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2
SECTION A
STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS
1. General Statistics.
Area in Acres 1,408
Total Population (including Service personnel) 35,990
Number of inhabited houses (approx.) 11,808
Rateable Value - General Rata (l.4.6l) £1,153,570
Sum represented by Penny Rate (year 1961/62) £ 4,720
Total number of hereditaments.14,586
Domestic dwellings 80% of total hereditaments
Commercial premises. 16 of total hereditaments
Number of premises classified as industrial, entertainment,
public utility, educational and miscellaneous 459
2. Social Conditions.
Kingston-upon-Thames is a Royal and Ancient Borough situated
upon the south bank of the River Thames, within the County of Surrey
and the Greater London area.
Although it is renowned as a prosperous market town and for
its extensive shopping centre, which provides the main economic function,
there is also important industrial activity in Aircraft and Engineering.
Kingston is not only a centre for education and recreation, but is a
"commuting" area for business people travelling daily to and from London.
The social conditions are influenced by the trend of the high
level of employment which exists in the town and the Manager of the local
Employment Exchange, Miss M. Bond, has kindly provided the following
information regarding employment in Kingston and Districts:-
"In 1961, a year of some financial difficulty nationally, the
Kingston area was fortunate in that unemployment increased only marginally.
The number of men unemployed was on average 377, only 22 more than
in 1960, while the women's unemployed register was actually, on average,
slightly lower. Expressed as a proportion of the working population this
is approximately .5%, the same as for the two previous years, and compared
with the national percentage of 1.9%, does not give rise to concern.
At December 11th 1961, the last date in the year for which
figures are available, there were 400 men and 91 women unemployed.
During the year there was a slight decrease in the demands for
labour. The Exchange placed 3,530 men and. 1,035 women in work in its
own area (which includes, in addition to Kingston itself, the whole of
the boroughs of Surbiton and Maiden and Coombe, together with Teddington