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238
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1913.
Common
lodging
houses.
Action taken
under Part
III. of the
Act of 1890.
The Council has provided three model lodging-houses for men containing altogether 1,874
cubicles, viz.: Parker-street House and Bruce House, Drury-lane, and Carrington House, Deptford.
Under Part III. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, the Council has voluntarily
provided in various parts of the county a number of tenement dwellings capable of accommodating
4,068 persons, and, in addition, it has acquired four suburban estates at Tottenham, Tooting,
Norbury and Hammersmith, comprising about 286 acres, for the erection of cottages. Up to
31st December, 1913, 2,896 cottages with accommodation for 21,164 persons had been completed
on these estates, making a total accommodation for 25,232 persons provided under Part III. of the
Act, exclusive of certain dwellings and lodging houses which, although erected under Part III., were
provided to fulfil statutory rehousing obligations.
White Hartlane
estate.
The White Hart-Jane instate, Tottenham was purchased in 1901 at the rate of £400 an acre,
the total purchase money amounting to £90,225. It consists of two detached sections, of which the
northern contains about 49¾ acres, and is about 440 yards distant from the southern portion which
is now in course of development.
In 1907 the Council commenced to review its policy with regard to the further development of
this estate, and correspondence on the subject ensued with the Local Government Board.
Ultimately the Council on 26th July, 1910, came to the conclusion that a large proportion of the estate
was not required for housing purposes, and permission was sought of the Local Government Board
to dispose of some 90 acres of the land. The Board consented to the sale of the northern (detached)
portion of about 49¾ acres, and efforts are now being made to dispose of it. As to the remainder the
Board thought that sufficient grounds had not been adduced for the sale of any part of the main
(southern portion) of the estate and declined, therefore, to comply with the Council's application in
this respect.
The Council saw no reason to modify its conclusion that the estate, which without the northern
portion comprises some 172¾ acres, was too large to develop solely for cheap-rented dwellings, and,
as a way out of the difficulty, application was made to Parliament in the session of 1912 for powers
to enable the Council to develop the land on the lines of a garden suburb and not solely for the
accommodation of the working classes, and, further, for authority to lease separate plots of land for
the erection of better class houses. The Council sought a tree hand in the development of the estate
on the lines of a garden suburb, but Parliament, while allowing the land to be used for this purpose,
decided that the actual development should be in accordance with a scheme to be prepared by the
Council and approved by the Local Government Board. A provision was also inserted in the Act to
prohibit the Council itself erecting houses for any other than the working classes, but, on the other
hand, the power proposed by the Council to enable it to lease portions of the land in plots for middle
class houses was extended by allowing the scheme above mentioned to authorise the Council to sell
or let on lease any or all of the land for the purpose of a garden suburb. Further, the scheme may
confer exemptions from local by-laws and regulations as to streets and buildings.
A preliminary scheme for the development of the remainder of the southern portion of the
estate (124½ acres) has been prepared including details of the modifications of the local by-laws for
which it is proposed to apply, and will be submitted to the Local Government Board for its approval.
The scheme provides for the erection of working-class cottages on 62 acres and for the sale or lease of
43 acres for better class houses, the remaining 19½ acres being devoted to public buildings, open
spaces, etc. It is proposed, when the scheme is approved, to proceed to lay out the whole of the
southern portion of the estate for the purposes of a garden suburb, to proceed with the erection of
working-class dwellings on a portion of the land, and to arrange, as and when opportunity offers, for
the sale or lease of the remainder tor the erection of houses of a better class although it is doubtful
whether it will be practicable to build middle class houses on this estate to be let at more than a very
moderate rent.
The preliminary estimate for the cost of the roads, sewers and general development, including
the provision of open spaces, is £84,500, and for the working-class cottages, £364,000, making a total
estimated expenditure of £448,500. Of this sum only £414,000 is applicable to the working-class
portion, the remainder being in respect of the construction of roads on the portion to be set apart for
better class houses.
The scheme provides for the construction of two main avenues, 100 feet wide, starting from
the south-east and south-west corners, meeting near the northern boundary of the estate and continuing
in a northerly direction. This follows approximately the lines indicated by the London
Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade for a main arterial road (the new Cambridge road) running north
and south between the Enfield-road on the west and the Cambridge (or Hertford) road on the east,
connecting at intervals with each of the old main roads. These two main avenues will be constructed
of the full width of 100 feet only in the event of the Road Board consenting to bear a portion of the
cost, and the Board has been asked whether it would be prepared to make a suitable contribution out
of the Road Improvement Fund.
The development of the estate was proceeded with during the year. Roads and sewers have
been constructed on about 48¼ acres of the estate adjoining Lordship-lane, and 875 cottages, with
accommodation for 6,835 persons, have been erected on the land. During the year the Council
accepted a tender for the erection of 9 cottages and a doctor's house at an estimated cost of £3,205,
and approved an estimate amounting to £23,468 for the construction of roads and sewers and the
erection of 79 cottages on a further portion of the estate. About 28 acres have been laid out as allotments
for the benefit of the tenants of the cottages and 3⅓ acres have been laid out as an estate garden.