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proceed with definite proposals is that adjoining the Council's dwellings
in Regency Street on the Esher Street aspect. The land has been offered
by the Duke on very reasonable terms, and plans were drawn up for a
block of dwellings similar from an architectural point of view to those
which were erected by the Council in 1902-1903. They were, however,
to contain considerable improvements such as self-contained bathrooms.
The original intention was to provide 83 fiats capable of housing
approximately 500 individuals. Certain objections were raised by the
Ministry of Health as to possible obstruction to light and air which
might be caused by the addition of another high block to those already
existing. The Council were, however, eager to proceed with this scheme
after so many disappointments and they requested the Minister to receive
a deputation to plead for its reconsideration. The Minister consented to
discuss the difficulties with the Council, and a deputation consisting of
members of the Housing Committee and certain officers of the Council
attended in November. It was subsequently arranged that the Esher
Street scheme, with certain modifications, would again be submitted to
the Minister.
Housing Act, 1925.—The Housing Act, 1925, which is an Act consolidating
all the housing measures which have been placed on the Statute
Book since 1890, came into force on the 1st July, 1925. It repeals
wholly the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 (except for one
sub-section), the Acts of 1894, 1900 and 1903. The Housing and Town
Planning Acts of 1909 and 1919 are partly repealed, so also the
Housing Acts of 1921-1924 which relate more to matters concerning the
administration of financial provisions. Regulations were made under the
Act of 1925 which cover a wide field.
They are called the.Housiiig Consolidated Regulations 1925 and consist
of six parts. The first three deal with designations, compulsory purchase,
issue, interest, and transfer of local bonds. Part IV deals with the
Inspection of District, and re-enacts the Inspection of District Regulations
made under the 1909 Act: it is of direct application to the Public Health
Department. Parts V and VI relate to rates of interest on expenditure
of local authorities, and restrictions on the acquisition of certain lands.
New forms of record were drawn up in order to comply with the
requirements of Part IV of these regulations. These are kept in card
index form, a specimen of which is indicated on the following page.
Information obtained by the sanitary inspectors relating to dwelling
houses which they visit on complaint, or in the course of routine inspections,
is entered each day on those record cards.