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area are, by reason of disrepair or sanitary defects, unfit for
human habitation, or are by reason of their bad arrangement, or
the narrowness or bad arrangement of the streets, dangerous or
injurious to the health of the inhabitants of the area, and that the
other buildings, if any, in the area are for a like reason dangerous
or injurious to the health of the said inhabitants; and that the
most satisfactory method of dealing with the conditions in the
area is the demolition of all the buildings in the area." I formed
this opinion upon my knowledge and experience based as a common
factor upon the definition of what a fit house should be as set
out in " The Manual on Unfit Houses and Unhealthy Areas"
issued by the Ministry of Health in 1919, and upon Section 62 of
the Housing Act, 1930.
The houses do not comply with the bye-laws which are generally
applicable to the houses of the working classes in this
borough, and in my view constitute a nest of slum property which
harbours dirt and disease. I will quote now a few relevant
statistics viz.:—
Clearance Area.
Area comprises 8500 sq. yds.
= 1.77*2 acres or
1J acres
Density of houses 52.9 houses per acre
Persons per acre 315.46
Number of houses in area 93
Number of families 117
Adults 355
Children 204
Total 559
Density, West Ham County Borough 49,521 houses 4,700 acres
= 10.522
Persons per acre 63
Number of Sanitary notices served during last four years 306'
I made an official representation on the 26th day of July, 1932,
to the Housing Committee of West Ham to this effect, and the
Committee, after visiting the area and satisfying themselves on the
matter, took the necessary steps which have led up to this enquiry.
The details of how each of the individual properties included
in this Order falls within the necessary standard of unfitness as
quoted above from Section 1 (i) of the Housing Act, 1930, are
here available, and my Chief Sanitary Inspector is in a position to
give evidence on any relevant point connected therewith.
F. GARLAND COLLIN'S.
Municipal Health Offices,
Romford Road, E.15.
May, 1933.
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