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cesspool emptying. The latter provides for the first 12 loads a year
being removed at 7/6d. a load from any private dwelling (15/- for
each subsequent load) and at £1.5.0 a load from any commercial
premises.
Part of the house refuse is incinerated at the Kenley Disposal
Plant and part is tipped and covered with soil. The cesspool contents
are emptied into the sewers.
SMOKE ABATEMENT.
This District is fortunate in not having been troubled by
'smog' while problems associated with smoke abatement have been
minor in character. The chimneys of the small local factories have
given very little trouble but doubtless they, and particularly our
domestic chimneys contribute to some extent to other Districts'
worries. All who are interested in the preservation of health and
particularly those large numbers of our residents who work in
London, will have welcomed the Clean Air Act as a contribution
towards ameliorating this national problem.
RIVERS AND STREAMS.
The clearance of the local watercourses is also a minor
matter, but surface water flooding associated with heavy rainfall
and the increasing area of impervious road surfaces, has received
and is still receiving attention. The policy is to direct the maximum
amount of rainwater into the chalk subsoil for our future benefit
and normally the existing arrangements are satisfactory.
CAMPING SITES.
These have to be supervised to avoid contamination of the
water supply and other nuisances arising. The permanent Boy
Scouts' Camp at Selsdon is conducted satisfactorily and the
Caravan Camp Site near Hooley has produced no major public
health problems.
The Planning permission for the latter which was granted
by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government on appeal in
1953, expired in November, but before that date the owners of the
Camp applied for permission to continue its use for a further 15
years with an increase in the permitted number of caravans from
140 to 250. The Council refused permission, considering that the
development infringed the Green Belt, but the Minister, on appeal,
recognising the unsuitability of the site granted a final extension
of 3 years for a maximum of 140 caravans, subject to certain
conditions. At the time of the appeal 199 caravans were on the
site and the Council has since taken steps towards reducing this
number.
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