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with effect from the 31st December, 1956, certain provisions regarding
the emission of dark smoke from chimneys, the discharge of
grit and dust from furnaces and new powers for dealing with smoke
nuisances did not come into operation until 1st June, 1958. These
provisions make it the duty of the local authority to enforce the
provisions of the Act.
In June, 1958 a Sub-Committee was set up to consider and report
upon the question of the making of smoke control areas within
the borough.
In order to secure reliable data, it was decided to purchase
three instruments for the measurement of atmospheric pollution and
from the information obtained therefrom, to decide, at the end of
12 months, whether to make a Smoke Control Area Order for a part
of the borough.
In January, 1959, however, the Minister of Housing and Local
Government asked that Councils in "black areas" should decide on
the smoke control orders that were needed, in what order of
priority they should be made, and how many years it would take for
completion. Twickenham is scheduled as a "black area".
In April, 1959, the Corporation approved in principal the declaring
of the whole of the borough to be a smoke control area and
that, in the first instance, the Medical Officer of Health should
proceed to carry out a pilot survey with a view to submitting an
overall scheme providing for priority of areas to be dealt with.
Phis pilot survey is of an area consisting of approximately
1,500 houses in the North West corner of the borough, bordered by
Hospital Bridge Road, The River crane, Hanworth Road and the Railway
line.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACT, 1936. SECTION 24.
Maintenance of Public Sewers.
When a Local Authority has carried out work for the maintenance
of a length of a public sewer, they may, but they are not
compelled to, recover the expenses incurred by them from the owners
of the premises served by that length of sewer. For that purpose
they must apportion the expenditure against each owner.
The work involved is often of quite a minor nature and when
the cost is small and the number of houses concerned is of the
order of 4, 6 or more, the cost of recovery is out of all proportion
to the amount collected from the owner.
In February 1959 the Corporation decided that where the cost
involved did not
(i) in the case of two houses, exceed £5
(ii) in the case of three or more houses, exceed £2 per house
the Corporation would not make any recovery from
the owner but would charge the cost to the General Rate.
In future it will only be necessary to serve Statutory Notices
in those cases where it is impossible to estimate the cost of the
work or where it is known that the cost will exceed (i) or (ii)
above.
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