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Included in the dwellings completed by the Borough Council is a group of 17
dwellings at Heavitree Road, Plumstead, S.E.I8, erected specifically for elderly
persons, this being the first scheme of this character in Woolwich.
In addition to the dwellings completed, at the end of the year the Borough
Council had schemes in hand for the erection of a further 243 dwellings.
During the year further progress was made in the St. Mary's Comprehensive
Development Area, and in the clearing of the wooden hutments at Abbey Wood
which were erected during the 1914/1918 war.
In the St. Mary's Area, some 162 families had been rehoused and by the end of
the year 24 flats had been erected on the west side of Rectory Place, six houses and
18 flats in St. Mary's Street, and a further scheme of 49 dwellings was in progress on
the east side of Rectory Place where some 24 had been occupied.
In the Abbey Wood area there were originally 101 occupied hutments, of which
63 had been cleared by the 31st December, 1954, the tenants being rehoused in new
dwellings erected on the Bostall Estate in Bevan Road and Bostall Lane.
At the 31st December, 1954, there were 8,826 tenancies in property owned or
controlled by the Council, of which 821 were in requisitioned property.
There were 4,291 applications on the Housing Register compared with 4,642 at
the end of December, 1953.
I am indebted to the Director of Housing for the above information with
reference to the Borough Council's housing progress during 1954.
HEALTH EDUCATION
Film Programmes and Informal Talks.
The Department's Health Education unit was again very busy during 1954,
and the total number of visits to local organisations was slightly higher than the
previous year. Altogether 102 film programmes and 14 talks were presented.
Attendances are markedly increasing, probably due to the fact that old people's
organisations are being visited more frequently than in previous years and these
meetings invariably attract large audiences.
The subjects dealt with during these sessions covered various aspects of the
work of the Borough Council, and of course, particularly in relation to Public
Health. During the year two subjects, " Home Safety " and "Atmospheric Pollution
" were given special emphasis, and three film strips dealing with " Home Safety "
were purchased for showing locally. In many instances the talks and films
stimulated discussion.
A sound film produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
was shown on a number of occasions, and after the showing of the film audiences
were invited to ask questions and enter into discussion. Women's audiences were
particularly interested in the subject of " Home Safety."
A large number of photographs of local health services have been collected and
a series of slides prepared by the Department for use in illustrating lectures and
talks given to local organisations on the work of the Borough Council.
Smoke Abatement.
In connection with the Council's decision during 1954 to set up a " Smokeless
Area " in the St. Mary's area of the Borough (details of which are given elsewhere in
the Report), the Health Education unit was used to help make people more smoke
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