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one room as a bed-sitting room. Every such room has two windows and is large
enough (about 150 square feet) to permit of its use for this purpose. The room,
which is approached directly from the entrance lobby to the tenement, is provided
with a ventilated food and crockery cupboard, and light cooking may be done at the
stove, which is provided with a swing trivet for this purpose. If the experiment
should not meet with sufficient success to justify its continuance, the tenements
can be utilised for single occupation in the usual way without any structural
alteration.
On 1st December, 1925, the Council accepted the tender of Messrs. E. D. Winn
and Company, amounting to £25,352, for the erection of the first block of dwellings
(Pickwick House) to be erected on the Dickens estate. The dwellings will contain
51 tenements comprising 148 rooms with accommodation for 296 persons.
The Council on 20th January, 1925, agreed to a sale and exchange of lands
with the Sisters of the Convent of Mercy, the effect of which will be to reduce the
liability of the Council to provide housing accommodation under the scheme to the
extent of two cottages, and at the same time, while enabling the Council to effect the
extension and widening of Virginia-row as required by the scheme, will leave the
Sisters of the Convent in possession of nearly all their land which they require fo
the purposes of the Roman Catholic School in George-row.
The Council also on 23rd June, 1925, agreed to an arrangement with the freeholders
of the "George" public-house in Flockton-street, for the sale and exchange
of some small strips of land to facilitate the improvement of the property.
Bell-lane and
Ellen-street
scheme.
The Bell-lane and Ellen-street scheme under Part I. of the Housing Act, 1890,
provides for the clearance and reconstruction of two areas known as the Bell-lane
area, Spitalfields (4 acres) and the Ellen-street area, St. George-in-the-East (1½
acres). Under the scheme as confirmed, dwellings have to be provided for the
accommodation of 1,705 persons of the working classes, of whom not fewer than 600
are to be accommodated within the Bell-lane area, and the remainder elsewhere.
The name "Holland estate" has been selected for the area when reconstructed.
The Council on 21st July, 1925, approved a capital estimate of £23,870 for the
erection of the first block of dwellings on the estate (Bernard House), but owing to
unavoidable delay in obtaining possession of the site it was decided to proceed
with the arrangements for the erection in the first instance of the second block
(Carter House).
Certain property in the Bell-lane area intended for the erection of a telephone
exchange was excluded from the scheme as approved by the Minister of Health.
This proposal was eventually abandoned, and, with a view to facilitating the clearance
and reconstruction of the area, the Council on 28th July, 1925, with the approval of
the Minister of Health, decided to purchase the property by agreement for inclusion
in the scheme.
George'sroad
and
Brand-street
scheme.
A scheme for dealing with two unhealthy areas, known as the George's-road
and Brand-street areas, Holloway (3¼ acres), was made by the Council on 27th
November, 1923, and amended on 29th July, 1924. Altogether, 1,320 persons of
the working classes will be displaced, and it is proposed to provide accommodation
for an equal number of persons of whom not fewer than 900 will be accommodated
on the cleared areas. The scheme was confirmed by the Minister of Health on
31st July, 1925.
The properties forming the George's-road area which are included in the scheme
consist of two detached groups of houses about 60 yards apart. An opportunity
offered for purchasing, at a reasonable price, a block of flats with a plot of land in the
intervening space, and on Nth February, 1925, the Council approved an estimate
of £1,950 for the purpose.
Plans for the lay-out of the Brand-street area were well advanced at the end of
the year.