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23
CLEARANCE AND REHOUSING.
At the end of 1939 a total of 46 clearance areas, comprising
761 buildings, together with an additional 45 buildings (coloured
grey) had been demolished from which 3,835 residents have been
rehoused. On 30th June, 1939, I forwarded to the London County
Council for investigation and observations fourteen proposed
clearance schemes comprising approximately 1,200 houses and
detailed inspections of these premises were in progress at the outbreak
of war. Ministry of Health Circular No. 1866, dated 8th
September, 1939, stated that local authorities should not take any
further steps in connection with clearance orders which had not
reached the stage of local enquiry and that where a clearance order
had been confirmed by the Minister the steps to be taken by the local
authority should stop short of actual demolition.
During the year Hindle House (197 flats), Lea View House
(300 flats) and Wigan and Wren's Park Houses (280 flats) were
completed and were populated very largely by persons from overcrowded
dwellings in the Borough. The number of dwellings for
the working classes provided by the Council now totals 2,167.
OVERCROWDING.
At the end of 1938 there remained 1,584 dwellings with a population
of 8,298 persons, in which overcrowding existed. Shortly
after the outbreak of war a survey was made of these overcrowded
dwellings in order that the families still living under these unsatisfactory
conditions could be offered accommodation in the Council's
new flats. In the large majority of cases it was found that
overcrowding had been abated, generally because of the evacuation
of women and children from the Borough. Eighty overcrowded
families were rehoused by the Borough Council, one by the London
County Council, twenty-two removed to privately-owned accommodation,
two could not be offered accommodation as there were no flats
of sufficient size available and the remaining 179 families were not
able to accept the offer of accommodation made to them by the
Borough Council, in most instances because of inability to pay the
rent required for the more adequate accommodation offered.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD AND
FOOD PREMISES.
This work proceeded normally until the outbreak of hostilities,
and from that time such alterations were made in the routine work
as were found necessary to meet war-time conditions. The Food
and Drugs Act, 1938. came into force on 1st October, 1939. This
Act consolidated legislation appertaining to food supplies, and
throughout this report no mention will be made of any Act repealed
thereby.