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III. SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES
The District Public Health Inspectors served 2,070 Notices during
the year, and in 61 cases legal proceedings were employed to enforce
compliance therewith.
At the end of the year, the Department was still three below the
establishment of district Inspectors.
Aspects of the work of the Inspectors not covered in the following
paragraphs will be found in the statistical appendix, pages 55 to 61.
From 1st March, the service of intimation notices for nuisances
under the Public Health (London) Act and informal notices generally
under other Acts and Byelaws was discontinued.
Certificates of Disrepair (Rent Act. 1957).
During the year, 21 applications were received from tenants for
Certificates of Disrepair under the Rent Act, 1957. The Council
exercised its right under Paragraph 5 of the First Schedule of the
Act in refusing to accept undertakings from landlords in respect of
three premises. It is interesting to note that during the first six
months of operation of the Act in 1957, no less than 490 applications
were received for certificates of disrepair.
Clean Air.
The Borough's second Smoke Control Order made under the Clean Air
Act, 1956, was confirmed by the Minister of Housing & Local Government
in June and com®into operation on 22nd January, 1962. At the end of
the year the Minister 1s confirmation of Area No.3 was awaited.
Area No.2 is one of 81 acres and comprises 1,734 dwellings and
191 commercial, industrial and other premises. A survey of the area
revealed that the number of appliances in dwellings which were in
regular use, and which required replacement or adaptation, was 980.
Once again it is regretted that at the date of coming into operation
of the Order, applications for grant towards conversions received
and approved amounted to less than 20 per cent of the total number of
appliances requiring conversion. The owners and occupiers of dwellings
were apathetic in spite of the pains taken by the Department's
officers to ensure that they had ample notice of the Council's intention
to include their premises in a smoke control area and to make
them fully aware of their duties and responsibilities. However, the
delay in having conversions carried out is not entirely due to owners
and tenants, who have difficulty in getting builders and gas fitters to
give estimates and carry out the work within a reasonable time.
When a Smoke Control Order is made posters are displayed throughout
the area and an explanatory letter and booklets sent to all the occupiers
of dwellings in the area, who are also visited by the Smoke Inspector
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