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74
The general state of housing in the Borough was fully
reported on in the Annual Report for 1925, and the conditions
outlined there are substantially the same now.
The housing shortage has not yet been overtaken. The
number of houses erected in 1926 totalled 373, 170 being
erected by the Borough Council and 203 by private enterprise.
In the period 1901-10, 453 new houses were completed
annually, and in the next ten years 533. Overcrowding is
still observed, due, in a fair number of cases, to the economic
conditions which are associated with large families and
limited means, and in some cases to the regard of parents
for their married children who were sheltered temporarily in
their family home. The arrival of a young family makes the
housing conditions worse, and the difficulty of finding accommodation
later on becomes very nearly insuperable owing to
the prevalence of a rooted objection to let apartments or
houses to families with young children.
The general standard of housing in Woolwich is good,
and such difficulties as are discovered as a result of inspection
are usually the type that occur in working-class dwellings.
The hutments continue to be used as permanent homes, but
as time progresses these require more and more attention to
maintain them in a habitable condition. They are not suitable
for permanent dwellings, and the general standard of
housing in the Borough can never be regarded as on a really
satisfactory basis until they are substituted by houses. They
were erected as a temporary expedient, as a war measure,
and have outlived this purpose.
A small number of Woolwich residents have been allotted
houses on the London County Council's estates outside the
Borough, and possibly the diminution of work in the Royal
Arsenal with the consequent reduction in personnel has led to
men leaving this area for other localities where work can be
found. The erection of the Council's houses at Eltham has
meant the transfer of persons from more overcrowded portions
in the Borough. It is early to feel these effects, but,
after making all allowances, the housing situation in
Woolwich can be summed up in four words—more houses
•are required.