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75
SECTION D
Housing
General.—The problem of vacant land becomes a vital one
when new housing estates are contemplated. In rural areas objections
to the use of good arable land are obvious, whilst in the urban
areas acquisition of land for new estates is virtually impossible,
except as an ancillary to slum clearance—an extremely slow process.
Even ignoring this disadvantage, it has been said by authoritative
people well acquainted with housing problems that new building is
most unlikely to provide all the necessary accommodation, and this,
despite the fact that the annual rate of house building is in the
region of 300,000.
So once more it is necessary to state that the repair and renovation
of existing accommodation is not only desirable but essential
if the housing position as a whole is not to deteriorate. In other
words, what is necessary is not just a " house-building drive "
but literally a " housing drive " ; i.e. an energetic move for more
dwellings rather than for only new dwellings. Time is a most
important factor in this respect. With each year that passes
many houses fall into the category of " outworn," thus tending to
offset the advances made by the building of new estates. Much of
the property which will in a few years be classed as " outworn "
could with timely intervention be made reasonable and its life
extended for another 20 to 30 years. However, several drawbacks
prevent the implementation of schemes by Local Authorities along
these lines:—
(1) Rent Restrictions Acts.—A schedule of repairs sufficient
to bring a property up to a reasonable standard is usually beyond
the capacity of most owners to complete. Insistence by local
authorities only induces the owner to seek a Closing Order under
the Housing Act, 1936.
(2) Under the Town and Country Planning Act, 1947, responsibility
is placed on Local Authorities to seek special powers to carry
out reconditioning on a large scale. So far very few Authorities
have endeavoured to utilise this method for improving the housing
situation in their areas.