London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hayes and Harlington 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hayes]
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PART II - AIR POLLUTION
(a) Smoke Control Areas.
The ten-year programme to bring the whole of the Urban District under Smoke Control continued according to schedule and by the end of the year the following progress had been made:-
| No. of Smoke Control Orders | Acres | No. of Dwellings Involved | Other Buildings Involved | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Authority | Private | ||||
| In operation | 21 | 4,065 | 2, 118 | 10,512 | 738 |
| Confirmed but not yet in operation | 1 | 76 | 294 | 576 | 22 |
| Submitted for confirmation | 1 | 180 | 496 | 785 | 119 |
| Preparatory work in progress | 1 | 202 | 146 | 1,007 | 35 |
| Totals | 24 | 4,523 | 3,054 | 12,880 | 914 |
These areas account for 88% of the area of the district
and 76% of the dwellings of the district.
Just before the end of the year the Government White Paper
on Domestic Fuel Supplies and the Clean Air Policy and the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government Circular 69/63 on the
same subjects were issued. The former made it clear that due
to important technological changes in the gas industry the
expected increase in production of gas coke would not take place
and future Smoke Control Areas must rely on other fuels such as
hard coke, gas, off-peak electricity and oil. The latter document
made provision for revised grant arrangements, enabling
Local Authorities to allow expenditure on approved types of
gas, oil and electric heaters and also on closed or openable
stoves and under-floor draught grates for grant purposes. These
appliances each offer at least one of the following advantages
to off-set against their higher cost i.e. lower emission of
sulphur, cheaper heat, greater comfort in the home, additional
convenience, labour saving operation, elimination of delivery
and storage difficulties.
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