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for improvements and conversions of sums up to £400 or half the
cost, whichever is the less, where the dwellings would provide
satisfactory accommodation for more than 15 years, has now been
replaced by Section 30 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act,
1958. These grants are now known as discretionary grants.
During the year 42 grants were so made.
Section 4 of the House Purchase and Housing Act, 1959, introduces
a new system of grants known as standard grants which, if
certain conditions are fulfilled, can be claimed as a right.
Up to the close of the year 11 such grants had been agreed.
Re-Housing.—
(a) Borough Council.—There were 50 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
355. Of this number one was in respect of an overcrowded case
and 12 families re-housed from outside the Borough.
The Housing Department now has control of 4,136 Councilowned
units of accommodation, an increase of 448 over that of the
previous year. In addition at the end of the year there were still
35 hutments occupied by persons rendered homeless as a result
of enemy action or who were otherwise inadequately housed.
(b) London County Council.—During the year ended
31st December, 1960, the L.C.C. had provided alternative accommodation
for a total of 323 Greenwich families of which 3 had been
certified as overcrowded cases. Of this figure, 211 were housed on
L.C.C. housing estates outside the Borough. One family from
outside Greenwich was rehoused in the Borough under the L.C.C.
scheme.
(c) Other.—A further 8 families were rehoused by other means.
Overcrowding.—As a direct result of rehousing carried out
under (a), (b) and (c) above 12 cases of overcrowding were abated
during the year under review. The number of unabated certified
cases of overcrowding in the Borough now amounts to 54.
During 1960 there was a fall in the number of complaints
received concerning overcrowding, the year's figure of 29 showing
a decrease of 2 from that of the previous year. Each complaint
was investigated by the Public Health Inspector concerned and as a
result of these investigations 2 families were found to be overcrowded
according to the standards laid down by the Housing Act,
1957, and were subsequently certified as such.
It can be seen by the figures in the following table that there
has been a definite decline since 1946 in the number of families