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52
HOUSES LET IX LODGINGS.
Bve-laws regulating houses let in lodgings or occupied by
members of more than one family belonging to the working
classes and framed under Section 29 of the Housing, Town
Planning, Etc., Act, 1919, came into force during the year, but
lack of time prevented attention being given to the question of
registering houses suitable for action under these bye-laws, which
would include a large number of the houses in the poorer parts
of the district, wherein definite improvements from a public health
point of view could be effected.
OFFENSIVE TRADES.
The number of offensive trades on the register is 31, and
the businesses indulged in include one tripe boiler, one gut
scraper, two fish skin scrapers, one fat melter, one fat extractor,
16 fish fryers, and 9 dealers in rags and bones.
During the year it was found that a gut scraper and a fish
skin scraper had been for some period carrying on the additional
offensive trades of fat melter and fat extractor respectively without
being registered therefor by the sanitary authority. In the
latter case the premises were the reverse of satisfactory; while
a fish skin scraper, who had never been registered, was similarly
carrying on that trade without any serious attempt at compliance
with the bye-laws regulating the business. After the lapse of
some time it became possible to register the fat melter and fat
extractor, whilst the fish skin scraper under the threat of legal
proceedings left the district.
Fish frying gives rise to considerable nuisance, but, as the
business is mostly carried on during the evening, it has been found
difficult to exercise that amount of supervision necessary to abate
any nuisance which is generally the result of carelessness on the
part of fryers, their premises otherwise conforming to the requirements
of the bye-laws.