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Unfit Underground Rooms.
Representations were made to the Council in respect of four unfit underground
rooms at three houses and the Council made Closing Orders in respect of each room.
At the end of the year consideration was being given to the closure of unfit underground
rooms at a further seven houses.
Underground Rooms.
There is a number of underground rooms in the Woolwich, Plumstead and
Abbey Wood areas and many of them, although used as dwellings, do not conform
in all respects to the statutory requirements relating to underground rooms and
they cannot, without major alterations, be made to do so. Closure on a large scale
is not, however, practicable in the present circumstances, and a number of owners
have co-operated in making these rooms reasonably fit. The Director of Housing
refers to me for investigation cases relating to the unfitness of basement rooms.
London Slum Clearance Programme, 1951-1955.
During 1951 a Conference was held between representatives of the Metropolitan
Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee and the London County Council, at which a
detailed programme for slum clearance in the London area for the next five years
was discussed.
Resulting therefrom, a three-part programme was evolved. The first five-year
programme consists of areas comprising houses immediately representable, with
a further batch after five years and a third after the tenth year.
For the first five years, the former Minister of Health approved clearance at
the rate of about 3,000 houses a years being the allocation for the whole of the
County area, including clearance to be carried out by the Borough Councils.
The tentative programme, which was referred to each of the Metropolitan
Boroughs for consideration, deals with a total of 10,131 unfit houses, of which
6,686 would be dealt with by the County Council and 3,445 by the 28 Boroughs.
In formulating these figures it has been recognised that, in practice, it is necessary
to deal with some 20 per cent. additional houses, not actually "unfit," in order to
obtain a satisfactory cleared area for redevelopment. This would then bring the
yearly programme approximately into line with the Ministry quota and the total
allocated for the first five years.
There is no direct connection between this slum clearance quota and the new
housing quota, although new houses erected on cleared sites will be regarded as
part of the new housing quota.
The detailed proposals for Woolwich are as set out below and the agency for
the carrying out of the work is indicated in the brackets:—
First year, 1951:—
Warwick Street (W.B.C.) 328 Total 328
Second year, 1952:—
Ropeyard Rails (L.C.C.) 158
John Wilson Street (W.B.C.) 29
Parry Place (W.B.C.) 2
Hull Place (L.C.C.) 18
Jubilee Cottages (W.B.C.) 28
Total 235
Third year, 1953:—
Palmerston Crescent (L.C.C.) 2
Greenlaw Place (W.B.C.) 162
Walpole Place (L.C.C.) 29
Fenwick Street (L.C.C.) 4
Arthur Grove (L.C.C.) 18
Total 215
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