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98
HOUSING,
Further progress has been made in housing work during the year,
especially with regard to works at houses in multiple occupation and in
dealing with unfit dwellings.
It is pleasing to record appreciation to the Housing Committee and
the Chief Housing Officer for their ready co-operation in rehousing
occupants of individual unfit dwellings. This has been of great assistance
in dealing with both newly identified unfit dwellings and those in
St. John's Road and Avenue Road, New Maiden, brought into the current
4 year (1970 - 1973) slum clearance programme.
Three clearance areas in the current programme were declared, two
(25 houses) in Fairfield Place, Kingston, and one (3 houses) in Church
Road;, Worcester Park. The Council decided to acquire all these houses
and certain adjacent properties; those in Church Road, Worcester Park,
by agreement, and those in Fairfield Place were made the subject of a
Compulsory Purchase Order, objections to which will be heard at a Public
Inquiry due to be held in February 1971.
During the year 973 visits have been made to houses in multiple
occupation in connection with the standard code of requirements adopted
by the Council. It has been necessary to serve 45 informal and 13
statutory notices upon owners requiring works to comply with the code.
Direction Orders restricting the number of persons and households
permitted to occupy 2 houses in multiple occupation were made.
There are no common lodging houses in the Borough.
A major effort has continued to be in the repair and improvement
of dwellings. During the year the Department of the Environment
sponsored general publicity about improvement grants on television and
in the national press which brought an increase in the number of grant
enquiries and applications.
Twelve hundred and ninety seven houses in the Borough have been
improved since grant aid was introduced in 1949 and many others improved
without grant assistance yet i± is estimated that in the Borough there
are 2,200 homes suitable for improvement still lacking the basic amenities
of:-