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Owing to the increase in bulk of domestic refuse it has been found that by using the weight
of the grab to compress the refuse the loaded tonnage of the lighters can be increased by up to
twenty per cent.
The Royal Commission report for the re-organisation of local government in Greater London
published in November 1961 recommends that the proposed Council for Greater London should be
the authority for refuse disposal and that an intelligence department should be formed for continuous
research into the refuse problems of Greater London as a whole.
It would be desirable for the Port Health Authority's views on refuse disposal by river to be
made known.
However, there still remains the major problem of tipping into lighters from open wharves
and it would appear that, in spite of modifications to operational equipment, there is no completely
satisfactory solution while the procedure is carried out by an indifferent labour force and the
refuse is exposed to the natural elements.
HOUSEBOATS AT BENFLEET
The Essex County Council Act, 1952, provides that the mooring of any houseboat within the
County shall not be lawful without the consent of the Council of the district in which the houseboat
is situated, and that the Council may require the owner or occupier to remove or demolish
any houseboat not authorised by them.
The Port and City of London Health Committee are, however, still responsible under the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936, for the sanitary supervision of houseboats coming within the
jurisdiction of the Port Health Authority, although under the Essex County Council Act, 1952,
the local Council in Essex are now responsible for the licensing and drawing up of conditions
under which they are prepared to grant licences to houseboats.
The duties of the Committee in regard to the sanitary supervision of houseboats are safeguarded
by Section 212 of the Essex County Council Act, 1952, which provides inter alia that
no consent shall be given to the mooring of any houseboat within the Port of London without the
previous written consent of the Corporation of London as the Port Health Authority of the Port
of London.
During the year the Benfleet Urban District Council granted temporary consents, subject to
the approval of the Port Health Authority, to twenty-two houseboats. No objection to these
consents was raised by the Port and City of London Health Committee.
PUBLIC HEALTH 4CT 1936, PART X - CANAL BOATS
The Public Health Act 1936 provided, inter alia, that a Port Health Authority (being a
registration authority) make an annual return within 21 days to the Minister of Health of any
defects and infringements disclosed by the Port Health Inspector in his reports. That requirement
has, as from 1962, been abrogated by the Public Health Act 1961 (Sect. 79), which received the
Royal Assent on 3rd August.
One hundred and sixty inspections of canal boats were made during the year. Thirty-three
canal boats were found to have a total of fifty-four defects, as follows:-
Cabin in need of cleaning and/or painting 24
Defective condition of cabin top and/or sides 17
Defective condition of cabin hatch doors 1
Defective flooring 5
Defective bulkheads 1
Defective cupboards 1
Inadequate ventilation 1
Defective insulation resulting in dampness 2
Defective and dangerous structure 2
Total 54
The Owners and Master of the defective craft were in each case notified and required to
carry out the necessary repairs.
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