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pies, etc. In the year under review the Council decided that fish frying
premises should be included, and some seventeen of these premises were, in
fact, registered.
The fourth quinquennial survey of basement bakehouses provided for by
Section 54 of the Factories Act, 1937 took place, In the first survey there
were some 38 basement bakehouses in use in the borough, but by 1957 this figure
had been reduced to eleven During 1958 one bakehouse fell into disuse and
the Council, on my advice, refused to renew the certificate relating to
another. This reduction in the number of basement bakehouses to a total of
nine now in use, is most welcome, and it is probable that when the owners of
the remaining premises are able to find suitable alternative accommodation,
these bakehouses will be closed.
The supervision of food sold from stalls by street traders again claimed
much of the time of the two whole time Food Inspectors. Whilst conditions in
the markets have improved, difficulty is still being experienced in securing
compliance with food legislation, more especially in the case of stalls selling
such commodities as poultry and fish. The main difficulties arise from the
construction of the stalls, the disposal of refuse, the plucking of poultry,
and the storage of commodities such as fish in boxes,
The year under review has seen an increase in the number of "self-service"
stores, and this type of store has undoubtedly certain health aspects to
commend it the prepacking of foodstuffs minimises the risk of contamination,
and the assistants are not handling money as well as unwrapped food.
In connection with the Health Education aspects of food hygiene,
a "No Smoking" request card, which read as follows:-
"NO SMOKING PLEASE
The Staff are prohibited, by law, from smoking while handling
food. In the interests of the public health, customers are
requested to refrain from smoking in this shop"
was distributed to food traders in the borough during the year. It will be
noted that this card requests customers to refrain from smoking on food premises.
A new development during the year was the installation of a number of Milk
Vending Machines The owners of these machines are registered as Distributors
of Milk under the Milk and Dairies Regulations, and licences are issued under
the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations. It would appear from enquiries
received in the Department that this type of sale may well be extended to other
articles of food in the future.
Housing, The two Clearance Orders made by the Council in 1957 relating to
three houses in Crossway and three houses in Gilpin Road, were confirmed by the
Minister in the year under review. The Council made a further Order in respect
of an area comprising eight houses in Maclaren Street, and the Minister's
confirmation of that Order is still awaited.
A nucleus of some eight houses in Hertford Road were included in the
current quinquennial programme, a detailed survey of that part of De Beauvoir
Town within an area bounded by Southgate Road, Downham Road, Hertford Road,
Balmes Road and part of De Beauvoir Crescent resulted in two areas, comprising
52 and 20 houses respectively, being represented in January, 1959, when the
Borough Council made the necessary Orders. The completion of the current
quinquennial clearance programme will be achieved when the one remaining
area of thirteen houses in Homerton Grove is represented in October of the
current year.
Basement dwellings, particularly when they are used for sleeping, continue,
in my view, to be one of the most serious aspects of the many housing problems
with which this authority is faced. The Department s activities in this
direction have, of necessity, to be limited by the amount of alternative
housing accommodation available No opportunity is ever lost of carrying out
Closing procedure in the case of any vacant unfit underground rooms brought to