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84
Now that so much has been done with regard to the clearance of unsatisfactory
areas and the erection of blocks of flats to serve the double purpose of re-housing
dwellers in those areas and to abate overcrowding from more satisfactory dwellings,
the most amazing and incredible opposition has arisen from the point of view of
the suitability or otherwise of flat dwellings. It has been stated that these flats
are more unsatisfactory than the cramped, ill-ventilated, dark, damp dwellings
without baths, foodstores or adequate sanitary conveniences, that are being cleared.
This statement is made on the grounds that gardens, facilities for keeping pets and
play space for children were lost and even that these flats lead to an increase of
criminal tendencies among children, and are "anti-social "; criticisms of this kind
have even been made by social and religious workers. This criticism appears to be
imaginative considering that in many Scottish cities, of which I have had considerable
experience, practically the entire population live in such flats and have done so for
many generations without any considerable increase in crime. Moreover the houses
demolished had no gardens or had merely shut-in yards in many cases of only a few
square feet and the only play place for the children was the street. There cannot,
in my opinion, be anything to be said in favour of the street as a playground as
compared with the playgrounds of the flats.
When one considers the conditions under which such people lived, even though
it is admitted that houses and gardens are preferable, the provision of flats
for persons living in ill-planned, damp, worn-out houses with a tap in the yard as
the owner's contribution towards the means of personal cleanliness, is very far from
being an "anti-social" measure.
The following is a description of a block of flats newly erected:—
"They would be of the very latest design with ever facility in the way of
fittings and equipment for the comfort of the tenants.
"In each flat, in addition to the rooms mentioned, there would be a fitted
kitchenette, with a cooker, sink, dresser and all the conveniences needed in
a kitchen; a bathroom with bath and lavatory basin; a separate w.c.; and a
private balcony.
"The buildings would be of five storeys in height, and some of the larger
dwellings on the fifth floor would be maisonettes, with additional bedroom
accommodation overhead. In all the flats there would be facilities for the use
of electricity for all purposes—lighting, cooking, heating and hot water
heating. All the bedrooms and sitting-rooms would have sunny aspects, the
buildings being so arranged that none of the rooms faced north. There would
also be goods lifts.
"The estate would be laid out on the most modern lines. There would
be a large open space between the buildings, and in the centre a community
hall where the tenants could gather for social and recreational purposes.
Another new feature would be the provision of electrical appliances for
washing and drying clothes, by means of which each family's washing could
be done in about an hour and a half."
It is interesting to note also that only six of the municipal dwellings housing
tenants whose belongings were pi t through Cyanide gas treatment before removal
have required further action as regards bugs, and only in very minor degree; this
arises no doubt also from the fact that the Welfare Workers appointed by the
Council are able to advise the tenants in this respect as well as in many other
matters vital to their comfort. An advantage not also perhaps appreciated is
that the municipality as landlord must keep their housing property in really good
repair and that the standard which many property owners and agents consider
satisfactory would be impossibly low for a municipality. One of the principal
objections to the repeal of the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Acts and
to the removal of the protection enjoyed by the controlled tenant, would be that