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in about another three years and it will then comprise about 25,000 houses and flats,
with a total population of about 125,000.
During the year a site, which was sold to the Church of England authorities in
1928 for a church, was re-conveyed to the Council and a site which was found to be
more suitable for their purpose was sold to them. A further site for a church was
also sold to that body. A site was sold to the Baptist church authorities for a
minister's manse, and a site for a mission hall and possibly a missioner's house was
sold to the London City Mission. Other sites on the estate were sold during the
year for various purposes as follows:—Two sites for a technical school and a
secondary school to the Essex County Council; sites for an elementary school and an
electricity transformer station to the Barking Town Urban District Council; a site for
an employment exchange to the Dagenham Urban District Council; and a site for
a factory to East Ham Woodcrafts, Limited. The site previously sold to the Essex
Territorial Army Association for the extension of their drill hall was enlarged by the
sale also of an adjoining plot of land. Other sites were let on building lease for 99
years for the erection of shops, etc., and for doctors' residences.
A piece of land, about 1½ acres in extent, where formerly there was a sandpit,
was let on lease for 20 years at a nominal rent to the Dagenham Urban District
Council for use as an open space.
In order to straighten an irregular portion of the boundary of the estate an
exchange of lands with the Ilford Corporation was agreed to during the year.
The Council on 26th February, 1929, agreed to undertake the widening and
reconstruction of the portion of Oxlow-lane from Hunters Hall-road to the eastern
boundary of the estate, subject to a contribution of £3,300 from the Dagenham
Urban District Council towards the cost; and on 10th December, 1929, the Council
agreed to reconstruct and widen to 50 feet the portion of Gale-street from Goresbrook-road
to the foot of the bridge approach on the south side of the railway,
subject to a contribution by the Barking Town Urban District Council of £5,575
towards the cost and on condition that, should any Government grant be made in
respect of this work, such grant should be divided between the Council
and the District Council in the proportion of their contributions towards the cost of
the work. In this connection an area of about 1 acre of land was surrendered by
the Council for addition to the public way.
The Council, both directly and through the Minister of Transport, has repeatedly
urged upon the railway companies serving the estate the need for improvement in
railway facilities for Becontree. Automatic signalling introduced on the Metropolitan
District line between Barking and Bow has enabled additional electric trains to
be run to and from London and Barking, but there has so far been little improvement
in the steam train service beyond Barking on the Southend line. The London Midland
and Scottish Railway Bill, 1929, was introduced in order to secure additional powers
to give effect, among other things, to the proposals agreed to by the Company with
the Council in 1928, including the extension of the existing electric service from
Barking to Dagenham, the improvement of the steam train service from Fenchurchstreet
and Broad-street, and the conversion of Gale-street halt to a fully equipped passenger
station. Subject to assurances that the work would be expeditiously carried
out, that the ordinary and workmen's fares to Broad-street would not exceed those
to Fenchurch-street, and that the Company would continue to provide from stations
serving Becontree the best possible service to Fenchurch-street, the Council on 29th
January, 1929, agreed not to oppose that portion of the Bill relating to the repeal
of that section of the Midland Railway (London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Purchase) Act, 1912, which required the Company to prepare a scheme for the
electrification of their line from Fenchurch-street to Southend. These assurances
were given and on 26th February, 1929, the Council agreed to the sale to the Company
of portions of land totalling about 25.7 acres for widening the line through Becontree
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