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To deal with contraventions which receive no attention after the service of standard
contravention notices and reminders, the cases are reported to the Health Committee
for approval of legal proceedings. Before, however, proceeding to legal sanctions the
Town Clerk issues a formal warning of this action allowing a further 14 days for
compliance with the requirements of the notice. These "14 days" letters have a remarkably
galvanising effect upon a situation which, up to that point, would best be described
as one of monumental inactivity. There is no doubt that they materially reduce the
need for applications for summonses.
Part II — Operation of the General Provisions of the Act
The main requirements of the Act are now so clearly understood that few problems
of unusual character arise worthy of comment. The following aspects did present some
interest during the year.
Worn Steps
Worn treads and/or nosings to stairs to the extent of producing a contravention
of Section 16 are not an unusual feature of the work and the main problem is usually
one of exercising judgment as to whether or not the wear has progressed to the stage of
presenting an accident hazard. In the case of two old houses long converted into office
accommodation the effect of 250 years of wear on the front stone steps was all too
obvious. The complications arising from a requirement to remedy this fault proved
to be quite remarkable. It transpired that the premises were scheduled buildings of
historic interest and any alterations proposed had therefore to be cleared by another
authority. It was argued that the worn stone should be replaced by new stone as conCrete
would not be in keeping with the character and age of the building. This required
a search for specialists in stone work and obtaining several estimates. The cost proved
to be high (around £150 per premises) and requests were made for local authority
financial assistance in this matter. All this necessitated further consideration and planning
approval before work could begin. The work involved chipping out portions of
the old treads and the careful insertion of new pre-shaped sections of stonework. The
initial notices which included reference to the steps were served in April 1968 and
the work was completed in November, 1970.
Noise
Section 21 empowering the Minister to make Regulations governing noise and
vibrations would appear to be unlikely to be implemented in the near future. There is
of course a growing public awareness of noise as an environmental problem and for
the first time during this last year its impact in shops and offices has been observed. A
current feature of some of the large trendy clothes shops is the all-pervading sound of
pop music at a high volume level. In one such shop it was noticed that in order to
hear and be heard on the telephone it was necessary for the person to retreat with the
handset behind a rear door and to close it on the shop noise. The noise level varied
according to the character of the music but the general level as part of the permanent
working environment could scarcely be other than deleterious. The Act however provides
no remedy as yet.
Ceiling Height
On several occasions a ruling has been sought by employers as to the minimum
ceiling height for rooms in which persons are to be employed to work. These have
usually arisen from proposals to utilise basement rooms as offices or store rooms. The
minimum height of ceiling laid down under the Housing Acts is 7ft. but other than
rooms subject to a Local Authority's Closing Order (the Local Authority must approve
their use for 'any purpose') there would appear to be no barrier to a low ceilinged room
being used as suggested providing the other provisions of the Act, particularly the
ventilation and overcrowding sections, are met.
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