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PUBLIC CLEANSING.
The collection of refuse was continued on a weekly basis
throughout the year, and the charges for trade refuse collection
and for cesspool emptying remained unchanged.
SMOKE ABATEMENT.
The chimneys of the small factories in the District give little
trouble and no serious nuisance was recorded during the year.
RIVERS AND STREAMS.
From time to time inspections are made of the watercourses
in the District, and they have been cleared whenever necessary.
No particular difficulty has arisen in regard thereto.
CAMPING SITES.
The Boy Scouts' camping site at Featherbed Lane continues
to be used, and is conducted in a very satisfactory manner.
The action under Section 57 of the Surrey County Council
Act, 1931, as amended, which was taken by the local Council in
1951 to obtain prohibition orders in respect of certain areas in the
District has continued to prove effective in preventing nuisance
arising from gipsy encampments.
During the year, an unauthorised camp site for trailer
caravans for residential and occasional use established on land at
Dean Lane, Merstham, adjoining Alderstead Heath, was the subject
of an appeal by the owner against the refusal of the Council,
acting on behalf of Surrey County Council, to permit the use of
the land for that purpose under the provisions of the Town and
Country Planning Act, 1947.
The Minister of Housing and Local Government, in his
decision on the appeal, expressed his agreement with the Council
that this type of development is out of place in the Metropolitan
Green Belt, and he was not prepared to grant a permission which
would perpetuate a residential colony in the heart of a downland
area which should be kept for agricultural or recreational purposes.
In view of special circumstances affecting the site, however,
the Minister decided to allow the appeal to the extent that permission
is granted for the use of the land as a caravan camp for
residential and occasional use for a period of three years from
November, 1953, "subject to the following conditions:-
(1) The use shall be discontinued and the caravans removed
at the expiration of the permitted period;
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