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Among the fourteen students a fairly wide variety of age-groups is represented; there are three
young women, and there are students in each of the four stages of training. The practical training
must therefore be presented to meet a diversity of individual needs and personal characteristics
and, while this can be challenging and stimulating, it can also represent demands upon the
resources of officers under pressure from the exigencies of heavy work-loads and the wide range
of problems peculiar to the duties of the public health inspector.
District Inspection
During the year under review the City continued for this purpose to be divided into four areas
and sub-divided into thirty-two districts. Two areas, each consisting of seven districts, operated
from the Harrow Road office; the other two, each having nine districts, being centred at City Hall
and St. Marylebone Town Hall respectively. The staffing arrangements were as mentioned in the
report for 1966.
Summaries of the work carried out by District and other Inspectors are included in Tables 9,
10, 11 and 12, pages 69, 70.
Dwelling Houses
General inspection of dwelling houses arising from complaints and for routine purposes, as
distinct from duties under the Housing Acts and other specialised functions dealt with later in this
Report, are undertaken by the District Inspectors. An analysis of reasons for initial inspections
of dwelling houses is given in Table 9, page 69; and an analysis of 2,763 (3,222) nuisances and
unsatisfactory conditions found and remedied appears in Table 10, page 69.
Notices
One thousand and seventy-six (1,170) informal notices were served and of these 705 (638)
were followed by the service of statutory notices to secure the abatement of nuisances. In addition
210 (137) statutory notices were served under the Clean Air Act, 1956. An analysis of statutory
notices served is given in Table 12, page 70.
Legal Proceedings
A summary of legal proceedings is given in Table 29, page 78.
Noise
Two hundred and eighty-five (247) complaints of noise were received during the year and
these necessitated 1,193 visits by the Public Health Inspectors, which by coincidence was the same
number as last year. Many related to noise occurring late at night and during weekends, and 259
of the visits referred to were made outside normal office hours.
A substantial proportion of the complaints were of noise coming from building sites, demolition
and engineering works, and particularly those involving pneumatic drills, compressors and pumps,
but it is gratifying to record that the great majority of the contractors concerned were co-operative
in seeking and applying noise-reducing methods, even where some loss of efficiency resulted or
hours of working had to be restricted.
Other complaints concerned such things as machinery in workshops and factories, garages,
motor repairs, social functions, clubs, parties, noisy neighbours, record players, air conditioning
plant, a water supply system, and animals.
Complaints were not always well founded but in all cases which upon investigation were found
to be justified the offending noise had been abated or reduced to a reasonable level by the end
of the year, sometimes, where the Council had no legal powers, by informal action taken by the
Public Health Inspectors.
Drainage and New Developments
Other than sewerage, drainage works relating to both new and existing buildings within the
City are under the control and supervision of the Health Department. A specialist team of Public
Health Inspectors deals with drainage and ventilation installations for all new developments,
and with adaptations and alterations relating to groups of buildings forming one unit of construction.
Alterations to systems in existing single premises are supervised by district Public Health Inspectors.
Close liaison is maintained with the City Engineer in relation to all new sewer connections,
levels of outfalls and openings into the Council's sewers, and with the Director of Cleansing in
regard to refuse storage facilities and means of access for removal of house and trade refuse in the
cases of all major works.
At the time consideration is given to plans deposited for the examination of drainage proposals,
all aspects of Health and Housing legislation are taken into account, together with requirements