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103
Housing Consolidated Regulations.
As explained in previous reports, it has been the policy in this Borough
to deal with housing defects under the Public Health (London) Act to the
exclusion of action under the Housing Acts. Further, the opinion has been
expressed that while an immense amount of useful work has been accomplished
by this means, this procedure does not make it possible to recondition
those houses, of which there are a large number, that are neither ripe for
demolition on the one hand, nor to be regarded as in all respects fit for
human habitation on the other.
This matter has engaged the careful consideration of the Housing Committee,
and in November a report was prepared by the writer which was still
under consideration at the end of the year.
Slum Clearance (Ministry of Health Circular 1331).
This important circular, which was issued in April, called upon Local
Authorities to prepare and adopt a programme, the components of which
should be: —
(1) A list of the areas in which clearance is necessary, with information of
the number of houses to be demolished in each, and of the number of
their inhabitants;
(2) A list of the areas in which improvement by way of reconditioning or
otherwise is necessary, with information as in (1) above;
(3) A time-table for the initiation, progress and completion of action to
secure clearance or improvement, as the case may be, of all these areas;
and
(4) A time-table of re-housing co-ordinated with the displacements contemplated
by the time-table of clearance operations;
and to make an immediate begihning with the programme by the declaration
as clearance or improvement areas of such areas as could be immediately dealt
with, and to make the necessary orders.
Upon receipt of this circular, authority was given to engage the services
of a temporary Sanitary Inspector, and with the guidance obtained from
existing records a rapid survey of the Borough was made. As a result, a
list comprising some 3,000 houses, included in some 33 areas, and with a
population of approximately 20,000 was submitted to the Council at its
meeting in June with the recommendation that the houses in question be
included in the Slum Clearance Scheme for demolition. This recommendation
was approved by the Council and referred to the London County Council
as the authority responsible for submitting to the Minister a Slum Clearance
Scheme for the whole of London.