentioned, the London County Council is
at present dealing with Plume Place (20 houses and 45 population),
and the Eastney Street area (67 houses with a population of
440).
The provision of new dwellings for rehousing persons who will
be displaced is proceeding on an increasing scale and towards this
end the Borough Council have erected 85 Houses (3 bedroom nonparlour
type) in Victoria Road, and a block of 16 flats sufficient to
accommodate 430 people are rapidly nearing completion in Azof
Street (opened by the Mayor, March, 1935). Private enterprise has
provided a further 340 houses.
As slum clearance goes on, it is becoming very evident that an
increasing number of families will require cheaper accommodation
than that at present provided by the Borough Council, and it is
hoped that attention will be given to the needs of the poorer citizen.
The question also of small 2-bedroom houses for old people or people
without families and who are not in a position to afford rent for
larger houses, calls for consideration. It has been well said that the
question of slum clearance is one of rent.
With regard to individual houses, the procedure detailed last
year of inviting owners or agents to informal consultations in respect
of their property, and which has proved so successful, has been
adhered to, and during the year a considerable amount of work has
thus been accomplished. Many difficulties which arise in practice
are overcome by such interviews. As examples of the work done by
this co-operation between the owners, agents, and the Public Health
Department, it may be noted that 70 informal notices were served
under Section 17 of the Housing Act, 1930, requiring owners to
effect repairs, and in no instance was it necessary to take further
official action, as follows: —
Ransom Road—7-21, 7-26, and 30-32 (23 houses).
Commerell Street—48-70 (12 houses).
Creek Road—141-159 (11 houses).
Woodland Place—5-13, 21-23, 27-29 (9 houses).
Eastney Street—2, 4, 6 and 8, 1 and 3 (6 houses).