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67
SLUM CLEARANCE.
During the year the remaining five houses on the Clearance
Area, Nos. 1-12 School Cottages, Church Road, Footscray, were
demolished, and all remaining tenants rehoused. Demolition of
Nos. 3-18 Garden Place and 19-23 Garden Cottages, Cray Road,
Footscray, was also completed by the removal of the final nine
properties, and the remaining tenants rehoused by the Council.
The seven tenants from the four Individually Unfit houses,
13-16 (inclusive) Albert Road, Mottingham, were rehoused, but
demolition had not commenced.
No new areas were instituted in 1962, but preparations are in
hand, in connection with two small groups comprising 11 properties.
IMPROVEMENT GRANTS
79 applications for Improvement Grants were received during
the year as compared with 86 in 1961. 52 grants were made.
Details are as follow :—
Discretionary Standard
Grants Grants
1. Total applications received 43 36
2. Schemes approved:
(a) improvements 33 34
(b) conversions 4
Amount involved in item 2 (a) £8,375 £4,165
(b) £2,488
3. Grants made 30 22
4. Houses involved:
(a) owner occupied 27 19
(b) rentedthe provision of bathroom and internal W.C.s and
the installation of hot water systems.
The Improvement Grant Scheme is designed to provide
modern amenities in the many houses which, although structurally
sound, lack facilities such as bathrooms and food stores. The
Government is concerned with the slow progress being made. This
is borne out by the fact that although there are over 2,000 houses
of this type in the area, applications have been received in respect
of about 600 and grants made for less than 350. Applications in
respect of rented properties are particularly few. Generally speaking,
these houses lie in half a dozen pockets throughout the district.
The Government called for more vigorous action to secure improvement
of this significant part of the nation's houses, and it was
decided that a survey be made of these groups of dwellings to