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35
REPORT ON THE SANITARY INSPECTION
of the
DISTRICT FOR THE YEAR 1947
By G. A. Webber,
Chief Sanitary Inspector, Beckenham Borough Council.
So far as the work of the Council's Sanitary Inspectors was concerned
with the removal of bad housing conditions, the year 1947
may fairly be described as one of constant endeavour, seriously
hampered by many restrictions.
Tired of the drab and insanitary conditions which they had
suffered patiently during the war, the public greatly increased their
demands on our services; but the control and shortage of materials,
and, to a lesser degree, of labour, the need for obtaining licences and
the always slow moving machinery of our legislation seriously
interfered with our efforts: and our inability in so many instances
speedily to provide the assistance sought—and so often urgently
necessary—produced a sense of frustration which was at all times
exceedingly depressing.
In pre-emergency days, the notification or confirmation of a
nuisance requiring remedy merely entailed the simple procedure of
adding to the printed form of Notice the details of the nuisance,
which could be handed to a builder for immediate attention. The
procedure is now vastly altered. In nearly every case, the notice
has to be accompanied by:—
(a) a blank licence application form, with a suitable endorsement
by the Sanitary Inspector.
(b) a duplicate of the notice, to be attached to the licence
application, when made, and
(c) a letter explaining the purpose of these added enclosures.
If our troubles ended there, we could, perhaps, hardly complain ;
but very frequently the materials for the work demanded were only
obtainable on " permit "—which meant more form filling by the
owner or his agent; nor was this the end, for, having obtained the
licence and the necessary material permits, the owner frequently
found himself unable to find a supplier who had the required materials.
The delays occasioned will be apparent, and complainants frequently
added to one's difficulties by suggesting that insufficient attention was
being paid to their particular matter.
Nevertheless, it is pleasing to be able to report that certain
occupied properties, which had reached such a condition of deterioration
and dilapidation as almost to defy reconditioning, and which
may be said to have formed the worst housing accommodation in
Beckenham, were, in fact, reconditioned as a result of the Council's
implementation of the provisions of the Housing Act, 1936.
We always approach this problem of existing insanitary conditions
whether they be due to war damage, to dilapidation, or to a combination
of both, with the view that the remedy of such nuisances, by
reconditioning, repair or renewal, is one answer to the housing
problem which confronts us to-day. It has to be admitted that the
renovation of house properties does not enable the housing of more