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THE HEALTH OF BARKING
A typical Barking Council housing estate.
in repairs and maintenance which has followed. Another important cause of dilapidation
has been the uneven and phenomenal spread of population, with increased
room density in some towns, whilst in others dwellings have been left empty and
uncared for.
Again, rent restriction, social and necessary as it may be, has left owners only
a minim m amount to spend upon maintenance.
One of the vague concepts of the present time is the establishment of an equal
minimum standard of life for all. This standard of life must inevitably have
relation t the standard of comfort in the home. The coming of municipal houses
for the working classes rang the death-knell of the small, cramped, two-bedroom
house, lacking basic conveniences, built in earlier years.
Today, to lighten the burden of labour by the use of labour-saving devices is
regarded as an essential part of any plan to raise the standard of living.
Our men and women have returned from the forces fully conscious of the
deficiencies in their homes and their relation to them. The Ridley Report of
December, 1937, made the same point, and added : "The change of outlook ....
may well result in a number of old houses being put out of use which will falsify
all previous estimates."
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