View report page

31
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA
NEW LEGISLATION
LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL (GENERAL POWERS) ACT, 1955
This Act, which received the Royal Assent on the 21st December, 1955,
provides additional powers for the clearing and repairing of stopped-up or
defective drains, the reinstatement of water supply discontinued by the Metropolitan
Water Board by reason of the defective state of a supply pipe or the
absence or defective state of any fittings, and for the execution of urgent
works necessary to remedy defective premises.
SECTION 25 (Powers as to stopped- up or defective drains)
Subsection (1) (Stopped-up drains) empowers a Borough Surveyor, Medical
Officer of Health or a Sanitary Inspector in respect of any premises on which a
drain, water closet or soil pipe is "stopped up" to serve a notice requiring
the owner or the occupier of the premises to remedy the defects within 48 hours
from the service of the notice. If the notice is not complied with the Council
may themselves carry out the necessary work and may recover the expenses
incurred in so doing from the person on whom the notice was served.
Subsection (2) (Defective drains), A Borough Council where they consider
that the cost of cleansing or repairing a defective drain will not exceed £100
may in lieu of serving a notice under subsection (4) of Section 40 of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936, give not less than 7 days' notice to the
owner or occupier of the premises of their intention to carry out such works.
The expenses incurred by the Council (so far as they do not exceed £100) may be
recovered from the owner or occupier of the premises.
In the case of action taken under either of the above subsections in any
proceedings for the recovery of expenses the court may enquire whether-
(a) in relation to any action taken under subsection (1) of this section
any requirement contained in a notice served thereunder was reasonable:
(b) in relation to any action taken under subsection (2) of this section
the drain was in bad order and condition or required cleansing or repair:
(c) in any case the works done by or on behalf of the borough council
were reasonable in the circumstances
(d) the expenses ought to be borne wholly or in part by the person or
persons from whom they are sought to be recovered or by any other person
having an estate or interest in the premises or a right to use the drain
in respect of which the expenses were incurred,
and the court may make such order concerning the expenses or their apportionment
as appears to the court to be just in the circumstances of the case.
Subsection (3) enables the Borough Council in the case of stopped-up and
defective drains to remit payment of costs of work where they do not exceed £2.
SECTION 26 (Supply of water to premises where supply is cut off), Where the
Metropolitan Water Board, by reason of the defective state of a supply pipe or
the absence or defective state of any fittings cease to supply with water any
building or part of a building occupied as a separate tenement being a building
or part used for human habitation or as a place where persons are employed the
sanitary authority may, after giving notice to the owner of their intention to
execute such works, provide fittings, etc., to secure that the water supply is
restored, and the expenses reasonably incurred in so doing shall be recoverable
from the owner.
SECTION 27 (Remedying of defective premises), The sanitary authority may
where they are satisfied that