View report page

146
1,056 houses has been undertaken under the provisions of the 1923 Act on the
Valence (No. 4) section. At the end of the year more than 200 of these houses had
been commenced. Arrangements were made during the year, with the approval
of the Minister of Health, for the development of further sections under the
financial provisions of the Act of 1924, but active operations had not been commenced
before the end of the period covered by this report. On 29th July, 1924,
the Council approved a capital estimate of £521,850 in respect of the erection of
about 894 houses on the Ilford (No. 5) section and on 18th November, 1924, two
further estimates of £600,000 each in respect of the erection of about 1,000 houses
on the Dagenham (No. 6) section, and about 1,000 houses on the Valence (No. 7)
section, inclusive in each case of the construction of the necessary roads and
sewers.
Rents for accommodation on the Dagenham (No. 3) section have been based
on those charged for the No. 2 section, both sections having been developed on
similar lines. When fixing the rents for the No. 3 section the Council decided to
reduce the rents of the ground floor cottage flats on the No. 2 section, some by 3d. and
others by 6d. a week. The weekly net rents for the two sections subject to any reasonable
variation on account of position or amenities are as follows:—Houses—Five rooms,
scullery and bath, 12s. 6d.; four rooms (parlour type), scullery and bath, 11s. 6d. ;
four rooms (non-parlour type), scullery and bath, 10s. 6d.; three rooms, scullery
and bath, 9s. 6d. Flats—Three rooms, scullery and bath, first floor, 8s. 9d, ground
floor, 8s. 6d.; two rooms, scullery and bath, 7s. 6d. On 22nd July, 1924, the Council
decided to reduce the net weekly rents of certain of the houses and flats on the Ilford
(No. 1) section of the estate as follows:—Six-roomed houses from 20s. to 17s. ;
three-roomed flats from 11s. to 10s., and two-roomed flats from 9s. to 8s. 6d. The
Council in 1923 had agreed to a temporary abatement of 1s. a week from the approved
rent of the six-roomed houses, and in view of the permanent reduction the temporary
abatement was reduced to 6d. a week.
During the year the Council agreed to surrender some strips of land, about
4 acres in extent, for the widening of Green-lane and Wood-lane, the local authorities
undertaking to bear any tenants' compensation and the cost of fencing. As part
of the arrangement the Council was permitted to incorporate in its building sites
some land lying between the line of the hedge bordering the original road and the
boundary line of the new road. Nearly an acre of land has also been surrendered
on similar terms for the widening of Goodmayes-lane, and some small strips for
improving a dangerous corner at Bull-lane and for the further widening of Longbridge-road.
The central repair depot, including workshops and stores and the local representative's
residence, has been removed from Gale-street to Valence farm house,
otherwise known as "Burleighs." The work of adaptation has been carried out
at a cost of £1,391.
During 1924 the Council sold two sites, one slightly more than an acre in
extent for £600 for the erection of a Wesleyan church, and the other to the Essex
County Council for £1,015 for an elementary school. Other sites have been let on
building leases for 99 years for the erection of shops. On 12th February and 15th
April, 1924, the Council accepted two tenders submitted by Messrs. F. W. Romain &
Sons, and amounting to £6,611, for the erection of five shops with flats over and one
lock-up shop on the Ilford section.
The question of the facilities on the estate for the sale of alcoholic liquors
continued to engage the Council's attention. One of the four beerhouses on the
estate was in a dilapidated condition, and the Council on 22nd January, 1924,
agreed to a proposal to let to the Improved Public House Company, Ltd., a site
at the junction of Becontree-avenue with Bennett's Castle-lane, with a view to
the erection thereon of a model public-house for the general entertainment and
refreshment of the population. In return for the grant of a licence for the proposed