[Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Billericay U.D.C.

  • Billericay (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1950
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Billericay U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/28 (page 15)
    Although the supply of building materials has improved, it is still difficult to get repairs carried out (juickly due to the shortage of local labour. It has been found that local builders have lost quite a number of their skilled operatives to large firms engaged in the construction of new towns and large housing estates. Further, builders are reluctant to carry out repairs of a minor character in preference to the larger and more remunerative contracts. The cost of repairs has maintained its upward trend, although rents of pro- perties generally remain static, and even the cost of minor repairs is not covered by the income from rent over a long period. In a number of instances, owners who have been faced with large repair costs have expressed the view that it is more economical to demolish their properties than pay sums of money which are in excess of the value of the properties after repairs have been completed. In such circumstances the Council have reluctantly decided to follow the procedure required under Section II of the Housing Act, 1936. The following action has been taken under Sections 10 and 11 of the Act. Demolition Orders made Premises demolished during 1950, as a 9 result of Orders 14 Closing Orders 2 Undertakings accepted Premises made fit as a result of Under- 16 takings 5 In the majority of cases the persons displaced the above action were rehoused by this Authority. as a result of The number of new dwellings completed during the year was as follows;— By private enterprise .... 63 Council houses and flats 256 319 This figure shows an increase of 49 over the previous year. Rehousing. The Sanitary Inspectors visit, within the District, all applicants for Council houses, and reports are made to the Council’s Housing Management Sub-Committee as to the living conditions of pros- pective Council tenants. Similar reports are also prepared on request from other authorities having applicants from this Urban District. During the year, 785 visits were made. The reports presented to the Sub-Committee are appreciated as they serve to guide the Com- mittee when assessing the merits of cases. In addition to the visits made on applications for houses, 56 visits were made to existing