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Number of Inspections, etc. :—
Number of Inspections made 47
Number of Canal Boats inspected 34
Number of boats found in order 28
Number of boats with one infringement 6
Nature of Contraventions, etc. :—
Cabins not provided with sufficient ventilation 5
Cabins not in a cleanly and habitable condition 1
Legal Proceedings:—
No legal proceedings have been taken during the year.
Infectious Disease :—
No cases of infectious disease were reported as occurring among the Canal Boat population during
the year.
REM ARKS :—Difficulties were experienced during the year in connection with this work owing
to the pressure of other work and the temporary reduction of staff due to the resignation of one inspector.
Housing.
There is a steady improvement in the housing situation by reason of the still further supply
of Council Houses.
I have pursued throughout the year the policy with which I commenced of dealing with the
representation and demolition of unfit houses as single individual units, and not under any clearance
or improvement area.
There is in this district, in my opinion, under the present Regulations, no area which can be
scheduled as a clearance area, and in the case of any small area which might be dealt with as an improvement
area, it is better, quicker and more efficacious to deal with them individually. There
is no fuss and no public enquiry. In only one case has there been any resistance to the order. In
that instance I dealt with fourteen houses in a row as individuals. The owners, who were builders,
resisted the representation, but when the schedule of necessary repairs was placed before them they
admitted that they could not be repaired at a reasonable cost.
A number are dealt with by reason of the fact that the cost of repairs is unreasonable.
The question of dealing with unfit houses on the basis of an unreasonable cost, means, of
course, that a very careful estimate has to be made of what the actual cost of carrying out the schedule
of repairs will be. No action is taken until this has been done, so that one is in a position to cite
exactly what it will cost, at current prices, to put the house into a habitable state of repair.
In one case, the owner, from a sentimental point of view, was prepared to spend what was an
unreasonable amount, in fact a most unreasonable amount, and did so, making an excellent job of
what was really an unbusinesslike proposition.
During the year 1933, 233 houses of the non-parlour type, but none of the parlour type were
erected on the Martindale Estate, and 10 bungalows for elderly couples were erected in the proximity
of the Hounslow Heath Senior School.
With re-housing is cropping up the problem of the bug. I made the following report with
regard to dealing with the problem :—
I suggested that the portion of the stables approximating at Redlees Mansion adjoining the
entrance to the Recreation Ground should be partitioned off, and an entrance made from the main
road so as to convert it into a gas-tight chamber which would contain two full-sized pantechnicons,
so that the furniture and all the clothing could be packed therein and disinfested before the entrance
into the new Council House. Alongside should be constructed bathing premises for both sexes wherein
the householders can be cleansed, and at the same time provided with a temporary change of clothes
what time their belongings are disinfested.
It must be realised, however, that even with this the scheme would not be a hundred per cent
effective in keeping the premises free from infestation. Rules should be made forbidding the purchase
of secondhand furniture or pictures once the tenant has taken possession of the house, unless
these have been through the disintestation process.
At the same time I suggested that it would be worth while arranging with all the secondhand
furniture dealers that either free, or for a small sum, a van load of furniture could be put through the
disinfestation chamber before it is exposed for sale on the understanding :—
(a) That it shall be kept entirely separate in clean premises from any other secondhand
furniture, and
(b) That we would affix to each article of furniture a label stating that it had been disinfested.
This matter was considered, and an estimate obtained from Mr. H. W. Seymour, of Chiswell
House, 133-139, Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C.2.
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