View report page

12
Table II appended shows the causes of deaths, etc., of
infants under one year of age and this subject is again referred
to under the heading Maternity and Child Welfare.
(b) Social Conditions.
So far as the social conditions and amenities of the Borough
are concerned there is little to add to my remarks of previous
years. As pointed out in the brief note prefacing this report,
the Middlesex County Council (Review of Districts) Order, 1934,
came into operation on April 1st, 1934, and by virtue of this
Order the boundaries of the area were straightened out in an
obviously common sense manner.
Although these boundary alterations did materially alter
the number of houses and the population of the Brentford East
and Gunnersbury Wards, collectively they did not seriously
alter the area of the Borough as a whole, which is now 2449.3
acres as against 2457.6 acres.
There is now very little land left within the Borough for
development and therefore the character of the district—which
is both residential and industrial—is unlikely to undergo marked
changes from year to year. Large industrial concerns have
been established on lands abutting the Great West Road and
more factories are likely to be built in this area where certain
lands are set aside for such development.
During the past year there has been a tendency to build
large blocks of mansion flats and, at the time of writing, no
less than four building sites in this district are being developed
in this way.
Whether the close proximity of the Borough to the
Metropolis and the ample transport facilities which exist for
reaching Town render this class of property particularly
attractive to business people, or whether it is an indication that
the present day population prefer flat life, is a matter for
conjecture. Suffice to say that there are 16 distinctive estates,
consisting of one or more blocks of this type of flat, either in
existence or under construction. A large number of good class
residences have been converted into flats and very large numbers
of the artisan type of house, originally designed for one family,
have in years past been converted by the addition of extra
sanitary accommodation into flats for two or more families.