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63
REPORT OF THE CHIEF PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTOR
I beg to submit a report for the year ending 31st December,
1958, of the work of the Public Health Inspectors and other
Officers under my control.
The Clean Air Act, 1956 became fully operative during the
year and already there are signs that industry in the Borough is
prepared to co-operate in attaining a cleaner atmosphere.
Positive steps have been taken by some factory owners to this
end and others have schemes in hand. There is also an awareness
amongst householders of their responsibilities in this matter of
cleaner air, evident from the increase in the requests for the
supply of smokeless fuels. It is surprising amongst one's
friends the number you will find using one or other of the
smokeless fuels today, compared say with a very few years ago.
No opportunity is lost by the Department's Officers in fostering
this new outlook, as by partaking in discussions, talking to
local associations, by exhibitions, and by supplying the local
Press with relevant information, they are making the public more
conscious of the advantages of cleaner air, which in its attainment,
may prove to be the greatest contribution to public health
for many decades.
During the year the Council made its first Snoke control
Order, which aims at controlling smoke emissions from dwellings
and other buildings in the area, and plans are in hand for the
making of a second Order. In this way it is hoped that within
the next few years a substantial part of the Borough will have
been dealt with.
The slum clearance and redevelopment programmes have progressed
during the year in that the Ely Road houses have been
demolished and a new block of flats has been erected on the
site; Crescent Mews have been demolished and the site is now
being developed for housing; and the unfit properties in the
Lamberts Place and Bridge Place area will, it is hoped, be
vacated within the next year. The final area in the five years
Programme, the "Newtown" area of Upper Norwood, is now being
surveyed with a view to the unfit properties being represented
for demolition.
The Rent Act, 1957 has produced 653 applications from
tenants for Certificates of Disrepair, the granting of which
Permits an abatement of part of the rent until such time that
the repairs asked for are completed. In but 235 cases was it