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Alleged dirty condition and/or foreign body or deposit:
bread 7, cake 1, chocolate 1, coconut 1, corned beef sandwich 1, dates 2, fruit
pie 1, meat 1, mince tart 1, popcorn,1, sausage roll 1, steak pie 1.
HOUSING
The number of commonwealth immigrants coming into the borough continues to increase
with the consequent additional work required to be carried out by all sections of the
department not least the environmental health section, particularly in respect of overcrowding
and the increasing attention needing to be paid to houses in multiple occupation.
Slum Clearance
During the year, 13 clearance areas involving 272 dwellings were declared by the
Borough Council. One compulsory purchase order and two clearance orders were confirmed
involving 177 units of accommodation. All sub-standard tenement blocks have been surveyed.
Some are considered capable of improvement but many fall in a category where improvement
is either not economically sound or is undesirable, and yet they are not so far defective
within the meaning of Section 4, Housing Act, 1957, to be representable. It would help
considerably in this respect if a satisfactory means of refuse storage and means of escape
from fire were conditions of fitness. In many cases a storage chamber is provided often
at basement level, and entails the refuse being carried from the chamber by baskets to
the refuse lorry. This is undesirable from every aspect.
Overcrowding
Alleged overcrowding was investigated in 97 instances, 86 being confirmed and added
to the register.
Seventeen overcrowded families were rehoused by the Greater London Council and 11 by
this Council, the register of overcrowded premises being increased, during the year,
from 259 to 317 families.
Underground Rooms
There are approximately 2,000 underground rooms in the borough used for living or
sleeping purposes, of which 1,500 are unfit. During the year, five such rooms were
closed.
Town and Country Planning (Housing Accommodation) Direction, 1952
Under this order the department is consulted by the Borough Architect and Planning
Officer before applications are determined for planning permission for development
60.