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shops were being executed. On 14th January, 1920, the Council accepted the tender of Messrs. Allen
Fairhead and Son, who were already engaged on one of these contracts, for the erection of 418 additional
houses. The contract price for the first 166 houses was £132,000 and the remaining 252 houses were to
be priced pro rata with the prices quoted in the tender. During the year 190 houses, in addition to
the 2 shops, were completed and occupied.
On 10th March, 1920, the Council authorised expenditure of £300 for repairs to Ducane-road,
along the southern boundary of the estate, the work being carried out by the local authority.
The initial net rents of the houses,which are of similar design to those erected on the estate before
the war with some additional amenities, have been based, with the approval of the Minister of Health,
on the rents of the existing comparable houses, with the addition of 1s. 6d. a week and amounts sufficient
to cover the extra cost of maintenance and management as compared with the cost immediately before
the war. The houses to which this decision applies may be grouped into four main classes and particulars
thereof and of the net rents charged are given in the following table—
Type of house.
Accommodation.
Net rent.
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class D
Living room, 2 bedrooms, scullery, and bath
Living-room, 3 bedrooms, scullery, and bathroom
Parlour, living room, 2 bedrooms, scullery, and bathroom
Parlour, living room, 3 bedrooms, scullery, and bathroom
s. d.
10 -
11 -
12 6
14 -
The gross rents are liable to fluctuation in accordance with variations in the amount of the rates
payable and the net rents are subject to increases in conformity with any general rise in rents which may
take place.
On 2nd March, 1920, the Council decided to retain for housing purposes a plot of land, 1¼ acres
in extent, which had been reserved, but was no longer required, for the erection of a church by the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners from whom the estate was purchased.
Good progress was made during the year with the development of the remainder (11 acres) of the
Norbury estate. A tender had been accepted for the erection of 140 houses on similar lines to those
erected on the estate before the war but with some improvements, and it was proposed to extend the
contract so as to complete the development of the estate by the erection of 116 houses of similar design
and two shops. Objection to the planning was, however, raised by the local authority and, having regard
to the need, which became apparent, for more bedroom accommodation than was originally contemplated,
a revised scheme was prepared for the provision of 74 houses of an improved type in substitution for the
116 houses and 2 shops. On 13th October, 1920, the Council accepted an offer by Messrs. Rowley Bros.,
who were already building on the estate, to erect the 74 houses for £85,759. During the year 80 houses
were completed. The initial rents of the first 140 houses have been fixed on a similar basis to that approved
for the rents of the new houses referred to above on the Old Oak estate.
A scheme has been approved by the Minister of Health for the development of about 112½
acres of the White Hart Lane estate, Tottenham and Wood Green, on the lines of a garden suburb for the
accommodation of persons of the working classes and others. During the year the Council decided to
sell about 30 acres of the garden suburb area to the Wood Green Urban District Council for housing
purposes and to purchase from the district council about 3½ acres of land in the south-west corner of the
estate for the development of the estate. Some 21 acres are reserved for leasing for the erection of larger
houses than those usually provided by the Council.
On 28th April, 1920, the Council accepted the tender of John Mowlem and Co., Limited, for the
construction of roads and sewers on the portion (56 acres) of the estate to be developed for working class
houses. The contract price for the first section of about 28 acres is £39,016, and the remainder of the
work is to be executed at prices fro rata with the prices quoted.
The scheme of development provides for the erection of about 720 working-class houses and the
laying out of about 7 acres as allotments for the tenants. Some 3½ acres have been allocated for open
spaces and about 6½ acres as sites for public buildings and schools.
Tenders for the building work were invited from a number of selected firms on a cost plus participating
profit basis. The tenderers were invited to state a lump sum per house which they would
require to cover profit, head office charges, and the use of plant, etc., and they were also required for
the purpose of determining the estimated net cost to submit with their tender schedules of prices for
four typical houses. On 14th July, 1920, the Council decided to entrust the work to Messrs. Fred and
T. Thorne, whose tender, taking all the factors into consideration, was the most favourable. The price
given by them for four houses amounted to £4,458 12s. 3d., and the sum quoted as the " fee " per house
was £55. Any saving of actual cost below estimated cost is to be shared in stated proportions between
the Council and the contractors, and in the case of an excess of actual cost over estimated cost a deduction
is to be made from the contractors' fee. At the end of 1920, work had been commenced on some
50 houses.
A scheme has been approved by the Council for the training and partial culverting at an estimated
cost of £7,990 of the Lesser Moselle stream, along the northern boundary of the estate. The proposed
works will form a channel for the existing watercourse, and, as it will also take surface water from the
adjoining housing estates of the Wood Green and Tottenham Urban District Councils, the cost will
be apportioned amongst the three authorities on the basis of the number of houses to be erected on the
three estates. An adjustment of the boundary between the estates of the Council and the Tottenham
Urban District Council was agreed to during the year.
Norbury
estate.
White Hart
Lane estate.