London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hillingdon 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hillingdon]
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74
Environmental Health
IMPROVEMENT
(a) Improvement Areas
It is unfortunate that the new Housing Act 1969 does not now include the compulsory power
of the Housing Act 1964, which provided for the declaration of Improvement Areas. In such areas
the Council could require owners of tenanted dwellings, where the tenants were willing, to provide
those dwellings with the missing standard amenities.
In April 1965, the Council approved a 10-year programme to deal with every tenanted dwelling
lacking one or more of the standard amenities, by including those dwellings in Improvement Areas.
It is no longer possible to proceed in this way as the Housing Act 1969 does not continue the
powers. Instead, the Council have power to declare General Improvement Areas which have a much
wider concept—in addition to the provision of amenities in houses, the General Improvement Area
has as its objective the improvement of the environment.
It is not possible at this stage to comment on whether or not General Improvement Areas will
be as successful as the Improvement Area in securing improved housing conditions as compulsion
has now been withdrawn and substituted by financial incentives.
The number of Improvement Areas declared by the Borough are shown in the following table:—
| No. of houses lacking Standard Amenities at time of declaration | Owner/Occupier at time of declaration | Tenants at time of declaration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area No. 1 (Hayes) Declared 18.11.64 | 108 (1 vacant) | 32 | 75 |
| Area No. 2 (Hayes) Declared 12.7.67 | 159 | 59 | 100 |
| Area No. 3 (Uxbridge) Declared 25.1.68 | 189 | 122 | 67 |
| Area No. 4 (Northwood) Declared 24.7.68 | 158 | 68 | 90 |
(b) Dwellings Outside Improvement Areas
Action to require a landlord to provide standard amenities in a dwelling which is not included
in an improvement area can still be initiated by a tenant who may make a representation to the
Council to use its powers to secure the provision of the missing amenities. Inspectors inform tenants
of the opportunity available to them to secure the improvement of the property they rent. In two
cases, where tenants had made representation, the owners failed to execute the works necessary and
the Council carried out the work in default. The District Auditor has ruled that where the Council
carried out the works in default an owner loses the opportunity of availing himself of an improvement
grant.