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HEALTH REPORT FOR 1947
The Urban District of Coulsdon and Purley was constituted by an
Order of the Local Government Board dated the ist November, 1914,
and came into existence on the 7th April, 1915. It has therefore been
a separate District for just over 32 years.
Situated on the North Downs immediately to the south of Croydon,
it is a well favoured "dormitory" suburb with a very considerable part
of its area as yet undeveloped. Thanks to successful Town Planning
Schemes there is comparatively little dense development, most of the
houses being well spaced, while owing to the Abercrombie Scheme there
is a probability that it will continue to possess very extensive open spaces.
The majority of the residents who are employed work in London
or Croydon, travelling to and fro daily. Locally there are no really
large manufacturing or other industries, most of the residents employed
in the District being connected with building and decorating, with the
provision of food and the other wants of residents, or attached to the
mental hospitals. The amount of unemployment, apart from temporary
unemployment pending transfer, is negligible.
AREA AND POPULATION.
The District has an area of 11,142 acres, these being distributed
among the wards as follows: —
Coulsdon East 2,812
Coulsdon West 1,253
Kenley 1,292
Purley 685
Sanderstead 2,311
Selsdon and Farleigh 1,924
Woodcote 865
This is 2,507 acres more than in 1915, owing to revisions of the
boundaries, the last of which was in 1933.
In 1947 the Register-General estimated that 62,440 persons were
residing in the District, compared with 60,390 in 1946.
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