London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Waltham Forest 1967
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Waltham Forest]
This page requires JavaScript
The definition of dwelling is wider than that used in the Census of Population, including
non self-contained flats whose occupants have the exclusive use of kitchen, bath and W.C. which
are not within the flats. This makes it difficult to judge accurately the precision of the survey
results, since the Census is the only other source of information of numbers of dwellings. However,
it appears that the 78,000 dwellings under-states the true number by about 4,000 or 5%. Also, the
degree of under-statement may not be the same in different parts of the borough.
The figures in the following tables may give a misleading impression of accuracy unless
these reservations are borne in mind. They are included to indicate the general order of magnitude:
the percentages are a more reliable measure of relative imporatance.
STRUCTURAL CONDITION
The structural condition of the surveyed dwellings was assessed as under- Table 2 — Structural Condition of Dwellings
| AREA | GOOD | FAI R | POOR | UN Fl T | TOTAL | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | NO. | % | NO. | % | NO. | % | NO. | % | NO. | |
| Chingford | 91 | (13,350) | 8 | (1,225) | 1 | (100) | - | - | 100 | (14,675) |
| *N. W'stow | 75 | (12,812) | 24 | (4,188) | 1 | (225) | - | (25) | 100 | (17,250) |
| *S. W'stow | 52 | (9,513) | 40 | (7,250) | 5 | (874) | 3 | (500) | 100 | (18,137) |
| Leyton | 50 | (13,987) | 40 | (11,275) | 7 | (1,813) | 3 | (900) | 100 | (27,975) |
| Total | 63 | (49,662) | 31 | (23,938) | 4 | (3,012) | 2 | (1,425) | 100 | (78,037) |
*North/South of Forest Road
OWNERSHIP OF DWELLINGS
The ownership of the various types of property could only be established where access
was obtained, except in the case of Council property. The following table therefore shows the
percentages of those where access was obtained only.
Table 3 — Ownership of Dwellings
| OWNER-OCCUPIERS | COUNCIL (INC. G.L.C.) | PRIVATE | ALL TYPES OF OWNERSHIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50.1 | 19.3 | 30.6 | 100.0 |
- 38 -