Prior to the passing of the Public Health Act 1875 the improvement of
private roads and streets was dealt with under section 69 of the Public
Health Act 1848, but the clause under which the town surveyor now works
is that which is so well known as the 150th section of the Public Health
Act 1875, and is as follows:
“Where any street within any urban district (not being a highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large) or the carriageway, footway, or
any other part of such street is not sewered, levelled, paved, metalled,
flagged, channelled and made good, or is not lighted to the satisfaction
of the urban authority, such authority may, by notice addressed to the
respective owners or occupiers of the premises fronting, adjoining or
abutting on such parts thereof as may require to be sewered, levelled,
paved, metalled, flagged or channelled, or to be lighted, require them
to sewer, level, pave, metal, flag, channel or make good, or to provide
proper means for lighting the same within a time to be specified in such
notice.
“Before giving such notice the urban authority shall cause plans and
sections of any structural works intended to be executed under this
section, and an estimate of the probable cost thereof, to be made under
the direction of their surveyor, such plans and sections to be on a
scale of not less than one inch for eighty-eight feet for a horizontal
plan, and on a scale of not less than one inch for ten feet for a
vertical section, and, in the case of a sewer, showing the depth of such
sewer below the surface of the ground: such plans, sections and
estimate shall be deposited in the office of the urban authority, and
shall be open at all reasonable hours for the inspection of all persons
interested therein during the time specified in such notice; and a
reference to such plans and sections in such notice shall be sufficient
without requiring any copy of such plans and sections to be annexed to
such notice.
If such notice is not complied with, the urban authority may, if they
think fit, execute the works mentioned or referred to therein; and may
recover in a summary manner the expenses incurred by them in so doing
from the owners in default, according to the frontage of their
respective premises, and in such proportion as is settled by the
surveyor of the urban authority, or (in case of dispute) by arbitration
in manner provided by this Act; or the urban authority may by order
declare the expenses so incurred to be private improvement expenses.
“The same proceedings may be taken and the same powers may be exercised
in respect of any street or road of which a part is or may be a public
footpath or repairable by the inhabitants at large, as fully as if the
whole of such street or road was a highway not repairable by the
inhabitants at large” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 150).
One has only to look at the number of footnotes that follow this clause
both in “Glenn” and “Fitzgerald” to see that it requires some
considerable interpretation. I propose in this chapter to call attention
to some of its engineering discrepancies and to point out the duties of
the town surveyor in connection with its enforcement.
First then, I conclude that it is the duty of the surveyor to call the
attention of the urban authority to the fact that any street within his
district (not being a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large) is
not “sewered, levelled, paved, &c.” but there is no express order for
him to do so, but with whoever this duty rests, it is no doubt the
surveyor’s duty to be certain that the street in question has never been
dedicated to the public or repaired at the cost of the rates, but is
really a private street within the meaning of the Act.
Before proceeding to give the manner of putting the 150th section into
force, it is necessary to draw attention to some of its wording.
The word “sewered” no doubt is also meant to include all drains both for
house sewage and surface water falling on the street, &c., and may be
used in the same comprehensive manner that the word “sewerage” is
generally employed.
“Levelled” is also rather a vague term, but it has been held to refer
only to the level or cross section of the street itself, there being no
power to charge the adjacent owners with the expense of altering the
level of the street so as to make it conform to a street with which it
connects. The word “formed” would in this case have therefore been a
more appropriate phrase.
“Paved, metalled, flagged, channelled and made good” are very precise
directions, but why both the words “paved” and “metalled” are used is
not clear. Is the paving to be placed on the top of the metalling or
vice versâ? It seems ludicrous to have used both words. The word
“kerbed” also ought no doubt to have been inserted, as no street either
urban or suburban can be formed without this necessary adjunct.
These very precise directions, if carried out in their entirety, would
cause great injustice to the adjacent owners of the property who had to
bear the expense, for although “paving” and “flagging” may be necessary
for streets situated in a town itself, they would be perfectly
unnecessary for a suburban road, and it is to this latter class of work
that the section is more frequently applied. There are generally very
few badly maintained private streets in the heart and busiest parts of a
town, much difference of opinion consequently exists in different
localities as to what the requirements shall be.
Some urban authorities insist that the roadways shall be paved with
granite setts or wood blocks, the footpaths being flagged or paved with
asphalte, while others are content with ordinary macadamised roadways
and gravelled paths.
There can be no doubt that the town surveyor must use considerable
discretion in deciding what class of work should be demanded, and he
must be greatly guided by the situation and requirements of the street
in question and the description and value of the adjoining property.
With reference to the words “or is not lighted,” my opinion is that
nearly all private streets are at once lighted by the urban authority
out of the rates, so soon as buildings are erected at its sides or it is
found necessary for the public convenience to do so. A reference to
section 161 of the Public Health Act 1875 will show that there is no
exclusion of private streets for that purpose, and for many obvious
reasons it is better that the urban authority should themselves
undertake this duty rather than throw it upon private individuals.
