[Report 1925] / Medical Officer of Health, Brentwood U.D.C.

  • Brentwood (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1925] / Medical Officer of Health, Brentwood U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/18 (page 10)
    every suspicious case is visited and any necessary advice tendered. The homes of children suspected of coming from dirty houses are promptly visited when such cases are reported to me. If a school has been closed on account of the prevalence of any infectious dis- order the Inspector sees to the thorough disinfection of the premises directly it is closed so that the school may be well cleansed and aired before being opened. HOUSING. There can be no doubt that there is need for additional houses of the cottage type, as at the present time there is not one workman’s dwelling unoccupied in the District. Since 1920 the Council have erected 33 houses under the assisted Housing Scheme and ten bungalows and three cottages under the Subsidy Scheme, all of which are occupied. Besides these, 16 more bungalows were started during the past year and are now in course of erection and are all allocated to waiting applicants. During the year there was, owing to the scarcity of houses, a certain amount of overcrowding and in three cases action was taken to abate and complied with. Leaving out the large institutions, the number of persons per house is just about four and as more dwellings are erected, so the likelihood of serious overcrowding becomes less and less. At the present time, there is a number of old houses which are below the standard as regards structural conditions, up-to-date sani- tary arrangements, and density, and the keeping of this old property in a reasonable state of repair is somewhat handicapped by the increased cost of both material and labour since the war. In some cases the defects are not only due to the age of the property but there is lack of proper supervisions by the owners and neglect by the tenants. Housing Statistics.—The following tables give the details required by the Minister of Health :— Number of new houses erected during the year :— (a) Total (including number given under (b), 38 (b) With state assistance under Housing Acts (i.) By local authority ... ... ... 13 (ii.) By other bodies or persons ... ... 7 1. Unfit Dwelling Houses. Inspection.— (I) Total number of dwellings inspected for hous- ing defects (under Public Health or Housing Acts) ... 52 (2) Number of dwelling houses which were in- spected and recorded under the Housing (Inpection of Di.strict) Regulations, 1910 ... ... ... ... 36 [ 10]