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The following is a summary of cases added to the register and/or
rehoused during the year:—
Overcrowded 1st January, 1946 141
New cases 486
Rehoused in Council Houses 74
Rehoused in requisitioned property 37
Found own accommodation 24
Adjustment where two cases of overcrowding abated
by the movement of one family 4
Adjustment where crowding has been reduced, but not
abated 8
139 635
Number of cases outstanding, 31st December, 1946 496
In addition, there are 45 families totalling 212 persons occupying
properties the subject of confirmed Clearance Orders, and 11 families
totalling 42 persons in dwellings the subject of Demolition or Closing
Orders.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
Nuisances.
Reference to the summary will reveal the nature and range of the
complaints received during the year. A few by reason of the action
taken call for special comment, whilst mention is made of others in order
to draw attention either to the cause, the remedy or the difficulties
experienced in dealing with particular problems.
Accumulations.
Reference is made to these in view of the difficulties to which they
give rise. The complaints received referred mainly to rubbish and
other waste matter deposited on undeveloped and unfenced land or on
accommodation roads. Such complaints are seldom easy to deal with,
for in the first instance, before action is possible, the rubbish must be
creating a nuisance capable of being dealt with under the Public Health
Act. Secondly, even if a nuisance exists, it is often impossible to ascertain
who is responsible for the actual "dumping"—this is invariably the
case when accommodation roads are involved. Thirdly, though no
nuisance may exist at the time of the initial visit, accumulations of
rubbish are always a potential harbourage for rats, whilst further " dumping
" may add material of a putrescible nature, and thus give rise to a
Public Health nuisance.
It is not possible, therefore, to ignore the existence of accumulations
of rubbish, and generally they are removed by the Cleansing Department,
the cost involved being borne either by the owners of the land
or persons with properties abutting the roadway concerned. In the
case of accommodation roads, to which the public have access, it is often
necessary to have the rubbish cleared and for the cost to be borne by the
Local Authority.