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9s. 6d. to 10s. 6d.; 12s. 6d. to 13s. 9d. exclusive of rates. The flats will be
self-contained, each being provided with a bathroom, having a bath and
W.C. The contract price of the building is £62,865. The superficial
area of the site measures 17,414 square feet and the purchase price was
£10,000. At the close of the year preparations were well advanced for the
work of clearing the site and beginning building operations, but the
problem of dishousing the tenants in certain houses on the site had to be
solved. The Council, under Section 128 of the Housing Act, 1925,
are absolved of any obligation to find alternative accommodation
under the terms of the Rent Restrictions Acts, but in the present
state of shortage a drastic exercise of this privilege would cause
undoubted distress to existing tenants. There were six occupied houses
which stood in the way of the scheme, one in Vincent Street, one in
Esher Street and four in Page Street. Some of the tenants have found
accommodation elsewhere, while for others rooms have been found in
the Council's dwellings in Regency Street. Although notice to vacate
had been given there were still some twenty-five persons in the Page Street
houses who had failed to find other accommodation.
Willow Street Scheme.—The scheme which has been outlined above
has been under consideration since 1924, and for the reasons which have
been stated, its progress has been impeded at various points. Those
reasons do not exist in regard to the scheme now to be described. The
Council considered the triangular area of vacant land, 12,360 superficial
feet in extent, which has a frontage on Willow Street, is bounded on one
side by Greencoat Place and on the other by houses in Rochester Row.
A 999 years' lease has been obtained from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners,
the owners of the site, at a ground rent of £250 per annum, and it is proposed
to erect three blocks of five storeys each. There will be forty-one
flats (eleven 2-room; twenty-five 3-room, and five 4-room), providing
accommodation for approximately 200 individuals. By the terms
of the lease the building must be completed by September, 1927. In
these circumstances of urgency the Council decided to forego the formalities
contingent on making application to the Ministry for a subsidy under the
Housing Acts, and resolved to make the necessary financial provision out of
revenue. The scheme is, therefore, not subject to the conditions governing
the grant of a subsidy, and baths will not be provided for each flat,
although a number of bathrooms will be included. There will be a
laundry and drying-room for the use of the tenants. It is estimated
that the cost of the building will be £30,500, and at the close of the year
the question of inviting tenders was being considered.
The accommodation in the Willow Street scheme will be similar to
that in the Horseferry Road estate of the Peabody Trust. The additional