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50
HOUSING.
Since taking up office as your Medical Officer of Health on
October 1st, I have made a rapid survey of the housing conditions
obtaining in the Borough, and have inspected several hundred dwellings.
In the course of my survey I realised that the housing question in
Southwark was a very difficult problem, inasmuch as there are no vacant
sites suitable for building purposes, owing to high land values, and the
only means of dealing with the re-housing question is by taking areas
for clearance under the Housing Act, 1930; the erection of flats sufficient
to re-house displaced persons; and the provision of a surplus for the
purpose of decanting persons who are living in decayed and dilapidated
houses on sites which are too small for re-housing purposes.
With this object in view, I have represented to you the following
areas:—
Kinglake Street No. 1 Area.
Amery Place Kinglake Street Area.
Orb Street No. 2 Area.
Gray Street No. 1 Area.
Gray Street No. 2 Area.
Keyworth Street No. 1 Area.
Keyworth Street No. 2 Area.
Cook's Cottages.
Alvey Mews.
South Street Area.
I would suggest that none of the above areas is large enough in
themselves to fulfil the requirements of the above policy, and it would
be wise for the Council, when dealing with each area, to consider the
advisability of including other properties adjoining the area, with a
view to making the scheme meet all our requirements so far as possible.
With these points in view, it would be well to concentrate primarily on
the areas containing the largest amount of open space, and, consequently,
the least populated proportionately.
As to the number of dwellings required, our Housing Survey shows
that at the present time there are 2,113 families housed in 1,531 decayed
and dilapidated houses or dwellings, many of which are grossly overcrowded.
This does not necessarily mean that the Council will have to build
2,000 dwellings, as there is evidence of private enterprise and the
L.C.C. providing a goodly proportion.
Whilst on the subject of housing, I have found that in addition to
the existing single type of house, there are many large blocks of