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Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health—1898 33
(b) Specific cases reported by Inspector for Houses let in lodgings during the
above mentioned period 299.
The total abatement from both sources therefore equals 353. That statement
lone suffices to prove the existence of serious overcrowding in your parish. That it
onsiderably understates the case will be abundantly evident when we re realise that
be Special Inspector for Lodging Houses has not rigorously adopted the standard
aid down by the Bye-laws which demand 300 cubic feet per inmate for bedroom
sed for sleeping purposes only, and 400 cubic feet per head when not so occupied
xclusively. Under the less stringent conditions then, your Authority has abated
vercrowding in 299 houses during the past eleven months: or under all circumtances
in a grand total of 353 houses.
The recent resolutions of the London County Council upon the question of over;rowding
run thus:—
(a) That housing accommodation should be provided for a number of persons
equal to that of the working classes displaced by any scheme under the Housing of
he Working Classes Act, 1890, or under the provision of any Improvement Act; but
not necessarily in the immediate neighbourhood of the displacement, due consideration
being given to the needs of those living on any particular area.
(b) That all clearances under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890,
which involve re-housing be done at the sole cost of the Council.
It will be evident that the above resolutions are based upon the principle of an.
equal distribution of the responsibilities of the metropolis in sanitary mattersf
Henceforth poorer parishes will be able to approach the problem of the housing o,
bhe poor without the necessity of imposing fresh burdens upon already heavily rated
and poor districts.
Under these circumstances it is tolerably certain that many of the poorer parishes
will hasten to avail themselves of the advantages thus offered them by the London
County Council. In your own parish the need of immediate action is emphasised by
the facts that your district is one of the most heavily rated, one of the poorest, and
one of the most densely populated in the Metropolis, while the death-rate has always
been abnormally high. I would, therefore, urge the Vestry to take immediate steps to
secure the advantages thrown open to them by the new policy of the County Council.
To reduce the position of your Vestry, as far as possible, to a short and practical
form I would suggest that you approach the Council with definite proposals as to
(1) unhealthy area for clearance and reconstruction, and (2) certain sites, now
vacant, to be used for rehousing. The desirability of providing fresh sites for houses
results from the fact of the Council's decision that dwelling accommodation has to be
provided on the improvement area for the same number of persons of the working class
as is displaced.
The unhealthy area which I suggest should be dealt with by the Council lies in
Ward I. (St. Michael's) on the north of the parish. It may be conveniently divided
into three sections, referred to hereafter as the Grotto Place, the King's Bench Walk,
and the Webber Bow unhealthy area.
1. The Grotto Place unhealthy area has been described as a triangular portion
bounded on the north by Suffolk Grove and the Couuty Council Fire Brigade Station,
with the two remaining sides of the triangle running southwards, and made up of
Southwark Bridge Road and Lant Place. This small area I would extend to a larger
triangle, bounded roughly on the north by Suffolk Grove, in St. Saviour s, and on the
two remaining sides stretching southwards by Great Suffolk Street and Sturge Street.
The smaller triangular portion of this area comprises a dense network of narrow
courts and blind alleys.