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It is also mainly a residential district with large houses, most of them standing in spacious
gardens, but it has few commercial premises. The local authority dwellings are scattered, converted
houses, including 10 flats acquired by the Hampstead Borough Council, and Studholme Court on
Finchley Road owned by the Greater London Council. The estimated cost of fireplace conversion
was high due to difficulties in preserving the character of the rooms concerned when it was particularly
desired to continue heating with solid smokeless fuel. In many cases one fireplace had
been preserved in an otherwise centrally heated house and often enquiries concerning costly conversions
were not pursued. The availability of the National Coal Board's smokeless fuels'Homefire'
and 'Multi-heat' solved many problems, technical, aesthetic, and financial, as they can be burned
in unconverted grates. Exemption was granted for a coal fired boiler plant in a large converted
house which used an underfeed stoker, but this plant has since been converted to burn oil.
Three fortnightly mobile exhibitions were staged during the year with the co-operation of
the Coal Utilization Council and Solid Smokeless Fuels Federation to publicise the benefits of the
Clean Air Act. This may partly explain why applicants when converting their fireplaces still prefer
to keep a solid fuel fire, with gas fires only a little less popular. The percentage of householders
who decided to change to electric off-peak storage heaters was small.
OFFICES, SHOPS AND RAILWAY PREMISES
ACT, 1963
The Local Authority is, in general, responsible for the enforcement of legal standards in
shops and offices, whilst the Ministry of Labour is responsible for enforcement in Local Authority
premises and factories.
The inspection of premises has progressed through the period under review and a survey
of all such carried out to obtain 100 per cent, registration. It is expected that towards the end of
1967 all premises will have received at least one full inspection since the Act came into force.
A great deal of advice has been sought by occupiers and intending occupiers on compliance
with the Act and the attitude of most employers has continued to be one of close co-operation.
Unsatisfactory conditions have been found in many instances so that visits have been
needed in order to secure compliance. Sometimes in a modern type of office development floors
have been sub-divided into small offices in such a way that inner offices are completely without
ventilation. Overcrowding is not uncommon and steps were taken by a number of occupiers to overcome
this problem before 1st August, 1967, when statutory overcrowding of existing premises became
illegal.
A fairly high proportionof premises has been found to be without proper washing facilities
and to a lesser degree sanitary accommodation has been lacking; reallocation has more often than
not overcome the latter problem.
Insufficient attention seems to be given to floor coverings and finishes, such as worn
carpets and lino, which are potential hazards to employees.
Only once was it necessary to resort to legal proceedings to gain compliance with the
Act, and in this instance a firm was fined a total of £45 with £15.15s. costs for failing to properly
maintain a W.C. compartment, failing to provide a hot water supply and keep clean the washing
facilities, and failing to provide proper handrails to two staircases.
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