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Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Acts;
During the year, 69 applications were received from
occupiers for certificates stating that premises were not in
a reasonable state of repair: 66 were granted and 3 refused.
67 applications were received from owners for revocation
certificates: 35 were granted and 32 refused.
157 visits were made by the Sanitary Inspectors in
connection with these applications.
Shops.
During the year, 383 inspections were made under the
Shops Act, 1950, and 9 notices were served in respect of
sanitary accommodation. The number of premises in the
Borough covered by the provisions of the Act is 2,620.
No applications were received for exemption from complying
with sanitary accommodation requirements.
Smoke Abatement.
During the year a very practical report on air pollution
was submitted by the Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint
Committee to the Beaver Committee of Enquiry on Air Pollution.
Mention is made of the great increase in the number of modern
heating appliances installed in local authorities' housing
estates and in privately-owned houses. These modern grates
are intended to be used with smokeless fuel, but in practice
are operated continuously, night and day, on low quality fuel,
notorious for producing smoke. Moreover, the fires are banked
up at night with coal dust. It is unfortunate that the action
of Borough Councils in providing modern grates should result
in increased smoke nuisance by the failure of the atmosphere
to clear itself at night.
Among recommendations made are that stokers and firemen
should be especially trained and that they should be allowed
to attend courses and lectures in their working hours;
that proof of efficiency should be a condition of a stoker's
employment and that the status of his job should be raised;
that before domestic fuel-burning appliances are installed
they should receive prior approval of the local authority 5 and
that extra fuel storage should be provided to enable tenants
of housing estates to use smokeless fuels.
The Government Committee on National Policy for the Use
of Fuel and Power Resources published a report (the "Ridley
Report") during the year. Booklets published by the National
Smoke Abatement Society containing excerpts of the Report were
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