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37
The Clearance areas comprise the eight separate groups of four or
more houses.
The shortage of housing accommodation is emphasised by the fact
that although no general applications for Council houses have been
accepted since 1925, there were still 489 outstanding early in 1931,
made up as follows:—Applicants living in one room, 28; two rooms,
97; three rooms, 140; four rooms, 70; miscellaneous, 53; other ballot
cases, 101. In addition a large Estate Company in the Borough
received approximately 5,000 applications for houses and flats
during 1930. Two thousand five hundred of these remained on the
waiting list early in 1931, in addition to approximately 350 on a
list of special recommendations.
It is obvious that the question of housing shortage is not a local
one, but is one affecting the whole of Greater London. It can
never be seriously approached until a co-ordinating supervisory
Housing Authority is set up for the whole area.
Housing Conditions.
General Observations:—
(1) The average type of house contains three bedrooms, sitting
room, kitchen and scullery. Many of the houses in St. James Street
Ward have seen their day, as it were, but there are many others
throughout the district which are now fast showing the result of the
handiwork of the "Jerry" builder.
Amongst the more prevailing forms of defects are to be included
the following:—(1) perished interior plasterings; (2) defective roofs
due to insufficient lap and springing; (3) dampness due to perished
and insufficient damp-courses and to the porosity of certain types of
bricks.
The conditions of premises due to overcrowding are mainly want
of cleanliness. More defects exist in premises where two families
reside and overcrowding occurs, by reason of the extra wear and
tear the premises sustain.
(2) Sufficiency of Supply of Houses.
(a) The extent of house shortage in the district has already been
indicated.
(b) No reliable information exists as to actual or anticipated
changes in population.