View report page

At its meeting on 10th April, 1956, the Public Health Committee recommended the
Council to declare the afore mentioned areas to be clearance areas in accordance with the
provisions of section 25 of the Housing Act, 1936. (now section 42 of the 1957 Act), and
referred to the Housing and Town Planning Committee the question of the steps to be taken
to secure the clearance and re-development of the areas and the re-housing of persons to
be displaced. At its meeting on 12th April. 1956, the Housing and Town Planning Committee
supported the recommendation of the Public Health Committee and recommended the Council to
make a Compulsory Purchase Order to purchase lands in the Clearance Areas and additional
lands considered necessary to secure a site of convenient shape and dimensions for satis
factory development.
The above-mentioned recommendations were confirmed by the Council at its meeting on
26th April, 1956.
Along with my official representation to the Public Health Committee in February.
1956. I submitted a report prepared jointly with the Chief Public Health Inspector on the
main and material conditions existing in the Areas which led us to the conclusion that all
the houses were unfit for habitation or were by reason of their bad arrangement, or the
narrowness or bad arrangement of the streets, dangerous or injurious to the health of the
inhabitants of the areas and that the most satisfactory method of dealing with conditions
in the areas was by demolition of all the buildings. It may be of interest to recall some
of the features included in that joint report and to illustrate certain of these features
with photographs (please refer to photographs between pages 27 28 when reading the outline
report which follows):
Boundaries of the Clearance Areas and Number of Buildings
The four clearance areas are bounded on the south side by Church Road the
south-east side by Junction Road the north-east side by Grange and Goldsmith Roads
and the north-west side by Carlisle Road. Altogether there are 136 dwelling houses
(including 17 dwelling houses and shops) and 3 industrial premises. The total population
of the 136 unfit houses included in the clearance areas consists of 158
families comprising 466 Persons. The average number of persons per house is 3 1.
Statutory overcrowding exists at only 2 houses.
Type and Description of Buildings
(a) DWELLING HOUSES
With the exception of 3 houses in Goldmsith Road which have basement floors
in addition to ground and first floors and 3 single-storied cottages in Junction
Road all the houses in the areas are two-storied with either single or two-storied
back additions. All houses have through ventilation and yard space at rear. Frontages
vary from 9ft. to 35ft. Pour of the houses in the area are detached and 2 are semidetached
and the remainder built in terraces. The construction generally is traditional
- brick walls slated or tiled pitched or central valley gutter roofs
timber floors and joinery work plaster walls and ceilings. Six of the properties
have no forecourts. W. C's are situated externally.
Accommodation varies from 4 to 9 rooms, including sculleries. 4 houses have
bathrooms. Mains water supply is provided over scullery sinks. About 50% of the
houses have no halls or internal passages which means that living rooms are entered
direct from the street or forecourt; staircases rise from living rooms and rooms
are intercommunicating.
Twenty-four houses are occupied by the owners.
(25)