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15
SANITARY CONDITIONS.
HOUSING
Undoubtedly the housing position in this District
became worse during the year. Preceding years had seen graduallyaccumulating
arrears of repairs, the requisitioning of a very
appreciable proportion of the houses and their deterioration
during military or other occupancy, and above all increasing
congestion owing to the diminishing number of tenable houses in
the London area. Added to all this were the effects of the
flying bombs, chiefly during the third quarter of 1944, when a
further 9,000 houses in this District were damaged and over 100
demolished. Altogether nearly 300 houses had to be or were
demolished as a result of enemy action during the war. With
all the demands on manpower and materials it has become progressively
less possible to obtain the necessary reconditioning
of property and rehousing. By the end of 1944, thanks to the
importation and mobilisation of labour, most houses were weather
proof but the majority needed further extensive repairs, etc.
Years of hard work lie ahead to make good these arrears.
Meanwhile the following are the official statistics required
by the Ministry of Health for 1944:-
The total number cf houses inspected during the
year under the Public Health or Housing Acts was 317, the number
of inspections for this purpose being 342. No houses were
found by the Public Health Department to be in a state so
dangerous or injurious to health as to be unfit for human
habitation but 259 were found not to be in all respects
reasonably fit for human habitation. As a result of informal
action 206 were rendered fit.
Proceedings under Sections 9, 10 and 16 of the
Housing Act 1936 led to the service of 3 notices and as a result
of such notices 5 houses v/ere rendered fit by the owners during
the year. A further 14 notices served under the Public Health
Acts resulted in 26 houses having their defects remedied by the
owners and 1 by the Local authority in default of the owners.
No proceedings under Sections 11, 12 or 13 of
the Housing Act, 1936, were taken.
Three new cases of overcrowding were reported
during the year and three cases were relieved, 22 persons being
involved. At the end of the year 2 dwellings remained overcrowded,
as judged by the standard of the Housing Act, 2
families and 14 persons being concerned. There is in addition,
of course, a considerable amount of undesirable crowding in
some parts of the District owing to the migration of families
due to war conditions, while it is anticipated that
representation under the Housing Act 1936, Section 11, will have
to be made in respect of some 50 houses as soon as the housing
situation makes this course advisable.
WATER SUPPLY.
No alteration in the water supply was made
during the year. The East Surrey Water supply and that of the
Sutton Water Company were each examined chemically three times
and bacteriologically four times as a routine measure, and
three times bacteriologically on account of damage to mains
through enemy action. All the samples were taken in course of
delivery and there Was no evidence of contamination to justify
examination by the Local Authority of the raw water. All the
reports on routine samples v/ere satisfactory and only one repeat
sample after bomb damage was required. Pour samples from the
reserve supplies in storage tanks in the Emergency Feeding
Centres were also submitted for bacteriological examination and
these showed this 0water to be fit for human consumption.
Both Companies continued their practice of
maintaining a fairly high percentage of free chlorine and very
careful measured were taken to prevent infection resulting from
injury to mains.