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action to deal with the housing conditions which may be brought
to light thereby. If, for example, you carry out an overcrowding
survey and from the results, formulate proposals, you must be
reasonably assured that the problem with which you are finally going
to deal, substantially resembles the problem which has been
presented as an outcome of that survey—hence the need for ensuring
that population movements are normal before attempting to
embark on plans largely governed by this factor.
Temporary Dwellings.
We have naturally on occasion had to deal with various visitations
from persons of the gipsy class passing through the district.
Whilst they generally choose a rural spot in which to camp, aside
altogether from such considerations as sanitary arrangements, it is
often found that the site of their camp is left in a most unsatisfactory
condition and we shall therefore continue our policy of ensuring
that their stay within our boundaries is of minimum duration.
In the course of our routine inspection of the area and on any particular
information, every effort is made to discourage settling of
this type and I think the circumstances reflect a considerable success
in this direction.
The present housing shortage seems undoubtedly to have
emphasised the relative attractions of living in a caravan until
fortune favours the housing application which has often been submitted.
Frequent permission may be sought for caravan dwellings
of this type to be sited in, for example, the garden of a house, the
amenities of which would be made available to the caravan dwellers.
Very exceptionally, a case may be made out for permitting accommodation
of this type, but in general it does not add to the amenity
of the neighbourhood and depends for suitability on factors over
which we have very little control, and which may well alter as time
goes on. Although at the outset it may be designed for occupation
by relatives our review of housing applications proves all too clearly
that few factors can be more potent in their disruptive effect on
family good fellowship than housing, and whilst superficially there
may appear a certain amount of justification for applications of this
type the potentialities of difficulty are always very considerable.
Apart from purely holiday provision which comes within a somewhat
different category, as houses become more freely available, so
the temptation to seek authority for accommodation of this kind
will lessen.
Re-housing: Medical Aspects.
During the year some 425 applications for Council houses were
referred to me for opinion on the degree of medical priority which
should be accorded. A vast majority of the applicants of this type
do not seem to realise that the provision of alternative accommodation
necessarily depends upon a multiplicity of considerations of
which the medical aspect in general merely forms part and consequently
my recommendation is not always synonymous with
complete satisfaction for the applicant.