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Council for the confirmation of the Compulsory Purchase
Orders relating to the East Wickham hutments. This
necessitated a comprehensive survey of the 259 hutments
still existing on these sites. The orders have now been
confirmed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
These hutments represent the last of the clearance
schemes of any size at present envisaged and, although the
obsolescence factor is not a serious one in the Borough, there
still exist, in the older parts of the town, nests of older
property which will need to be reviewed for possible
demolition in the near future. In spite of the real progress
which is being made in the provision of new houses, much
remains still to be done to rehouse those families who are
living in inadequate and unsuitable accommodation.
The disposal of household refuse came under review
in 1952 because of the limited life of the East Wickham
controlled tipping site. There appear to be no alternative
sites in the Borough which could be used when the life of
the present tip is finished and consideration is being given
to the use of sites in neighbouring districts. This may be
inevitable although it is realised that costs would, probably,
rise as a result of increased haulage and the possible need
to re-organise existing transport arrangements.
The Clean Food Campaign made further progress
during the year although there is nothing spectacular to
report. The general public do not, perhaps, sufficiently
recognise that effective official action is only possible with
their co-operation and, although lip-service is often paid to
the need for cleaner food production and handling, there
is considerable public apathy in regard to film shows,
lectures and exhibitions. This is, however, a long term
project in health education and the up-hill nature of the
task does not make it in any way less worthwhile.
The prevention of accidents in the home is likely to
receive considerable attention in the coming year and will
come to be regarded more and more as an integral part of
preventive medicine. It is just as worthy to prevent the
death of a child from burns as from diphtheria and there is,
here, a fruitful field for the endeavours of the Health
Department in collaboration with the voluntary organisations
in the Borough. It is too little realised that, in the
country as a whole, there are 5,000 to 6,000 fatalities every
year from home accidents and that 20 per cent of the deaths
occur in children under the age of five years and about 60
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