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37
Act to carry out the work at the cost of the owner. In 12 instances this
had to be done.
A number of houses were considered to be unfit for habitation and
to be not capable of repair at a reasonable cost. Demolition Orders
were made in respect of six and Closing Orders in respect of six.
During the year two houses were demolished, both being in the
Poets' Corner area.
At the end of the year 39 houses were still being occupied which
were the subject of Demolition or Clearance Orders. Of these, five are
in the "Brewery Cottage Order four in the "Stanmore (High Street)
(No. 4) Order 20 in the "Headstone Drive Clearance Order and 10
were the subject of Demolition Orders made before the war.
The following is a copy of a statement prepared early this year
which sets out the position about Poets' Corner at the end of 1952: —
"In 1938, the Public Health Committee recommended that as so many
of the 126 houses in Shelley Road, Wordsworth Road, Burns Road, Marlborough
Road and Milton Road, were unfit for human habitation the most
satisfactory way of dealing with them was by clearing the site. The Minister,
after an inquiry held in April, 1939, was not satisfied except in regard to
five properties that the most satisfactory method of dealing with the
conditions in the area was by the demolition of the buildings.
"During the war years a number of these houses were demolished, some
as a result of enemy action, some at the election of the owners and a number
following the making of Demolition Orders.
"It has not since the end of the war been possible nor has there been
much point in trying to arrange for the systematic routine inspection of
houses. Instead, the time of the inspectors has been taken up with trying
to see to the repair of those houses about whose unsatisfactory state the
tenants have drawn attention. It is in this way that attention has been called
to the defects of certain houses in these roads.
"Some of these houses have been found to be incapable of repair at
any reasonable cost; these have been brought to the notice of the Public
Health Committee. The Inspection Sub-Committee after their visit on the
29th October, 1949, recommended that in the first stage Nos. 20-36 (even)
Shelley Road and Nos. 23-33 (odd) Milton Road should be dealt with and
at a later stage Nos. 4-10 (even) Shelley Road, the odd numbers in Shelley
Road and certain even numbered houses in Milton Road should be dealt
with. Since that date a number of Demolition Orders have been made.
"The position at the end of March, 1953, was that of the 126 houses,
33 had been demolished. In addition one was the subject of confirmed
Demolition Order, and action pursuant to Section 11, Housing Act, 1936,
had been commenced in respect of eleven others.
It is anticipated that it will be necessary to bring to the notice of the
committee, in stages, a further 40/45 houses in these roads with a view to
the committee considering whether steps should be taken to have these
demolished.
"It will be appreciated that this statement about what is anticipated will
be done, is based very largely on information obtained at the detailed surveys
carried out in 1938 supplemented by knowledge gained by visits paid more
recently following receipt of complaints from the tenants of certain of these
houses. It may be that houses included in these lists have had sufficient work