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37
Council Housing.
18 bungalows for the aged were erected at Kings Road, South
Harrow, the formal opening taking place on October 4th. There
is an undoubted demand for such accommodation and it is hoped
that further similar habitations will be erected. Looking to the
future, by reason of the altered age distribution of the population
with the weighting of the proportion of the aged brought about by
the falling birth rate, it can be visualized that a much greater proportion
of building activity than has obtained in the past will of
necessity be devoted to this type of habitation.
By the end of the year the development of the Glebe and of
the Berridge Estates with their 46 and 68 houses was well advanced.
Towards the end of the year the Housing Committee were
authorised to proceed with the development of the southern portion
of the land comprised in the Harrow Urban (Rayners Lane) Housing
Confirmation Order, 1936, the proposal being for the erection of
82 houses and 248 flats.
An analysis of the 1,467 applications for council houses showed
that in 578 cases the applicant was insufficiently accommodated or
was experiencing hardship, in 434 he was suitably housed but at
a high rental, while 329 applicants were either without family
and/or living outside the area but working inside.
On September 30th there were 1,049 houses or flats void
(excluding those not previously let).
The principle was agreed to of applying the subsidy in respect
of the houses provided under slum clearance schemes to a pool
to be utilised for reducing the rents both of the houses attracting
the subsidy and houses for the aged.