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28
The figures set out later give an indication of the work
involved, but they cannot present a picture of the incidental
difficulties which beset the work. It will be appreciated that
as a result of war damage and lack of ordinary maintenance
during the war years, house property and living accommodation
in the borough was in very bad condition and people were
living in circumstances which called for urgent remedy.
While the war was on, and immediately afterwards, the
public realised that repairs could not be carried out and they
patiently endured all kinds of discomforts. Later they were
buoyed up with the prospect of the Council repairing the war
damage and still remained patiently waiting for this to be
done. When, however, the Council decided not to carry out
further war damage repairs and informed occupiers that it was
for the owners to do such further repairs as might be necessary
under licence, tenants became restive and turned to the Public
Health Department to bring them some measure of relief by
the service of notices under the Public Health (London) Act,
1936, requiring the owners to do the necessary repair work.
Conditions were such that it was extremely difficult to
secure compliance with the notices. Shortage of materials and
labour, the restrictive conditions under which building licences
were issued, and the complication of determining which of
the defects in property were the result of war damage and
which of ordinary deterioration all added enormously to the
complexity of the problem.
The Ministry of Health Circular 171/46 had the effect of
restricting the issue of building licences to certain urgent
works, including work to comply with sanitary notices. This
caused owners and builders who wished to carry out work of
their own volition to approach the Department with long
specifications of works required, asking for notices to be served
so that building licences could be obtained. All these specifications
were checked carefully, as only items which constituted
nuisances could be included in the notices served.
The restrictions on building materials were such that,
even to carry out minor repairs up to a cost which did not
involve obtaining a building licence, it was found impossible
to obtain materials until a certificate of essentiality was
granted by this Department. The requirements of these
certificates had to be checked on the premises in many instances.
War damage had resulted in reductions of rates and rent
being made in respect of numbers of premises, and as the
necessary repairs were carried out either by the Council's
contractors or by builders employed by the owners and the