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4
Preparation of
general plan.
In order to deal economically with the matters submitted to
me, it was necessary to have a general plan of the existing
Sewers and Waterways, with levels, but no such plan existed ;
and with the concurrence of the two Boards, I proceeded, as
under, to provide one.
The Beckenham Sewerage Act, 1873, requires that before
the construction within the Sewerage Area, of any sewer
which is to be connected with the Penge and Bell Green
Sewer, Plans and Sections shall be submitted for the approval
of the Metropolitan Board of Works and the Lewisham Board:
and that the plans shall be on "such convenient scale as the
said respective Boards from time to time require."
Having ascertained that the Boards required these plans to
be on a scale of 5 feet to a mile, the scale generally adopted by
the Metropolitan Board, I determined to prepare the General
Plan on that scale; and proceeded by enlarging the 251 inch
Ordnance Map, which is old and imperfect, by making
surveys, and taking levels of Roads, Streets, and Buildings,
as well as of existing Sewers, Drains, and Waterways,
requiring numerous openings of the ground, to prepare the
plan now presented; which, although imperfect, and not
minutely accurate (being based on an enlargement), is sufficient
for the present purpose, and can be added to from time
to time, as further information is obtained, by any one using
it.
In the course of my investigations I had numerous communications
with parties connected with the various properties,
Engineers, Architects, Agents, &c. I paid visits
from time to time to the Crystal Palace, and, with the kind
help of the Company's Engineer and his assistants, ascertained
the course, &c., of some of the sewers and waterways
in the Palace grounds, not shown on any plan which could
be found.
In some cases, at the Crystal Palace and elsewhere, the
Probable cost of opening the ground, and the annoyances
inseparable from it, appeared to outweigh the advantages of
an accurate survey of the conduits, and they are put on the