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Action as indicated was taken under the following legislation during the
year,
PUBLIC HEALTH (LONDON) ACT, 1936
SECTION 34 (Drainage Bylaws). Plans of proposed drainage works approved
by the Public Health Committee totalled 72. Informal notices were served in
respect of contraventions of the bylaws at 69 premises and were followed in
51 cases by the service of formal notices. Legal proceedings were instituted
in 16 instances
SECTION 40 (Inspection of Drains). Notice of intention to examine drains
was served in respect of 181 premises. In 85 cases notices requiring the
repair of defective drains were served and legal proceedings were instituted in
one instance.
With regard to the service of notices requiring the repair of defective
combined drains, it has been the practice of the Council to serve notices on
the occupiers of all premises served by the drain In one such case the
owner successfully appealed to the Magistrates Court on the grounds that the
notice had been incorrectly served upon him since an inspection had not been
made of the part of the drain within the curtilage of his premises. The
Borough Council appealed against this decision to the Divisional Court on the
23rd of January 1957 and the appeal was dismissed: the effect of this decision
is that where a defect is found in a combined drainage system, a notice
under Section 40 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, can only be served
upon the owner of the land or premises in respect of which an inspection has
been made under sub-section (1) of Section 40, and not on all the owners of
adjoining properties who have the benefit of the combined drainage system, If
an owner upon whom a notice has been served is aggrieved thereby, the appeal
provisions contained in Section 286 of the Act are available to him