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CLEAN AIR ACT, 1956.
The work of this section has progressed steadily and during the year No.14
Order was submitted to the Minister for confirmation.
This Order is the largest that the Council has yet made and covers an
area of approximately 200 acres in the south east section of the Borough.
It involves some 700 residential properties with an estimated total cost of
adaptations of £14,000. It came into operation on the 1st November and by the
end of the year the majority of adaptations had been carried out.
Future programme of Smoke Control Orders.
At the beginning of the Smoke Control programme it was felt that the
existing cleared sites within the Borough should be made the subject of the
first Smoke Control Orders so that when re-development took place the tenants
would become accustomed to the use of smokeless fuel from the commencement of
their tenancies and would not have to be educated into making subsequent
changes. The first thirteen Orders related in large part to these cleared
sites. Now that they have been the subject of Smoke Control Orders it is
possible to turn our attention to the making of Orders covering the remainder
of the Borough.It is anticipated that with the staff at full strength it will
be possible to cover the whole Borough with three further Orders, the last
of which would come into operation at the end of 1965.
Smoke Abatement.
During the year a number of smoke nuisances were reported to the Clean
Air Section and many others were detected as a result of routine observations
in the Borough. A total of 61 visits and inspections were made in connection
with the smoke nuisances. A number of complaints were received regarding the
emission of black smoke, grit and sooty particles from the chimneys of Watts
Grove Power Station and investigation proved that these complaints were
justified. The six steam generators at this Station were designed and erected
with the object of being fired with pulverized fuel. Subsequently, however,
it was decided to convert them to solid fuel burning and chain grate stokers
were installed for this purpose. The result of this adaptation is that each
steam generator contains an enormous combustion space with the main source of
radiant heat in the lower portion; this is a contributory cause of the
frequent emission of black smoke. This is a " booster" peak load station which
may entail frequent lighting up and sudden heavy steam demand, all of which
add to the difficulty of the Station Engineer. A number of improvements
effected at the Station should alleviate smoke and grit nuisance unless another
extremely severe winter is experienced.
Eight Plans and specifications of proposed furnace installations were
submitted for approval.
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