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Section A—Natural and Social
Conditions of the District
Area (in acres) 3,346
Estimated number of inhabited houses (end of 1958)
according to Rate Books 17,464*
Rateable Value at 31st December, 1958 £829,244
Sum represented by Id. rate £3,379
(*Includes 259 combined with business premises for rating.)
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 County Council have in hand an
Improvement Scheme for that part of the river which flows within the
County of Surrey. This involves deepening and clearing and is designed to
improve the flow along the whole of its course. The County districts
through which the river runs will each make an appropriate contribution
to the cost. No difficulty was experienced during the year from drying up
of either of the ponds, which are fed by the head water springs. The flow
from these was sufficient to prevent the stagnation of the upper pond,
which has occurred in past years, after periods of prolonged low rainfall.
The residential character of the district remains unchanged, most of
the inhabitants earning their livelihood outside the area in London and
elsewhere. Industrial development is small in amount and is sited in the
oldest part of the town, mainly along the banks of the River Wandle.
Provided the "green belt" remains inviolable, there is virtually no ground
available for housing development, other than very small plots, mostly
forming part of existing properties.
A substantial part of the district houses a population of the low income
groups and is developed to a comparatively high density. The rateable
value per head of population at £13. 14. Od. (1st April, 1958), is among the
lowest in the County and the lowest in Metropolitan Surrey.
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