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59
With the advent of a large new population to the district and
the erection of so many new houses, the time appears to be opportune
for the prohibition of anything but a standard type of structure,
the site to be not within 15 feet distance from any window of the
dwelling house.
The average rent in Barking of the two-bedroomed houses, of
which there are a large number, is 8s. l0d. per week inclusive.
There are in the Abbey Ward several decayed residences, now
let in tenements.
The Council's practice of demanding a reasonable standard of
housing is reflected over the area as a whole and the public now
look for and expect a good type of accommodation.
There is, however, a tendency on the part of some owneroccupiers
to convert what is essentially a self-contained house into
separate apartments on the ground floor and first floor respectively.
This in many instances means sharing closet and washing accommodation,
whilst food storage is provided by means of a temporary
box arrangement. There does not appear to be much objection
to such a practice where the occupying families are small in number,
but there is a potential danger of overcrowding as the families
increase.
(b) Sufficiency of Supply of Houses and Overcrowding.—The
sub-letting by owner-occupiers is a feature the Council should
have in mind when considering housing schemes, particularly as,
owing to the operations of the London County Council and private
builders, the available land now free for development is totally
insufficient for the needs of the existing population.
Applications by residents for houses in the Council's ownership
have recently been sifted, and as a result it has been found that
there remains a total of 1,115 live applications, to which total
additions are still being made.
It will be seen that a programme of 100 new houses per annum
must fail completely to meet so large a need.