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the Secretary of State may, if he think fit, attach to his approval of any scheme, any conditions not
being conditions in excess of the conditions imposed by the London Building Act (1894), or any
other Act or Acts, by-law, or by-laws, relating to buildings in the county of London, and also
may require the company to give security for the carrying of the scheme into effect. Before giving
any certificate or approving any scheme under this section, the Secretary of State shall cause a
copy of the draft certificate or scheme to be sent to the London County Council, and to each local
authority appearing to him to be concerned therein, and shall consider any representations which
the County Council or any such local authority may, within a period to be prescribed by the
Secretary of State, make to him with regard to the draft certificate or scheme. The Committee,
in commenting on the proposed standing order, expressed, inter alia, the opinion that the obligation
to provide new accommodation should include lands acquired by agreement as well as under the
powers of any particular Act; that the register should be a register of all displacements, and not
only of those displacements in respect of which the Secretary of State shall, after inquiry, have
decided that an obligation to rehouse has arisen; that the obligation to rehouse should apply to
the total number of persons displaced, and not be limited to the number which might legally occupy
the houses; and that the discretion of the Home Secretary in attaching conditions to his approval
of a rehousing scheme should not be limited by the requirements of the London Building Act of
1894. The Council referred the report to the Parliamentary Committee, with instructions to take
all necessary steps to give effect as far as possible to the views expressed therein.
The annual reports of medical officers of health supply the following information—In
Fulham the medical officer of health represented 25 houses which were subsequently repaired by
the owners. The Public Health Committee gave instructions for the preparation of plans of block
dwellings to be erected on the vacant land in Townmead-road, in possession of the borough council.
In Chelsea the borough council decided to purchase l.6 acres of land on the east side of Beaufortstreet,
and decided to erect upon it buildings containing 35 tenements of one room, 130 tenements
of two rooms, and 96 tenements of three rooms, or 583 rooms in all. Eight bath-rooms and a hotwater
room are to be provided in one of the blocks. The total outlay is £65,000, of which £12,700
represents the cost of the land. During the year 223 houses were demolished, the estimated population
of which was 1,784. In Westminster 11 houses in Turner's-court were closed by magistrate's
order. It is proposed to use the site of Turner's-court for a theatre. The Housing Committee of
the City Council were taking steps to ascertain in what way the owners propose to provide new
accommodation for 170 persons displaced. The Regency-street area, purchased for the erection of
artizans' dwellings, had been cleared and the foundations laid. The buildings contain 45 tenements
of one room, 161 tenements of two rooms, 126 tenements of three rooms, and 12 tenements of four
rooms. The last are "self-contained,'' the others "associated." In one block nine bath-rooms are
provided. In St. Pancras advance was made in dealing with several areas under Part II. of the
Act. The amended Chapel-grove scheme was sealed in June, and the amended Eastnor-place
scheme in March, and the Local Government Board duly petitioned for sanction. In respect of the
Prospect-terrace and Brantome-place schemes, the consent of the County Council was obtained for
the erection by the borough council of dwellings on the Prospect-terrace site, and for the formation
of a new street through Brantome-place. Instructions were given for negotiation with the
Skinners' Company, who had petitioned against the latter scheme. A tender was accepted to erect
dwellings on the Great College-street site at a cost of £17,734. The borough council resolved to
petition Parliament to relieve borough councils of the obligation to use insanitary areas for rehousing
schemes or to repay to these councils out of imperial funds the difference between the market
value and the housing value of such areas. In Holborn seven houses were represented by the
medical officer of health; closing orders were obtained for two houses, and the others were
repaired. The report contains a list of houses voluntarily closed, demolished, rebuilt, etc. The
medical officer of health of Finsbury discusses the deterioration of five areas in the borough, which
were being purchased by the County Council for the purpose of improvement. With respect to
other areas, he reports that, as the result of representations he has made to the owners, the houses
in a court off Sermon-lane were demolished. He describes Caroline-place, Baker's-row, which
remains; Kemp-place, Baker's-row, the houses in which have been improved; Providence-place,
Baker's-row, which the owners propose to demolish at an early date ; Easton-place, Easton-street,
which the owners were improving; an area bounded by York-road, Ironmonger-row, Lever-street,
and Hull-street, which will be rebuilt in two or three years. There remain some half-dozen other
small areas which have received attention. In respect to two or three of them negotiations were
still proceeding. The report contains a list of 64 dwelling-houses containing 429 persons, which
were demolished in 1902 to make room for business premises. The medical officer of health of
Bethnal-green discusses the condition of houses in Digby-street, Digby-walk, Lansdell-place, and
Bonwell-street. The medical officer of health of Stepney reported to his council an area of 76
houses situated in Great Pearl-street, Wilk-court, Half Wilk-court, Wheeler-street, Union-place,
Quaker-street, Pope's Head-court, Harrison's-court, New-square, and Pool's-square. The Borough
Council decided to ask the County Council to prepare a scheme under Part I. of the Act. The
Housing of the Working Classes Committee of the Council advised the Borough Council to procure
closing orders; steps were taken for this purpose, and 11 houses were closed and demolished, and
other houses improved. The medical officer of health of Poplar gives account of the proceedings
with respect to the areas in that district being dealt with by the County Council, and states that
with regard to the Bridge-road area, which the County Council resolved was not of general importance
to the county, the Borough Council informed the Home Secretary that they did not think
any useful purpose would be served bv the appointment of an arbitrator to decide whether the area
should be dealt with under Part I. or Part II. of the Act. The conversion of Arnold's-buildings into
workmen's houses had been contemplated, but this having fallen through, it was decided to again