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Districts 2, 3, and 5.—These districts form a distinct block of
property extending from the-river, with Horseferry Eoad on one side,
Wood Street and Great Peter Street on the other. No. 2 is the section
nearest the river, and extended as far as the west side of Smith Square,
and the small streets (St. John Street, Church Passage, and Carpenter
Street) running north and south from it. This line and Marsham
Street mark the extent of No. 3 district. The whole of these two
districts and a little hit of No. 5 (viz., the west side of Marsham
Street, and Laundry Yard) are undergoing a transformation
authorised by two Acts of Parliament. The scheme was initiated by
the County Council, under the powers of the London County
Council (Improvements) Act, 1900, for the purpose of the Thames
Embankment Extension, and dealt chiefly with Millbank and the
adjacent land round Smith Square—that is to say, all No. 2 and part
of No. 3 districts. There was then a population of 2,173 persons in
No. 2 area, and, with the exception of the dwellers in the houses on the
three sides of Smith Square, which is in this area, they consisted of
poorer working-class people, and much of the property inhabited by
them was old and worn out. The tenants were turned out from these
and most of the houses pidled down ; but the houses in North Street,
which were in a much better condition, after standing empty for several
years, are now being adapted and re-let for periods of seven years to
good-class tenants. The deaths in this sub-district were 48 in 1901,
giving a rate of 22 per 1,000. The progress of the displacement of the
population is shown by the fall in number of deaths to 21 in 1903, and
then gradually down to 7 only in 1907.
Some difficulty has been experienced by the County Council in
dealing with certain business properties, with the result that any
scheme for re-housing the persons displaced, or dealing with thevacant
land, has been delayed. It was estimated that 2,242 persons
of the working classes were displaced under the County Council's part
of the scheme, but as there was room for 4,430 persons on the Millbank
Estate the County Council were held to have provided house room for
those displaced. The remainder of the "Improvement" is to be
carried out by a Syndicate under the St. John's (Westminster) Improvement
Act, 1906. In this part 1,846 persons of the working class will bedisplaced,
and no suggestion has yet been made as to the housing
accommodation to be provided for them. The Housing Act, 1903„
requires such accommodation to ba provided where as many as 30
persons are displaced. The power to purchase land compulsorily ceases
at the end of August, 1911.
Under Section 8 (3) of the London County Council (Improvements)
Act, 1900, that Council is required to clear and lay out as a