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32
(3) HOUSING CONDITIONS.
The number of new dwellings erected in the area during 1937
was 165; all of these were houses erected by private enterprise.
Slum Clearance.
At the commencement of 1937 seven of the ten clearance areas included
in the five-year programme had been dealt with, the tenants from
these having been rehoused and the dwellings (with the exception of
one) demolished. The Compulsory Purchase Orders made on the three
remaining areas (Clearance Areas Nos. 8, 9 and 10), which were the
subject of Public Inquiries during 1936, were confirmed by the Minister
of Health on the 14th January, 1937 in the case of Clearance Areas
Nos. 8 and 9, and on the 29th June, 1937 in the case of Clearance
Area No. 10.
Accommodation to re-house the tenants to be displaced from
Clearance Areas Nos. 8, 9 and 10 was proceeded with during the year
by the erection of a block of 146 flats, it being anticipated that approximately
90 of these flats would be required for re-housing the families
from the Clearance Areas, the balance being available for the purpose
of abatement of overcrowding. At the time of writing the flats have
been completed and re-housing of the majority of the families has been
effected.
A summary of proceedings taken in connection with houses unfit
for human habitation since 1930, the date of the last Survey Report,
is given in tabular form in pages 30 and 31.
Overcrowding—Housing Act, 1936—Part IV.
(1). Ascertainment of "Permitted Numbers."
The Housing Act, 1936 requires that every rent-book or similar
document used in relation to any dwelling occupied by the working
classes must contain a statement of the "permitted number" of persons
who may occupy the dwelling. The local authority, on the application
of the landlord or the occupier, is required to inform the applicant
in writing of the "permitted number" in relation to the dwelling.
For the purpose of ascertaining the "permitted number" of a dwelling
it is necessary to obtain the measurements of the rooms in the dwelling.
During 1937 the measurement of the 6,038 "dwellings" included
in the overcrowding survey was proceeded with to ascertain
the "permitted numbers" in respect of them. At the end of the year
the "permitted numbers" had been assigned in respect of 5,969
" dwellings," there being a balance only of 69 awaiting measurement.