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40
The Council's contribution towards the housing problem is
shown in the number of houses erected under the Small Dwellings
Acquisition Act and the Housing Act. The total loans at the end of
the year 1927 amounted to £1,422,671. A total of 1,071 houses were
erected in the district during the year, and of this number 16 were
erected by the local authority. These activities still however, leave a
large number of steady decent class workmen who are, as I pointed
out last year, unable to put down the necessary amount to enable
them to purchase a house, either through the Council's scheme or
through a building Society. In order to get over the difficulty of the
size of the limited sum necessary under the Housing Act, mors
Building Societies are taking second mortgages, and allowing sums
as small as £20, to be paid in place of the £80 or £90 required by the
Council. In the majority of instances this amount has to be paid
off rapidly and is apt to be a serious burden on the finances of the
family.
Owing to the question of over-crowding constantly cropping up
together with the demands for houses, the Council authorised a
special investigation.
I was fortunate in being able to obtain the services of a Health
Visitor who was also a Sanitary Inspector with considerable experience.
The investigation was limited to seven weeks, and certain areas
which were considered likely to show over-crowding were taken as
examples, but in addition to these, overcrowding was found as a
result of casual inspections in the most unlikely places. The results
show a state of affairs which necessitates amelioration. The facts
as discovered are set forth below:—