View report page

6
The open spaces available to the public for recreation have
been considerably increased; the Abbey field, 4 acres in extent,
was opened early in the year, whilst the Council decided to include
in the Park the 35 acres of the land at present used for agricultural
purposes. This should help towards the amenities of town
life. The prospective purchase of a piece of ground in the Eastbury
Estate, will fulfil a need when the town develops in that
direction, and will preserve a good example of sixteenth century
architecture.
The duty of housing the population has received practical
attention, 52 houses having been erected in Boundary and Perth
Roads, and 26 in Keith Road being in course of erection. The
fact that out of over 6,000 houses within the district, only 52 are
unoccupied, and these apparently are vacant not because a tenant
at a rental cannot be found, but because they are for sale only,
deserves serious consideration. I attribute the fall in the number
of marriages from 295 to 222, or from 9.1 to 6.4 per 1,000 of population,
to the fact that the parties concerned are unable to find
suitable accommodation. The scheme for the continuation of
St. Paul's Road, and for the rehousing of the people disturbed
in Abbey Road and Heath Street, has been considerably advanced,
and should be completed in the present year.
The provision of a convenience for females has not yet
materialized, and it is to be hoped that the objections to the site
that naturally suggests itself will be removed.
The paving of Ripple, portions of Longbridge Road, East
Street, and Fanshawe Avenue with soft wood blocks, and the
laying of tar slag macadam in Cambridge Road, Linton Road,
and the upper end of Ripple Road should do much to lessen the
amount of dust consequent upon fast vehicular traffic.
The administrative block at your Isolation Hospital was completed
during the year and occupied on the 23rd December. It