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The number is steadily rising. This is not surprising. The majority of the houses in the
borough are old and worn out. It is some years since any of them have been replaced by new
dwellings. Until such time as we can once more clear away decayed out-moded houses and
replace them by modern dwellings, we must expect this rise in the number of complaints, and
an increasing amount of work and investigation to make living accommodation free from
nuisances which are injurious to health, and as comfortable as possible for those who still have to
live in them. The number of complaints indicates that 31 per cent. of the houses in the borough
showed some sanitary defect during the course of the year, for the remedy of which the help of
the department was required ; and this gives no heed to complaints which were brought direct
to landlords or their agents and remedied without the intervention of the Public Health
Department. One visit does not suffice to deal with a complaint, as will be noted from the fact
that no less than 16,800 visits were paid to deal with complaints alone. In 132 cases a summons
had to be taken out in order to secure the abatement of the nuisance. Another indication of
the work which has been required to deal with sanitary nuisances is seen from the amount of
money sanctioned by licence to carry out work at the instance of the sanitary inspector. Any
work exceeding £10 in cost needs a licence. The following figures show how the amount of
money needed to cover this work increased during the year :—
£ s. d.
26th January 5,903 14 4
28th February 7,404 16 9
28th March 5,121 8 11
25th April 5,973 19 9
30th May 10,729 15 5
27th June 8,633 13 5
25th July 9,071 1 7
29th August 8,132 16 1
27th September 6,803 17 6
31st October 10,170 5 6
30th November 14,145 18 6
31st December 16,016 12 2
£108,107 19 11
If work continues during 1948 at the rate of the last month of the year 1947, it may be
anticipated that the amount of money required to deal with the work will be nearly £200,000.
This does not take into consideration the many defects which can be remedied at a cost of less
than £10, or those cases where a licence was received on the direct request of the owner of the
property, or at the instance of the District Surveyor to deal with dangerous structures. The
general attitude to-day is that only the most urgent repair work can be carried out, and work
considered as urgent is primarily that required to deal with conditions that affect health or are a
danger to life. There is an increasing tendency to rely upon the Public Health departments of
the country to determine the amount of work which is required in connection with the
first category. A very great responsibility rests upon your sanitary inspectors in connection
with this work. It is a very serious matter to require owners to carry out work involving
nearly £200,000 in the course of one year. This work must be necessary; it must be essential
to health. At first sight it might seem unwise to spend so much money on old property, and
that it is holding up the provision of new dwellings in the use it entails of labour and materials.
Unfortunate as this may be, it is unavoidable. Since 1939 there have been no new houses
erected in the borough, ordinary maintenance and repair has been cut to a minimum, and even
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