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Removal of Derelict and Abandoned Vehicles
This is a fairly recent addition to the problems of the cleansing service but is one that is
becoming more extensive, particularly in the London area where the abandonment of vehicles on
the highway gives rise to much risk of accident and serious offence to amenity. The Removal of
Vehicles(England and Wales) Regulations 1961 give the Local Authority power to remove from
the highway to safe storage any vehicles which appear to be abandoned and to dispose of these
when all efforts to establish ownership have failed.
Refuse Disposal
Under the Local Government Act 1963 the final disposal of refuse became a function of
the Greater London Council. The work is handled in co-operation with the London Borough, partly
through Chancellor's Wharf which is basically a transfer station to which the local collection
vehicles bring refuse for discharge on to a raised concrete platform from which it is fed into
larger vehicles for conveyance to controlled tips in the outer London area; and partly through the
Refuse Destructor which serves the Southern part of the Borough and has recently been constructed
at a cost approaching £250,000.
Matthew Hall Garchey System
For the Town Mead and Margravine Estates, two of the most recent of the Council's
housing estates to be opened, the Matthew Hall Garchey System of refuse disposal has been
incorporated. In each flat the sink has been adapted to serve an appropriate container immediately
below this. Any form of refuse up to certain size limits can be discharged into this container
which is also filled with water from the normal use of the sink. When full, it can be discharged to
a collecting sump which serves a number of flats and this in turn is connected to a
main draw off pit at a suitable point to which the equipment of the special vehicle employed(at
present on hire) can be attached. The vehicle is equipped to exhaust all the pits along particular
connection lines on the estate. The material in the vehicle is then squeezed until almost dry and
the water permitted to discharge into the sewer.
Public Conveniences
The Council provide and maintain 19 public conveniences and 7 urinals, the latter being
in proximity to licensed premises. Both sexes are catered for in all but two of the main conveniences
and washing facilities are also available. Where facilities are provided for both sexes,
male and female staff are employed on a shift system to cover the hours of opening, normally from
7.30 a.m. until 11.30 p.m. In two instances(Hammersmith Broadway and Shepherds Bush) extended
hours are worked to meet exceptional needs.
HOUSING SERVICES
Since the report made a year ago on the work of the Housing Service during the first year
of the new Council's life, substantial progress has been made on the lines then indicated. A
considerable number of new dwellings have been completed and occupied, which means not only
that a substantial number of housing applicants have been housed, but also that further progress
has been made in clearing sites for redevelopment and in transferring existing tenants in need of
different accommodation from that which they occupied.
It should perhaps be mentioned that, in considering the allocation of any letting which
becomes available, first preference is normally given to families living in redevelopment areas.
This is done in order that the Council's building programme for the provision of new accommodation
may proceed as rapidly as possible.
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