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12.
for the disposal of domestic refuse was completed. By 1931 I had
inaugurated a scheme for the collection of refuse by direct labour
utilising motorised equipment in place of the contractor's horsedrawn
vehicles.
The work of the Public Health Department during the past
quarter of a century, as with other Departments of the Council,
has always been in a constant state of flux, by reason of the
continued growth of the district. The steady and unobtrusive
administration of the Housing Acts has resulted in the older properties
in the town being maintained in such a condition that
although in certain areas there are sub'-standard houses, which lack
modern amenities such as hot water systems and bathrooms, there
are no slums as defined by the Act of 1936. In 1950, following
an informal enquiry by a representative of the Ministry of Health,
which included an. investigation of local public health administration
and an inspection of the Borough, the scope of the Department was
extended by the taking over of Pood and Drugs duties formerly
carried out by the Essex County Council.
In the Public Cleansing Section one of the chief difficulties
has been the stabilising of collection districts for refuse collection
and an anxiety as to the capacity of the Refuse Disposal Works.
Quite clearly, within the next few years, the reconstruction of the
refuse disposal plant must receive earnest consideration. The
recovery and sale of salvage from the Refuse Disposal Works has
always received high priority as can be seen by the income for the
year under review amounting to £10,743; during the twenty-five
years the contribution to the General Rate Fund has amounted to
£100,596, the peak income year being 1951/52 when the amount
was £14,144.
A newly elected representative on the Council, who was for
the year 1930 a member of the Sanitary and Plans Committee, also
commenced a period of service which has extended to this day. I
refer, of course, to Alderman P.S.Powell, C.C., whose long and
distinguished career in local government is unequalled in the
Borough and must rank for distinction in the general sphere of local
government.
Retrospection should not be over-indulged but if this period
of my service is classed as only a small page in the history of
the Borough, this personal note may not be unacceptable. Chingford
began as a small village; quickly, perhaps all too quickly, it grew
into a town which by reason of sound government and good administration,
gained early promotion to Borough status. It was, and to a large
extent still is, a dormitory town and still awaits that indefinable
touch to transform it into a nationally well-known municipality.
JAMES P. ROGERS,
August, 1955.
Chief Sanitary Inspector.