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CLEARANCE AREAS.
Ten clearance areas, as apart from individual unfit houses, were
scheduled over three years ago, and one is now in the happy position of
saying that Ministerial Enquiries have been made and Demolition Orders
confirmed.
These clearance areas—two of which embraced only two houses each—
involved 59 houses, with 250 occupants, and 60 houses will be required for
dispossessed families.
The enquiry regarding Areas Nos. 1 and 5 was held on September
28th, and the confirmation was dated December 5th; with regard to the
other areas, the corresponding dates were respectively November 14th and
January 23rd, 1934.
Suitable houses are being built on the Council's Woolmer Road
Estate for re-housing, and at the time of writing some of these are
approaching completion.
Practically all these houses were unsuitable for human occupation, due
to faulty building in the first instance, such as absence of damp-proof
course, floors laid on the earth, and want of ventilation under the floors.
In addition, the brickwork becomes porous, roof-timbers give way, roofs
and ceilings sag, and the house is permanently damp; in a few the bad
arrangement of the houses, crowded state, etc., were partly responsible
for the condemnation.
At the enquiries there were objectors, but it is gratifying to note
that the opinion of the Council, namely, that these houses could not be
made fit for human occupation, was upheld, as stated previously.
It is probable, as time goes along, that individual houses will be met
with which cannot be made fit at a reasonable sum, and which will be
brought to the notice of the Council for demolition, but there are no
blocks of houses known to the Department which can be treated as
clearance areas.
It is unfortunate that the term "Slum Clearance" is associated with
the Act of 1930, dealing with clearance areas, for the property dealt
with cannot fairly be classed as such, accepting the usual connotation
of that term.
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