View report page

11
Under the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919, 31 complaints of
infestation of premises by rats were received, and 83 inspections were made.
Advice and assistance were given, with the result that 458 rats and 40
mice were destroyed. On the estate of the London County Council,
2,725 rats were destroyed.
Smoke Abatement. — Eight complaints of smoke nuisances were
received, but six of them related to an asphalte mixing plant, which was
eventually removed.
Bye-laws.— Complaints were received from time to time of nuisance
from smells and flies from a large manure pit in connection with some
racing stables. Owing to the large quantity of straw in the manure, the
occupier experienced difficulty in disposing of it, but eventually complied
with the requirements of the Bye-laws for weekly removal.
Schools.—There are six Elementary Schools in the District, all of
which obtain a water supply from the public mains. In 1925 a new
Infants' School was opened off the Dorking Boad, to replace the old,
inadequate building at West Hill, which was closed.
Notices are sent to the Head Teachers on the notification of cases of
infectious diseases in houses in which there are school children. The
schools and homes of the patients are visited by the Health Visitor of the
County Council on receipt of notifications from the teachers, and I also
visited the schools at times of outbreak of infectious disease.
(4) Housing.
General Housing Conditions.—There is still a marked -shortage of
working-class dwellings in the District. On the survey of the District in
1919 it was estimated that 800 houses were required to meet the shortage,
and the Council still has a long list of applications, with many instances
of a family occupying one room.
The figures relating to housing at the Census, 1921, will be found on
pages 4 and 5. At the Censns, 1911, there were 2,635 private families, with
a population of 11,672, in approximately 2,474 houses; in 1921 there were
3,131 families, with a population of 12,842, in 2,813 houses. The number
of persons per house had, therefore, fallen from 4.72 to 4.57, but there was
a rise in the number of families per house from 1.07 to 1.14, and 193, or
10 per cent, of the houses containing less than six rooms, were occupied by
more than one family, including 13 occupied by three or more families.
The District Council erected a batch of 27 houses in 1921, and a
second batch of 30 in the following year, under the first Housing Scheme.
In 1925 a third batch of 20 and 13 of a fourth batch of 20 were completed,
and all arrangements had been made for the building of an additional 51
houses. Four cottages were also in course of erection on land at the
Outfall Works for employees of the Council.
Under the Housing Act, 1923, the District Council had granted 46
subsidies of £75 each by March 31st, 1926, and advances had been made on
62 houses to the amount of £31,849 up to the same date.