[Report 1958] / Medical Officer of Health, Stretford Borough.

  • Stretford (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1958
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1958] / Medical Officer of Health, Stretford Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/80 (page 19)
    (c) Clearance of Unfit Dwellings Statutory action for the clearance of insanitary dwellings has been proceeding over the past four years, and with the preparation of two further areas for representation as clearance areas, the majority of the worst properties will be dealt with by early 1959. The balance of unfit houses which are considered ripe for clearance is relatively small and the first five-year programme, when completed, will have accounted for the demolition of some 120 premises. On completion of this initial programme some sub-standard properties will still remain, but there are no groups of dwellings which are uniformly unfit, for those which are approaching the statutory standard of unfitness are inter¬ spersed with houses which are reasonably fit for human habitation. Because effective slum clearance action may only be taken in respect of isolated dwellings, it appears that further pro¬ gress can only be made adopting redevelopment procedure. This would involve the acquisition of larger areas of sub¬ standard property by agreement, in order to provide an area of sufficient size and suitable shape for redevelopment. (d) Redevelopment of Closely Built Areas Both in Clifford Ward and Cornbrook Ward, as indicated in the previous paragraph, there are areas of closely built property which are reasonably fit for human habitation, although not possessing amenities up to modern standards. Repeated surveys of the areas have shown that many of the dwellings have an estimated life of from ten to fifteen years, and it is debatable whether the Council should encourage the provision of modern amenities in dwellings of this character. Broadly speaking, the housing conditions in the areas are approaching the border line which separates houses capable of improvement from houses which are incapable of being improved at a reasonable cost. Comprehensive re¬ development of these localities has been discussed, but this of course, would involve compensation resulting in a more expensive site than if the housing conditions were such that slum clearance action could be invoked. The extension of industrial development in the Trafford Park area has now resulted in the dwellinghouses between First Avenue and Fourth Avenue being entirely surrounded by factories, which seriously detract from the amenities by reason of industrial noise and the inevitable dust, fumes and