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from these premises, but registration having been effected they will come under
periodical supervision to ensure that even the milk as used therein is not subjected
to avoidable contamination.
In course of time this class of premises will cease to require special consideration
of this kind. Some will be demolished in the course of improvement and development
schemes, and when changes of proprietorship occur, necessitating a new
application for registration, it is unlikely that such applications will be granted.
Another difficulty has been that of dealing with old-established milk businesses
in buildings which, though sufficient to meet the needs of the past, have not been
capable of the requisite reconstruction to satisfy the more exacting legislative and
public requirements of the present day. Economic hindrances prevent the rehousing
of such concerns in more suitable premises, however willing the proprietors
may be to adopt this course. It is doubtful whether extensive renovation could be
carried out satisfactorily and the business remain in continuous operation. It is
not desirable at the present time to compel traders to expend considerable sums of
money on old buildings. If the powers conferred by the new Act were strictly
enforced in such cases, and the registration terminated, serious financial loss would
ensue.
The attitude of the Sanitary Committee has been to grant a generous period of
time in which the proprietors concerned may make the most suitable arrangements
to meet the requirements.
Owing to the greatly enhanced value of ground space in the City, basements
are extensively used as refreshment rooms, and in connection with the sale of
milk.
Reference was made in my Annual Report for 1921 to the detriments occasioned
by the use of these rooms as workrooms. These are intensified in basement refreshment
rooms, which become overcrowded and ill-ventilated during the busy hours of
the day. However, the quantity of milk sold in each of these is relatively small and
it would be difficult to say that the conditions are so unsatisfactory as to warrant
a termination of registration.
Some basements were found in which considerable quantities of milk were
handled, or other incidental work, connected with out-door retail distribution,
was carried on. This was a very objectionable feature. The rooms, originally
constructed as cellars, had little natural light and were of necessity particularly
liable to the access of gross impurities from the street, at which level the only
ventilating openings were placed. They were entirely unsuited for use in connection
with milk distribution, but by some alteration they might be made suitable to supplement
the facilities required for a shop counter trade. For the reasons already
specified it was found impossible to remove these businesses elsewhere; it therefore
became necessary to decide whether the continued use of these basements could be
permitted and, if so, what requirements must be complied with. I submitted a
report to the Sanitary Committee on 27th Nov., 1923, and after an inspection by
a sub-committee of the premises concerned, the following schedule of minimum
requirements was approved for. all basements used as dairies or in connection with
dairy work:—
(1) The walls should be lined with some impervious material capable of being regularly
washed, if not hosed.
(2) Ceilings should be sound and regularly limewashed.
(3) Floors should be of impervious material without cracks or crevices and capable of being
regularly washed.
(4) Drainage should be by means of a sealed gulley, and the necessity of regular attention to
cleanliness must be impressed upon the occupiers.
(5) Hot water should be available as well as cold.
(6) A sink should be provided for ablution purposes.
(7) All benches and counters should be movable so that they can be taken away from the
walls and every part thoroughly cleansed.
(8) The basement should be used for no other purpose than that of dairying.
(9) Artificial light should be adequate.
(10) Ventilation should be by means of a fan which draws in air from a chosen point, and it is
desirable that such air should be filtered.
When these conditions are satisfactorily complied with registration will be
granted.