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Section A—Natural and Social
Conditions of the District
Area (in acres) 3,346
Number of inhabited houses (end of 1955) according
to Rate Books 17,238
Rateable Value at 31st December, 1955 £533,172
Sum represented by 1d. rate £2,171
The Sanitary District, situated about midway between the Thames and
the North Downs, is roughly rectangular in shape. It is approximately
one mile in width, and commencing at a datum level of 72 at the northern
boundary, it extends for some five miles in a southerly direction up the slope
of the North Downs to a height of 450 feet above sea level.
The subsoil, which is clay in the northern part, changes to a sandy
gravel as one proceeds southwards, and then merges into chalk, which
covers the southern half of the district.
The River Wandle forms the eastern boundary in the northern part,
one head of the river arising from several springs at the outcropping of the
chalk near the centre of the district. The flow from the springs is liable to
considerable fluctuation depending upon rainfall, but whereas in earlier
times the flow was always sufficient to prevent stagnation of the ponds and
water courses, the lowering of the water table in recent years due to progressively
increased abstraction for various purposes, has increased the
frequency with which the springs fail and lengthened their recovery time.
The upper pond naturally is the first to suffer in these conditions and the
risk to health is aggravated by the fact that it receives the surface drainage
of a considerable area of the southern part of the district.
The district is largely residential with a high proportion of its residents
finding their livelihood in Greater London. There is very little local
industry established within the district boundaries as evidenced by the
fact that approximately 1,500 employees only are engaged in factories and
work places registered under the Factories Act.
No significant area of land now remains for development. The southern
end of the district contains a substantial part of Green Belt land and smallholdings,
but housing density is high in the centre and increases still
further as one proceeds northwards. The 1951 census revealed that
Carshalton had the highest level of housing occupation of any district in
Surrey, the number of persons per room being 0.80 for the whole district
and over 1.0 in the three St. Helier wards. Since the London County
Council housing estate accommodating mainly families in the lower income
groups accounts for nearly 40% of the total population, it is not surprising
that the rateable value per head of population is the lowest in Metropolitan
Surrey.
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