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referred to on the open page local men carrying out public health duties in recognisable
local surroundings. This exhibit attracted a great deal of attention and from the questions
asked of the staff in attendance and the comments made in the local press it was apparent
that we had succeeded in capturing the interest of a large section of the population in the
wide scope and importance of the services provided by their Local Council. It also paved
the way to a better understanding of the more specialised treatment given to slum clearance,
housing improvements and conversions, clean air. rodent control, and clean food in the re
maining stands.
STAND NO.15 - HOUSING SLUM CLEARANCE PLATES Nos. 4 & 5
Broadly speaking, the work of the Public Health Department in relation to housing is
concerned with the repair, demolition and closure of unfit houses and slum clearance.
Dwelling houses are inspected as a general routine or on complaint and statutory action
taken as appropriate to secure the remedying of defects such as dampness,, general disrepair
leaking roofs etc.
Consequent upon the Government's direction to Local Authorities to take active steps
to review housing conditions in their areas and resume full exercise of their powers and
statutory responsibilities under the Housing Acts in relation to slum clearance (curtailed
during the war and post-war period), the Council instructed its officers to complete the
necessary preparatory work in respect of two areas in the Borough selected for redevelopment.
This stand portrayed briefly Leyton's first-ever slum clearance and redevelopment scheme
the Crescent Road Area. Between May 1955 and January 1956, every house in the Area was
surveyed in detail by Public Health Inspectors to determine the extent to which the houses
were defective in relation to disrepair, stability, dampness, natural lighting, ventilation,
water supply, drainage saintary facilities, and bad arrangement in relation to other build
ings. In February 1956 the Medical Officer of Health submitted to the Council's Public Health
Committee an official representation in respect of four clearance areas, and a report
prepared jointly with the Chief Public Health Inspector on the main and material conditions
existing in the Areas which in their opinion rendered demolition of all houses and other
buildings necessary either by reason of their bad arrangement or the narrowness or bad
arrangement of the streets; or because they were dangerous or injurious to the health of
the inhabitants of the Areas. The mural diagram at the head of the stand, captions, photo
graphs maps and other documents., indicated clearly the various administrative stages of
the scheme before a public local inquiry ordered by the Ministry of Housing and Local
Government was held in the Council Chamber on 8th January 1957. At the time of staging
the exhibition the decision of the Minister of Housing and Local Government had not been
received, but it is now known that the Leyton Housing (Crescent Road Area) Compulsory
Purchase Order 1956 was confirmed without any material modification.
A model prepared by the Borough Engineer and Surveyor, was included, showing the
proposed new layout of the area.
STAND NO.16 HOUSING IMPROVEMENTS AND CONVERSIONS PLATE No.6
Display material in this stand showed how older houses can be made into comfortable
modern homes with the help of Government grants and was therefore of special interest to
anyone owning or renting a soundly buil,£ house which lacked modern amenities such as bath
room, hot water system, internal W.C., etc.
Of the 27,000 odd houses in Leyton many hundreds are more than 65 years old. Some of
these older houses are known to be past saving fit only for demolition but the great
bulk of them are structurally sound and if brought up to modern standards will provide
good homes for many years to come. The Housing Acts 1949/54 provide for money grants to
help owners to modernize such houses by improvement or conversion.
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