London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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| Formally after Closing Orders | 314 (Closing Orders determined). |
| Formally after Undertakings | 22 (Undertakings cancelled). |
| Voluntarily following informal Action | 526 |
| 862 |
(c) In 216 cases, Closing Orders have been modified to permit approved
uses other than human habitation, e.g., washhouses, stores, workshops,
offices, etc.
(d) Some 452 Closing Orders remain fully operative and outstanding,
some of the rooms, because of the difficulty of rehousing, remain occupied.
(e) In two instances where properties were completely demolished
the Closing Orders in each of them cancelled themselves.
(/) In addition, during the same period 19 individual unfit properties were dealt with:—
| By means of demolition | 8 |
| By means of Undertakings given in lieu of Demolition Orders | 11 |
| 19 |
of this total six premises have been demolished.
Informal and Voluntary Action.
Throughout the whole of the 20 years under review excluding the war
years, voluntary reconditioning of unfit parts of buildings has gone on
side by side with the work of reinstatement which has followed formal
closure.
Up to 1939, such voluntary works totalled rather more than one half
of those carried out to determine Closing Orders. By the end of 1951,
informal or voluntary works had been carried out in 526 instances against
327 instances of formal reconditioning,
The requirement to obtain licences for building operations, including
the restoration of war damage, has stimulated the process of reconditioning
of dwellings and owners have seen the advantage of including basement
rooms which formerly did not comply with the law in their scheme of
rehabilitation so that the properties may be fully occupied.