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Compulsory Purchase Orders were confirmed, each without modification, in
respect of two Housing Areas at Cromwell Road and Ridge Road, Childs Hill. In the
first case an appreciable housing gain will be possible, 202 units of accommodation
with the necessary environmental amenities replacing 100 mainly substandard properties
with an appreciable element of multi-occupation. The second will enable the Ridge Road
scheme to be completed with a total of 29 dwelling units, the first phase having already
been undertaken during 1970.
All the properties included in the slum clearance programmes for the periods
1966/1970 and 1970/1973 have been, or are currently being, dealt with and no localities
of unfit housing now remain within the Borough. The problem of unfitness is confined to
individual houses or small groups of properties capable of being dealt with as they arise
under Part II of the Housing Act, 1957. Experience shows the annual wastage in this
respect to be between 20 and 25 units.
Improvement of Houses
As a matter of departmental policy, older type houses are inspected and when
they are found to have an acceptable future life but lack essential amenities, information
and advice is proffered to owners in order to encourage them to undertake improvement
schemes with the aid of appropriate grants. In some twenty-five cases favourable response
was received and improvements were undertaken or put in hand.
During the year a total sum of £92,031 was paid in respect of grant aid, made up
of 186 Standard Grants, 66 Discretionary Improvement Grants and 4 Special Grants relating
to houses in multiple occupation. This represented an increase over last year of
approximately 130 per cent in the total amount of financial assistance given, with more
than a 200 per cent increase in approvals of Discretionary Improvement Grants. This
reflected the initial success of the Housing Act, 1969 which, whilst retaining the main
features of the original scheme, sought to give more discretion and greater flexibility to
local authorities in addition to increasing the upper limit of the financial assistance
offered.
In the same period the Borough Treasurer made 263 advances for house purchase,
involving a gross sum of £1,129,520. This was only slightly below the figure for last
year but related to 22 per cent less properties.
Section 19 of the Housing Act 1964 enables the tenant of an individual dwelling
to make representation to the Council to take action to secure the provision of satisfactory
amenities. During the year four such representations were received. In one
instance the representation could not be acted upon because the application fell outside
the provisions of the Act. In two cases discussions commenced regarding improvement
schemes with the owners who showed a willingness to proceed provided grant aid was
available, whilst in the remaining case no firm undertaking had been received from the
owner by the 31st December and the indications were that formal notices would have to
be served. Authority was obtained during the year for the service of formal notices under
Section 20 for the improvement of four units contained in two tenement blocks which had
earlier been the subject of Section 19 representations.
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