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Housing of the Working Classes.
237
tested proposal of national grants in aid of local authorities for housing purposes, contained important
provisions modifying, in certain cases, the principles of valuation and compensation. This bill was
withdrawn in Committee, but the discussions connected with it elicited pronouncements both from
Ministers and leading members of the Opposition, which showed that early legislation might be confidently
expected, and would be of a thorough character.
It was not, therefore, in the opinion of the Council, expedient to arrive at a final decision at
the time as to the method of dealing with the Brady-street and similar areas, until it was
possible to see the exact form taken by the promised legislation. It was clear that anticipatory announcements
of this kind made by responsible leaders, must have the effect of arresting any large action and
expenditure in the matter by local authorities until the result was seen. The Council, on 29th July,
1913, passed a resolution to the effect that, after having considered the official representation, it was
not at the time prepared to undertake an improvement scheme under Part I. of the Housing of the
Working Classes Act, 1890, in view of the fact that further legislation on the subject was practically
certain at no distant date, and that such legislation would in all probability enable the area and
other similar areas to be dealt with in a more satisfactory manner and at less cost to the ratepayer
than was the case under the existing law.
The Council's decision was conveyed to the Local Government Board and an inquiry was held
by one of the Board's inspectors on 24th October, 1913. The matter was still under consideration at
the end of the year.
The amount expended on capital account by the late Metropolitan Board of Works and the
Council up to 31st March, 1914, in respect of the clearance of insanitary areas (exclusive of the cost
of erecting new buildings), amounted to £3,469,901 13s. 0d., while the receipts derived from rents and
sales of land, including the amounts charged against the accounts of the dwellings for the housing
values of sites appropriated for that purpose, together with the contributions from local authorities
towards the cost of carrying out Part II. schemes, amounted to £906,740 1s. 1d. thus leaving the net
expenditure at £2,563,161 11s. 11d.
In carrying out public improvements other than schemes under the Housing Acts, involving
a statutory obligation to rehouse, the Council has displaced 12,244 persons of the working classes,
and has provided accommodation in new dwellings for 12,911 persons in lieu of that destroyed.
The displacement of persons of the working classes by the Council does not always involve a
statutory obligation to provide rehousing accommodation, and, in numerous cases where such
obligation has existed, the Local Government Board has, in the exercise of its powers under the Act of
1903, dispensed with the necessity for a special housing scheme.
On 14th October, 1913, the Council considered the question of the policy to be pursued with
regard to the very large displacement of persons of the working classes involved in the acquisition of
property over which compulsory powers of purchase for purposes of the education service were obtained
in the session of Parliament of 1913. The number of persons of the working classes to be displaced
in various parts of the county amounted to upwards of 6,500, of whom about 3,000 were resident in
the four eastern metropolitan boroughs of Poplar, Stepney, Bethnal Green and Shoreditch.
In view of the extent of the displacement the Council recognised the necessity for taking action
to ensure the provision of adequate housing accommodation in the metropolitan area as a whole, but
the Council was averse from undertaking the erection of any further dwellings in the central and thickly
built-over parts of London, unless it could be shown that the accommodation was needed for special
purposes and for special classes. The Council thought that it should rather meet the requirements
of the situation created by this extensive demolition of working-class houses by the provision of cottage
dwellings in the suburbs, under Part III of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, relying upon
cheap and rapid transit to convey the workmen to and from their places of employment.
Having regard to the somewhat controversial nature of the proposal to provide the new accommodation
at a distance from the area of displacement it was decided that the Council's views upon the
subject should be laid before the President of the Local Government Board by a deputation of
members of the Council.
The President in his reply to the deputation said that he knew the difficulty with which the
Council had to contend, and that in the past he had done all he could to meet the Council. He could
not give any pledge in advance that rehousing in any areas would not be required, for he had to bear
in mind his parliamentary duties and obligations, but that he would put the Council to the least
expense consistent with the due discharge of these. There should be no difficulty, when the Council
could make out a case, for a dispensation to be granted, but he was unable to give a more definite
assurance as he must deal with every case on its merits. The Board took a broad view of the
situation, and had regard to travelling facilities by tramway, omnibus and railway, and other factors
of the problem such as rates and questions of health.
After careful consideration of the whole question by the Council formal application was made
to the Local Government Board to decide that it was not necessary to provide new dwellings in the
vicinity of the displacements for rehousing the persons of the working classes to be displaced from
properties required for purposes of the education service over which compulsory powers of purchase
were conferred in the parliamentary session of 1913.
During the year the Local Government Board released the Council from rehousing obligations
as regards 575 persons of the working classes displaced from properties over which compulsory powers
of acquisition had been obtained mostly for purposes of the education service. The Council also
decided during the year that special rehousing schemes were not necessary in respect of the displacement
of 471 persons from certain other properties acquired for similar purposes, there being no
statutory obligation to rehouse these people.
Capital
expenditure
on clearance-
Rehousing in
connection
with improvements,
etc.