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92 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
(a) That the necessary steps be taken to secure an alteration
in the law, to enable Borough Councils toacquire
land for other than "Housing" purposes.
This has been adopted by the suggestion to the
Home Secretary that a clause should be inserted in
the Bill dealing with the Housing of the Working
Classes which it is understood the Government propose
to introduce enabling Borough Councils to
save cost of land by dealing advantageously with
the frontages.
(b) That inquiry be made as to what suitable land belonged
to the Council. The only land is that of
the Pest House Charity in Putney, on which workmen's
cottages are already built.
(c) To build on surplus land adjoining the Cemetery at
Earlsfield. This would require an Act of Parliament
to alienate the land taken for the purpose of a
cemetery, even if it were advisable to do so.
(d) That houses be built for our own workmen. This
we have considered impracticable.
(e) The site of the old fire station at Clapham. This is
too small.
(f) A site suggested in the Wandsworth Road. The price
of this is prohibitive.
(g) A site on the boundary of Wandsworth and Streatham.
There is no need for such housing there. It is not
near enough to centres of work.
The Committee would point out, that although this
matter has been frequently discussed in the Council and
published in the Local Press, the Committee has not received
any suggestion or assistance from anybody or representative
institution of the Working Classes.
A suggestion that any scheme should take the form of
Municipal Lodging Houses has been carefully considered and
thought to be worth following up, and an attempt has been
made to find suitable sites in various parts of the Borough.
Inquiries are to be made further in regard to a site recently
proposed, but as a rule the Committee finds that, working