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Section 11 extends the time in which an owner of a house may
apply to have quashed a Demolition Order made to operate prior to
1st January, 1946, if subsequent works have made the premises fit
for human habitation. Further, the local authority is empowered
to revoke a Demolition Order made before 14th July, 1953, and
substitute a Closing Order, if as a result of demolition, adjoining
properties would be affected.
Housing Survey.—Through the courtesy of Mr. F. H. Dore,
the Housing Manager, the following extracts are quoted from his
observations on the housing position in 1953 :—
" During this year the result of the shortage of further large
sites for development became most apparent. Whereas in 1952
nearly 340 families were rehoused from the waiting list, in 1953, only
184 could be dealt with.
The slowing down of the rate of rehousing prompted the
Housing Committee to re-examine the working of the points scheme
and a number of amendments were introduced during this year.
This involved the circularisation of applicants for further detailed
information regarding their housing circumstances and, in connection
with this, applicants were informed that if they did not send in
a return of the required information within 2 weeks, it would be
assumed that they were no longer in need of accommodation from
the Council. This had the effect of considerably reducing the
number of cases on the register, and, whereas the year opened with
3,615 applicants registered, at the end of the year the number was
2,539.
At the time of the amendment of the points scheme, the
decision was also made to deal with applications for transfer on the
same basis so that applications from persons on the housing register
and from occupiers of properties under the Council's control are now
dealt with in the same way. What effect this would have on the
rate of transfer from one property to another was not apparent
during the year since the pointing of transfer applicants was not
carried out until the closing months of 1953. During the year, the
number of transfers effected from one Council property to another,
including both requisitioned and permanent accommodation, was
183.
A number of housing problems were solved by mutual exchange
between occupiers of Council-controlled properties and also between
Council tenants and tenants of other landlords and Councils, and
during 1953, 37 such exchanges were effected. This means, of
course, that at least 74 problems were solved in that way.