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114
Street and Rochester Row, provide accommodation for 182 and 75
families respectively.
There is, therefore, in this district a total of 3,025 families and an
estimated population of 9,618 housed in the various industrial and block
dwellings.
Some of the smaller blocks are old and lack the amenities provided
in the modern buildings, but generally the industrial dwellings are well
kept. Cases of overcrowding occur from time to time and require visits,
as also do cases of infectious disease.
Tenement Houses.
There are 344 houses let in tenements accommodating approximately
1,030 families; they have from 6 to 11 rooms each, and generally
appear to be, so far as the main structure is concerned, in fairly
good condition, though nearly all have basements. The basements
are usually let with rooms on the upper floors, but, owing to the nature of
the subsoil and the fact that they are built upon low-lying land, there is
a tendency to dampness in these basements while their stairways are
dark.
The houses vary in internal condition, and whilst some are very well
kept, others, particularly those occupied by several families, require
considerable attention by the officers of the Department. Most were
intended for occupation by one family, but nearly all are now sublet.
Neither baths nor proper food stores are provided. W.C.'s are used in
common. The only sculleries, in which are coppers, are usually in the
basement.
The back yards are small, and while the rooms opening on to them are
at ground level, the corresponding rooms at the front of the houses
are basement rooms. This is because the street surfaces are 8 to
9 feet higher than the yards.
Cottages.
About 57 cottages of from 2 to 5 rooms are scattered in different
parts of the area. They are very old. One row of 11 at the rear of
Marsham Street has received a great deal of attention from the officers
of the Department: 3 cases of overcrowding here have been dealt with
and 2 families were rehoused by the City Council. It is the desire of
the owners of this block of property that these old cottages should be
demolished to allow development of a larger piece of land. The owners
have provided other accommodation for 3 families, and 4 of the houses
are now unoccupied. As soon as all the occupants are re-housed these
old cottages will be demolished. In this instance improvement is being