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74
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1910.

It will be seen that the death-rate from all cases of mortality in the Tabard-street area was more than twice
that of the metropolitan borough of Southwark, which was, in the same period, considerably above that of London
as a whole. The death-rate from phthisis in the area was nearly twice that of the borough, and nearly three times
that of London. The death-rate from the principal epidemic diseases was more than two and a-half times that of
the borough and more than three and a-half times that of London.
The Grotto-place and Crosby-row areas are small for the calculation of reliable death-rates, but the figures
that have been obtained show that in the former area the death-rate from all causes was more than twice, that from
phthisis more than three times, and that from the principal epidemic diseases nearly one and a-half times that of
Southwark. The death rate from all causes in the Crosby-row area was more than one and a-half times, that from
phthisis nearly one and a-half times, and that from the principal epidemic diseases more than two and a-half times
the corresponding death-rate of Bermondsey.
The number of persons of the working class who will be displaced by the clearance of the three
areas is: Tabard-street, 3,517; Grotto-place, 567; and Crosby-row, 468; making a total of 4,552. The
Committee's proposals for laying out the areas included the use of about five acres in the central part
of the Tabard-street area as a public open space. The gross cost of acquisition of property, laying out
open space, cost of roads, etc., was estimated to be for the Tabard-street area £394,600; Grotto-place
area £47,600, and Crosby-row area £31,100; amounting in all to £473,300, which, after deduction of
the estimated value of surplus lands and rehousing sites, left £387,700 as the estimated net cost of
the scheme.
Complaint
under
pec. 5 (2)
of the Act
During the year the County Medical Officer received a complaint, signed by 12 ratepayers in the
County of London, under section 5(2) of the Act, with regard to the alleged unhealthiness of an area
in the Royal Borough of Kensington, comprising Bangor-street, Crescent-street and those parts of
Sirdar-road and St. Anne's-road which lie between Bangor-street and Crescent-street. The area was
accordingly inspected and an official representation was made to the Council stating the facts of the
case and giving the opinion that neither the said area nor any part thereof was an unhealthy area.
ProceeJings
of the
Council
under
Part III,
of the Act
In May the Council accepted a tender of £11,668 for the erection of 66 cottages on the fourth part
of the Tower-gardens section of the White Hart-lane Estate.
In July the Council accepted tenders of £15,828 and £14,153 for the erection respectively of 82
and 74 additional cottages on Section C of the Totterdown Fields Estate, and a tender of £18,765 for
the erection of 112 cottages on Section B of the Norbury Estate.
Housing
and Town
Planning
Act,
Section 17
Article V. of the regulations made by the Local Government Board in September, 1910, under
this Act, requires that the "medical officer of health shall include in his annual report information and
particulars in tabular form in regard to the number of dwelling houses inspected under and for the
purposes of section 17 of the Act of 1909, the number of dwelling houses which on inspection were
considered to be in a state so dangerous or injurious to health as to be unfit for human habitation, the
number of representations made to the local authority with a view to the making of closing orders,
the number of closing orders made, the number of dwelling houses the defects in which were remedied
without the making of closing orders, the number of dwelling houses which, after the making of
closing orders, were put into a fit state for human habitation, and the general character of the
defects found to exist. He shall also include any other information and particulars which he may
consider desirable in regard to the work of inspection under the said section."
In only two or three reports is information of these proceedings given in tabular form, the result
probably of the regulations being interpreted to relate only to proceedings instituted after the date of
their issue. The following table has been mainly compiled from the information otherwise contained
in the annual reports.