View report page

66
many couples married in the area obviously take up residence outside
the Borough ; but this exodus is partially offset by the fact that
new dwellings built in the Borough by the L.C.C. are often allocated
to non-residents and the status quo therefore largely remains. As
new accommodation is seldom assigned to the recently married, the
inference is that they take ' rooms ' often with parents or relations.
This is a disturbing feature because psychologically it is unsound and
frequently leads to disharmony in the home.
Perhaps another point is worthy of note. Housing standards
are constantly improving with the result that for a given sum of
money less dwellings can now be completed compared with what was
possible in the immediate post-war years.
Difficulties confronting local authorities in their search for
further " housing space " are obvious and in urban areas the problem
is reduced to a matter of " slum clearance." This fact, together with
the recent disclosures of the Census, serve, merely to emphasise the
necessity for local authorities to utilise to the full their present
powers under the Housing Acts, 1936 and 1949 and the Town and
Country Planning Act, 1947, in order to acquire, to improve, to
repair, and where possible, to convert existing properties.
Slum Clearance.—As intimated earlier in this section, slum
clearance remains the only practical method left for urban authorities
to obtain space for new housing. In common with other
Metropolitan Boroughs, slum clearance becomes a joint responsibility
between the Borough Council and the County Council and
arrangements usually cover periods of 5 years.
During the year an area, comprising 20 properties in Little
Heath, was represented for slum clearance by the Council and
confirmation by the Minister for Housing and Local Government is
awaited.
Preliminary surveys of areas which might be represented for
clearance during 1956/60 are in hand and, with the approval of the
Housing Committee, lists will eventually be forwarded to the County
Council for consideration.
Re-Housing.—
(a) Borough Council.—There were 131 new dwellings provided
by the Council during the year and the number of families housed
and re-housed including transfers, casual voids, etc., amounted to
403. Of this number 15 were in respect of overcrowded cases and
8 in respect of closures under the Housing Act.