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17
Protective Helmets.
The Motor Cycles (Protective Helmets) Regulations, 1963, came into operation on the 18th
November, 1963. These Regulations amend and consolidate previous legislation and prescribe the
type of helmet which may be sold or hired to motor-cyclists. The sale or hire of a helmet not conforming
with the Standard constitutes an offence under the Road Traffic Act, 1960.
No sub-standard helmets were found at the five premises concerned in the Borough.
Public Conveniences.
There are in the Borough ten conveniences and three urinals for men and seven conveniences for
women, a full list of which appears in Table 16, page 36. The hours of opening are from 7.40 a.m.
until 10.0 p.m. except at Oxford Circus where the conveniences are normally open until 11.0 p.m. and
until midnight during the Christmas shopping season, when large numbers of people come to see the
Oxford Street and Regent Street illuminations.
Other than at Violet Hill public gardens and the two urinals which are cleansed by a "flusher"
who visits them at least twice daily, all conveniences have attendants. They work on a two-cycle
shift system and an extra man and woman are employed on the morning shift at Oxford Circus so that
if necessary they can be called upon for emergency duty elsewhere. The usual supervision was
exercised over the conveniences and urinals, and the free washing scheme with paper towels and liquid
soap, now well-established over the last 16 years, continued to be widely appreciated. The penny
charge for the use of water-closets was abolished from the 1st April, 1964, thus providing a completely
" free " service. Staff problems again caused concern, with shortages occurring during staff sickness
and holiday periods, necessitating some of the smaller conveniences being left unattended for short
periods. Fortunately, incidents of vandalism were few but minor damage to fittings, etc., occurred at
the unattended Violet Hill Gardens convenience.
Public Cleansing and Salvage.
The Director of Public Cleansing has kindly provided the following information:—
" The refuse and salvage collected during 1964 were: house and trade refuse, 36,101 tons; street
sweepings, market refuse and gully sludge, 2,254 tons; salvaged materials, 2,287 tons. An income of
£15,813 was obtained from the sale of salvaged materials. In addition, £2,101 was received for the
removal of trade and extra refuse and the cleansing of petrol interceptors, etc.
A minimum twice weekly refuse collection was maintained throughout the year, and about a
quarter of all premises in the Borough received a thrice weekly clearance. A more frequent collection
was made at premises where this is necessary, such as hospitals, restaurants, hotels and blocks of
flats. In a section of the eastern part of the Borough where an evening and night collection service
was introduced last year, refuse was collected five times per week.
The dustless refuse collection service has been further extended, and the whole of the St. John's
Wood area is now covered by the lightweight dustless bin system, together with part of the area
between Marylebone Road and St. John's Wood Road. The latter area will be fully covered when
a further 6,000 bins on order are available.
In conjunction with Paddington and Westminster, the methods of refuse storage and collection
at large blocks of flats, and other premises with a high output of refuse, were reviewed. Owing to the
rapid increase in the number of such premises in all three areas, the amount of refuse collected from
buildings of this type forms a high proportion of the total quantity collected, and alternative methods
were investigated to replace the present methods of Paladin container storage and trailer exchange,
which are not the most suitable or economical systems for future development.
It was therefore decided that the three Councils should jointly purchase and install large capacity
containers at suitable premises in their boroughs. A 'Dumpster' unit, comprising a special vehicle
and sufficient 8 cu. yd. containers for a week's work, was purchased and put into service in October.
Containers were installed at four premises in St. Marylebone, and the system is working satisfactorily.
During the year, an additional 'Paladin' type container vehicle was purchased to augment
the existing fleet. This was necessary owing to the considerable increase in the number of Paladin
refuse containers installed at premises in the Borough, caused by new property development and
an increasing volume of refuse.
For the collection of street market and trade refuse, a new side loading vehicle was purchased,
to replace an old vehicle of similar type."
Refuse Storage Accommodation.
Section 24 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1959, requires, inter alia, that new
buildings, or buildings substantially altered or adapted, shall be provided with refuse storage accommodation
approved by the Borough Council. The Department is concerned to ensure that suitable