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65
In March an application for permission to carry on the business of a fish
frier at 135, Bulwer Road, and another to establish the business of a rag and
bone dealer, were refused.
In April it was decided to take proceedings against a man in Bridport
Road and one in Hertford Road for carrying on the trade of rag, bone and skin
dealers. The former was ultimately fined 5/-, which was followed up by his
disappearance from the district.
In July the fried fish shop at 121, Fore Street was reported by the Inspector
of Nuisances to have become a nuisance, and a notice was served upon the
occupier.
In October, the Public Health Committee recommended that permission
be given to establish two fried fish shops, one at the market place in Silver
Street, and one in Argyle Road; each applicant to sign an undertaking to cease
carrying on the business, should it become a nuisance.
I am aware that three outward and visible signs of a poor district in
London are an abundance of public houses, pawn-shops and fried fish shops;
but they are a class of necessary evils which I am not prepared to encourage.
A fried fish shop, unless carried on under most cleanly conditions and with the
most modern apparatus, can easily become a centre for distributing most
offensive odours throughout the neighbourhood; therefore, I think that my
Council should decline to allow the establishment of fried fish shops, until they
have issued stringent bye-laws on the trade, and are prepared to insist upon
their observance.
It is equally necessary to take similar steps with reference to rag, bone and
skin dealers.
On May 8th, 1912, the Local Government Board confirmed the resolution
of the Council of February 27th, declaring the following to be offensive trades,
which could not in future be established in Edmonton without the consent in
writing of the Council, viz., blood drier, fat melter or fat extractor, tanner,
leather dresser, glue maker, size maker, fish skin dresser, fish curer, manufacturer
of manure from any putrescible animal or vegetable matter, fish frier
and gut scraper. (See my annual reports for 1912 and 1913.)
This should have been followed by the enacting of bye-laws with reference
to all the above offensive trades, but owing to the utter lack of encouragement
from the Local Government Board, only those for gutscrapers were completed.