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engines, and vessels; and also to Crown premises (subject to
representations being made by the local authority to the responsible
Minister).
The procedure for making and bringing into operation a Smoke
Control Order consists of four separate stages (l) submission to the
Minister of a provisional plan, with a preliminary estimate of the
cost and fuel requirements; (2) following approval in principle by
the Minister a detailed survey and collation of the requirements and
cost of adaptations to private houses, etc.; (3) the making of the
Order by the local authority and submission of the Order to the
Minister for confirmation; (4) action to bring the confirmed Order
into operation. The operative date of the Order cannot be earlier
than six months from the Minister's confirmation. Baring this time
the necessary adaptations will be carried out. The Order would not
come into operation during the winter months.
Section 12: Adaptations of fireplaces; This section provides
that if the owner or occupier of a private dwelling which is in a
Smoke Control Area has to incur expenditure in the conversion of
appliances, the local authority shall repay him at least seven-tenths
of the expenditure. This payment is dependent upon the work being
done to the satisfaction of the authority and that it is done either
after the confirmation of the Order, but before its coming into
operation, or is reasonably incurred as a result of a notice served
by the local authority requiring it to be done.
Section 13: This Section gives the Minister power to make a
contribution towards the expenses incurred by a local authority
under Section 12, and also where the authority carries out conversions
to its own houses. In each case the Exchequer contribution is the
same, namely 40 per cent. of the cost of the approved works of
adaptation. The minimum local authority contribution in the case of
privately owned houses is, therefore, 30 per cent., the owner or
occupier bearing the remaining 30 per cent.; and in the case of
Council-owned dwellings, the local authority is left to bear 60 per
cent. of the cost, part of which (but not exceeding 30 per cent.)
may be passed on to the tenants by way of rent.
PUBLIC BATHS AND WASHHOUSES
The Council has four bathing establishments in the Borough. A
full description of this service, which includes swimming baths,
slipper baths, Turkish Baths, public laundry and the use of the
premises for social and sporting activities during the winter months,
was included in one of my previous Annual Reports.
During the year improvements were made in the Public Laundry
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