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15
Clean Air Act, 1956.—In my last Annual Report I commented
generally on the provisions of this Act as it affected the Council.
It will be remembered that the Minister of Housing and Local
Government fixed the appointed day for the operation of the Act,
with certain exceptions, for the 31st December, 1956. Since that
date, pursuant to Section 3, fifteen notifications of furnace installations
have been received, three of which were gas fired for which no
approval was necessary, and three oil fired for which no approval
was applied for. Of the remaining nine applications submitted for
approval four of the installations were approved. Details about the
remaining five were still being awaited at the end of the year.
In order that approvals to installations under Section 3 of the
Act should not be delayed the Council at the Committee's request
delegated the Council's powers and duties under this Section to the
Committee on the 30th May. This will ensure that works of
installation can be proceeded with expeditiously, which is so essential
where plans for conversions, comprising new heating arrangements,
are involved.
Smoke Control Area.—In the early part of the year the question
of the adoption of a common policy for the establishment of Smoke
Control Areas was being considered by the Metropolitan Boroughs'
Standing Joint Committee with the ultimate object that the whole
of the County of London should be a smokeless zone in the course of
time. In accordance with that Committee's recommendations
boroughs with common boundaries with the City of London, which
had already been declared a smokeless zone (under a private Act)
were asked to confer as soon as possible and to produce a co-ordinated
scheme and the remaining Councils asked to review conditions and
where considered desirable should seek to establish smoke control
areas without departing from the principle of establishing without
delay smoke control areas for the inner zones of the County. It was
left to the constituent Councils to initiate and carry out co-ordinated
programmes on this basis, and to keep the Standing Joint Committee
advised. A preliminary report on the initial steps that were being
taken by me to deal eventually with the southern part of the borough
as a first stage, were approved in principle by the Committee and
reported to the Council in May.
With the appointment in September of Mr. G. S. Adams as
Area Public Health and Clean Air Inspector I am hopeful of being
in a position to submit the result of a preliminary survey of an area
in the southern part of the Borough to the Committee early next
year which will enable the Council to place before the Minister the
required information preparatory to making an Order classifying
the area as a Smoke Control Area.