The following summary from the official returns up to March, 1901, will give some idea of the large amount of work done in this respect by the County Council : Dwellings. Rooms. It is the custom of the Council to assume that one room accommodates two persons, so that up to March, 1901, the totals were as follows :— 6,244 Up to March, 1902, the total of dwellings completed was as follows: 2,591 Tenements, containing 6,314 rooms; 358 Cottages, containing 1,050 rooms; I Common Lodging House, containing 324 cubicles; 18 Shops; 100 Workshops. It will be seen by comparison with the previous figures that the increase for one year has been 543 dwellings, containing 1,120 rooms, so that the total up to and including 1902 is, in round figures, 3,500 dwellings, containing 8,750 rooms, accommodating 17,500 persons, and costing over £1,000,000. * These figures do not represent the full cost, but only the outlay to date. *Actual cost of area in Brackets underneath. + These are not of the true cottage type, nor can they be called block dwellings, but they are very "heavily" built. Foundations cost extra: Council Buildings, £1,546; Westview, etc., Cottages, £2,851; Idenaen Cottages, £2,083. B Building. S Site. *Actual cost of area in Brackets underneath. + These are not of the true cottage type, nor can they be called block dwellings, but they are very "heavily" built. Foundations cost extra; Council Buildings, £1,546; Westview, etc., Cottages, Financial Results.-The total rents received for 1901 were £58,058, and when the plans already in hand are completed, the yearly rents will be £161,000. The total loss of income was £1,773, and of this the amount due to 66 empties" (mostly at the opening of new blocks of dwellings), was £1,488, or 26 per cent. of the rent receivable. The bad debts written off as irrecoverable, only amounted to £285, or 10/- per cent. of the rent receivable. The total financial result on the whole of the dwellings from the date of the opening of the first block up to March, 1902, is a surplus of £1,808 7s. 2d. This result has been arrived at after (a) Making full provision for repairs and renewals. The credit balance of this fund in 1902 amounted to £11,125. (6) Charging interest on capital outlay at an average rate of nearly 3 per cent. (c) Setting aside a sinking fund sufficient to replace the whole of the capital (d) Repaying all contributions from rates which have been needed in meeting preliminary expenses, etc., in prior years, and amounting to £8,567 14s. Id. Three very satisfactory features about the work of the Council are (1) The steady increase in the average size of the dwellings being planned; and the steady decrease in the average cost per room. These are mainly due to the fact that a large number of cottages are either planned or in course of erection upon cheap land in the suburbs, under Part III of the Act of 1890. (2) The actual cost of the land is charged against these latter schemes, instead of a reduced or housing valuation. (3) The steady improvement in the financial position of the dwellings due to the decrease in working expenses, which has followed upon the establishment of a Housing Department, charged with the complete management of the dwellings, instead of leaving it in the hands of several other departments, as was for some time the case. The following table of rent and expenses for 1901 shows, with respect to 2,266 dwellings, containing 5,756 rooms, how the various blocks compare with regard to the constituent items of expenditure : |