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Each local authority has complete discretion as to what constitutes overcrowding in
houses-let-inlodgings, subject to right of appeal. The standards for West Ham adopted by the
Housing Committee are as follows:-
SECTION 90
Sleeping Accommodation One wash-hand basin and one water closet for
every ten persons.
A Bedroom of 70 square feet to be regarded as
suitable for not more than one person,
A Bedroom 70-90 square feet to be regarded as
suitable for a maximum of two persons.
A Bedroom 90-110 square feet to be regarded as
suitable for a maximum of three persons.
A Bedroom of over 110 square feet to be assessed
by comparison with the size.
Rooms the floors of which are more than three
feet below the level of any ground within six
feet of the room not to be used for sleeping
purposes.
Cleanliness of Common Rooms., Staircases, Passages, etc.
The person in control should be responsible
for keeping clean every common staircase,
landing and passage and for redecorating them
as often as may be necessary.
The person in control should also be responsible
for keeping clean every open space, drain,
sink, water closet etc., used in common.
Nine premises were reported to the Housing Committee during the year as not complying
with these standards, but the service of formal notices was only necessary in four instances,
the other five being dealt with informally.
Caravans on Vernon's, Field and the Gun Site, Beckton Road
At the beginning of 1958 there were 17 caravans on Vernon's Field and 24 on the Gun
Site, Beckton Road. Legal action taken under the byelaws and the Public Health Act, 1936,
Section 269, had little or no effect, for as soon as some caravan dwellers moved off these
sites following action in the Magistrates1 Court, others came and settled themselves in their
places.
As there appeared to be no speedy legal or practical solution to the problem, a
meeting with the Town Clerk was held, and it was agreed to approach the Port of London
Authority as the actual owners of the sites with a view to their taking action for trespass.
On l4th February a meeting was held at Trinity House at which the Port of London
Authority, the Council, the National Dock Labour Board and the Royal Docks Association were
represented, and there was a full discussion of the problems caused by the pressure of
increasing numbers of residential caravans on these sites. It was agreed that the caravan
dwellers should be called upon to remove themselves from the sites, otherwise they would be
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