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110
Circular 50/72 of the Department of the Environment very aptly summed
up the objective as follows, "that within a decade no one person shoula be
required to live in an unfit or sub-standard house and that the first priority should
be to deal with the worst conditions and to help those people most in need.
In these areas of Inner London, including Lambeth, suffering from housing
stress it is patently obvious from information gathered at first hand in the field that
the twilight areas must be dealt with on an area basis. It will be necessary to take
full account of health, welfare and sociological considerations but the cardinal
need and the lynch pin of any concerted action must be the housing or rehousing
if necessary of each and every family in dwellings which contain the basic amenities
and services sufficient for a decent family life.
Despite serious staffing difficulties the Inspectorate have continued to play
a vital role in the attack on unsatisfactory housing conditions as the following
statistics reveal
Clearance of Unfit Houses
During 1972, the Council declared under Part III Housing Act 1957,
16 Clearance Areas containing 149 houses.
Individual Unfit Houses and Parts of Buildings
Action under Part II Housing Act 1957, resulted in the making of 50
Closing Orders in respect of individual unfit houses and in addition 34 Closing
Orders were made in respect of parts of buildings - mainly basement rooms and
attic accommodation.
The Modernisation and Improvement of the Existing Housing Stock
During the year the Public Health Inspectorate dealt with the technical
processing of no less than 1,141 applications for improvement grants.
The following tables show the increase in this work since 1967.