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THE HEALTH OF BARKING
" Prefabs."
With the growing house consciousness of the people, the demand for what
are known as modern conveniences is insistent and peremptory.
The Council has met this demand by providing a house of a high standard of
convenience.
With regard to the obsolescent houses in the district, an estimate was made in
1944, when it was found that of the total dwellings in the Borough, 12,353 were
provided between the two wars, leaving a balance of 6,200 houses which were of
pre-1914 construction. Of the latter 3,400 are without bathrooms.
Every house in the district is provided with separate w.c. accommodation, in
most cases inside the main building, and a separate water supply which is readily
accessible.
A list of premises, which it is proposed should be dealt with in clearance areas
so soon as building conditions permit, has been prepared and is in respect of a total
of 502 properties.
One of the most serious aspects of the housing question, to my mind, is the
fact that more than one family so often must live together in the same house under
conditions denying privacy and independence and perpetually expose the member;
to inevitable friction. The fact that the families are often related by blood or by
marriage is little or no mitigation.
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