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meeting being called to discuss the problem. The meeting was held under the chairmanship
of Councillor P.W.Marshall (Chairman of the Public Health Committee) in the Council
Chamber, and was attended by members of the Public Health Committee, representatives of
the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Alkali Inspectorate, North Thames Gas
Board Medical Officer of Health and Chief Public Health Inspector. There was also
present Mr.E.W.Sorensen, the local M.P. The Council's case was presented by the Town
Clerk the Board's Officers were informed of the Council's grave concern at the continuance
of the serious nuisances emanating from their Works at Lea Bridge and of the
Council's determination that these nuisances should cease. They emphasized that although
the Council recognized that the Board had a statutory duty to provide an adequate gas
supply the Corporation's duty as a Public Health Authority was paramount. If the Board
in the fulfilment of their duty interfered to an unreasonable degree, and there was
ample evidence that they were in fact interfering, with the normal life of the inhabitants
of the area, then the Council would not hesitate to invoke the aid of the Courts.
The Officers of the Board acknowledged that consequent upon the introduction of a new
form of coke manufactured at Lea Bridge Works in October 1956 there had been cause for
complaint. They were aware that those complaints continued and conceded that to a degree
they had been justified, but they claimed that they were doing everything possible to
solve the problem. Works costing over £111,000 had been carried out since October 1956,
as part of a planned programme of measures to reduce the amount of dust emitted,
including the installation of new coke handling plant in August 1958, which the Board
claimed had already effected a considerable improvement. Further works costing about
£50,000 were to be carried out during the next twelve months, and the Board felt that
by the end of this time the major sources of any dust emission would have been dealt
with.
A full report of the proceedings of this joint meeting was circulated to all
members of the Council and the local Press, and the Chief Public Health Inspector was
requested to keep the matter under close observation and to participate with the Board's
Technical Officers in carrying out further tests to ascertain the amount and source of
dust deposited in the vicinity of the Works. Accordingly Technical Officers of the Board
were invited to attend a meeting held at the Public Health Offices on 10th December, 1958.
There were also present representatives of the Alkali Inspectorate and the Department of
Scientific and Industrial Research.
The Board's Group Engineer was reminded of the Board's agreement to co-operate with
the Council's Officers in carrying out a special survey to measure the amount of dust
and grit deposited in Lea Bridge Area; such survey to be consistent with a scientific
interpretation of the results. In reply the Board's representative said that he could
speak with full authority of the Board and gave an assurance that they were anxious to
co- operate fully in this and every respect. The general problem of grit and dust emission
from the Works was discussed in all its aspects and reference was made to a previous
discussion the Council's Technical Officers had had with the Department of Scientific
and Industrial Research in relation to scientific means of measurement of grit and dust
generally and in particular to the siting of British standard deposit gauges and the
analysis of the material collected therefrom. On the question of analytic examination
the representative of the Board said he was prepared to accept the Public Analyst's
Certificate as to the amount of soluble and insoluble matter but he thought it desirable
that in addition the deposits should be examined microscopically so that an estimate
of the proportion of collected grit and dust which could be attributed to various sources
of pollution in the area, apart from the Gas Works, could be determined. After a full
discussion on this and other matters it was finally agreed that:-
(i) The North Thames Gas Board would be prepared to erect a
temporary staging of tubular scaffolding to support two
British standard deposit gauges some 10ft. above the
ground in the garden at the rear of one of the houses
in Clementina Road. The staging would be suitably protected
to prevent the possibility of the gauges being
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