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Council's programme is concerned, I am informed that a clearance order relating
to 12 houses in the Welshpool Street area has been confirmed. The representation
of two further areas, one large and one small, is at the present
time under consideration by that Authority.
1956/60 Programme
In July, a communication was received from the London County Council
suggesting that as the first five-year programme for slum clearance formulated
jointly by that Authority and the metropolitan boroughs was in hand, the time
had now arrived to consider preliminary steps to be taken towards formulating
the second five-year programme A comprehensive survey of the Borough with a
view to determining what further areas are now ripe for clearance is at
present in progress. Information obtained from this survey will, it is hoped,
be of very real value to both the Borough Council and the County Council in
connection with re-housing proposals and any action that may be taken under
the Housing Repairs and Rents Bill if and when that Bill becomes law substantially
in its present form
Part IV (Abatement of overcrowding)
As has been pointed out in previous post-war reports, it has been found
impossible to maintain comprehensive overcrowding records with any degree of
accuracy. It will be remembered that the only systematic survey of overcrowding
was that undertaken following the Housing Act, 1935, and as a result
of population movement since that time, records then obtained are long out of
date. The only reliable figures relating to overcrowding at the present time
are those which have come to the notice of the department since 1945, following
inspection of houses as a result of applications for rehousing made to the
housing authorities. The County Council refer to Borough Medical Officers of
Health applications for rehousing received from persons who appear to be
living in overcrowded conditions, for the submission, in appropriate cases, of
a certificate of overcrowding. Of a total of 89 such applications referred
to the department, overcrowding was found to exist in 77 instances.
The number of overcrowded dwellings on the register at the end of the
year was 734, an increase of two on the previous year. Overcrowding in 64
dwellings was abated by rehousing, in 46 instances by the County Council and
in 18 instances by the Borough Council. In another 25 dwellings the overcrowding
was abated by families finding other accommodation, or by marriages,
deaths, etc., in the families concerned.
Apart from dwellings in which statutory overcrowding was found, it was
again noted that many families were sharing accommodation primarily intended
for one family unit and which did not provide reasonable amenities for joint
occupation. This type of situation continues to pose a serious social problem,
and unfortunately one for which no solution is yet available.
When cases of overcrowding are discovered, a summary of the appropriate
provisions of the Act, together with the permitted number for the dwelling, is
sent to the landlord with a warning to the effect that when the present occupants
are rehoused he must not permit the dwelling to again become overcrowded,
(a) (i) Number of dwellings overcrowded at the end of the year 734
(ii) Number of families dwelling therein 1173
(iii) Number of persons dwelling therein 4792
(b) Number of new cases of overcrowding reported during the year 91
(c) (i) Number of cases of overcrowding relieved during the year 89
(ii) Number of persons concerned in such cases 398
(d) Particulars of any cases in which dwelling-houses have again become
overcrowded after the local authority have taken steps for the
abatement of overcrowding NIL
Part V (Provision of housing accommodation)
New dwellings completed by the Borough Council totalled 200, and a further
311 dwellings were under construction at the end of the year, The number of
dwellings completed by the Borough Council since 1920 totalled 4,381, including