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85
The result of the local enquiry, which was held by the Ministry
of Health on the 11th December, 1922, with regard to the Notices
served under Section 28 of the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act,
1919, in connection with Nos. 73, 75, 77 and 79 Kenbury Street,
was issued in the form of an Order, dated 2nd March, 1923, as
follows:—
1. The Minister hereby confirms the said Notices, subject
to the following modification:—
The Notice relating to No. 73, Kenbury Street
shall be varied by the omission of so much of the
specification of works as required the Appellant to
strip, repair and re-decorate the walls, wash off, stop
and whiten the ceiling, and clean the paint of the
front basement room.
2. The Minister hereby certifies the amount of the costs
incurred by him in relation to the said inquiry to be the
sum of £3, and hereby directs that the said sum shall
be paid to him by the appellant.
3. The Minister further orders that the parties to the Appeal
shall bear their own costs in the matter.
The modification laid down in the Minister's letter was necessitated
owing to the fact that the particular work had been done
to the front basement room of No. 73, Kenbury Street, between
the date when the instruction was given for the service of the legal
notice, under Section 28 of the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act,
1919, and the date on which the notice was actually served.
Although the success of the Housing Inspectors in getting work
done is noteworthy, and justifies the Council's appointments of
Housing Inspectors, the Council must be reminded that there is still
a small percentage of the properties inspected which it is impossible
to get put into a good state of repair by persuasion, and the serving
of provisional (informal) schedules or legal notices. These properties
must remain in their present condition, unless the Council decides to
carry out the work itself, surcharging the expenses upon the properties,
as laid down in the 1919 Housing Act—a procedure that
has not yet been tried within the Borough of Lambeth.