Having thus far drawn attention to some of the wording of the clause, it
is now necessary to discuss the duties of the town surveyor in
connection with it.
It will be seen that notice has to be addressed to the owners or
occupiers of “premises fronting, adjoining or abutting _on such parts
thereof_ as may require to be sewered, levelled, paved, &c.” It is often
found that although the greater portion of a certain private street may
be in a shocking state of repair, perhaps just a small length here and
there opposite portions of different frontages may not be so bad: for
instance, the path may be well gravelled and kerbed and a narrow channel
gutter inserted against a wretchedly constructed roadway. It is often
open to question if the owners of these properties against which these
partial improvements have been effected can expect to escape their
liability. If they can, it complicates still more the working of an
already greatly complicated clause.
“Before giving such notice the urban authority shall cause plans and
sections . . . to be made under the direction of their surveyor.”
This order involves some considerable amount of work. Very accurate
surveys must be made and plotted to a large scale, levels must be taken,
and where sewers have to be included in the notice it is often necessary
to extend the survey considerably, in order to make provision for future
extensions of streets or buildings or for the existing sewerage system.
The clause is very particular in stating that the “depth of such sewer
below the surface of the ground” must be shown, but no mention is made
about the size. The latter point being of quite as great importance it
would be thought as the depth, the question also at once arises, whether
the new sewer must be specified of such a size as only to meet the
requirements of the street alone, or may it be made of such an area as
will carry the sewage of a considerable district? It would be most
unjust to expect the owners of property to pay for a sewer larger than
was required for the street in respect of which they were responsible,
and if legal, the better plan would be for them to be charged with the
cost of such a sewer as would be sufficient for their purpose and let
any extra size that the surveyor found was requisite be paid for out of
the public rates.
It should be noted that in addition to the plans and sections “an
estimate of the probable cost” must also be prepared by the surveyor,
and this must be very carefully prepared, for it has been held to be a
“condition precedent to the recovery of the expenses, that such estimate
should have been properly made” (_Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’ p. 160, 3rd
edition).
No mention is however made in the Act of a specification, which is of
course absolutely essential.
It may here be of use if I give a specimen form of notice to be served
in connection with carrying out the duties involved by this clause; of
course each town surveyor must alter the work specified to meet the
requirements of the case;
_To the Owner or Owners of certain premises fronting, adjoining, or
abutting upon a certain street, called in the parish of
in the borough of in the county of _
Whereas the said street is not levelled, paved, metalled, channelled
and made good to the satisfaction of the mayor, aldermen and burgesses
of , the urban sanitary authority of the above-named borough:
And whereas your said premises front, adjoin, or abut on certain parts
of the said street which requires to be levelled, paved, metalled,
channelled and made good as aforesaid:
Now therefore, the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of , the
urban sanitary authority of the said borough as aforesaid, hereby give
you notice (in pursuance of the statute in that case made and
provided) to level, pave, metal, channel and make good the portion of
the said street in which your said premises front, adjoin, or abut as
aforesaid, within the space of one month from the date hereof, in
manner following, that is to say:
(_If a sewer is to be formed, fill in this first._)
The carriage-way and water tables thereof to be formed in the mode,
according to the sections, and on the levels and at the rates of
inclination shown upon the plan, sections, and in accordance with the
specification of the work prepared by the surveyor to the said urban
sanitary authority, and now open for public inspection at his office,
during the usual office hours.
The carriage-way to be bottomed, formed, and carefully levelled up to
the form shown by the said sections; and in the following manner:
(_Here fill in specification of method._)
Construct gullies, fitted with five-bar cast-iron gratings and
frames of the form and pattern to be seen at , these gullies
to be placed in such positions as are shown on the aforesaid plan and
sections; each gully to have a six-inch glazed stoneware socket-pipe
drain connecting it with the sewer, to be laid on a solid bed, and at
an uniform inclination from gully to sewer, with joints made of neat
Portland cement.
The existing kerb to be taken up and replaced by inches by
inches granite kerb in lengths of not less than inches,
to the lines shown on plan, and to the levels marked on sections.
The water-tables or gutter to be channelled with properly laid,
and bedded on fine gravel to the levels and inclinations marked on
sections.
The footpaths shall be properly formed, bottomed, and drained where
required; the formation level made to the inclination shown on
section, and afterwards coated with .
The whole of the above-mentioned works to be executed by you in
accordance with the plan and sections hereinbefore referred to and now
open for inspection at the surveyor’s office as aforesaid, and of the
dimensions, widths and levels shown thereon, and to be done in a good,
workmanlike and substantial manner, to the satisfaction of the said
urban sanitary authority and of their surveyor.
An estimate of the probable cost of the said work, prepared under the
direction of the surveyor to the said urban sanitary authority, is
also lying for inspection at the office of the said surveyor, in
manner required by section 150 of the Public Health Act 1875.
Dated this day of 18 .
____________________
_Town Clerk_.
The clause then goes on to say “If such notice is not complied with.”
It would be a most difficult and costly proceeding for any individual
owner of property to execute the work for half the width of the street
opposite his length of frontage, and the result would be anything but
satisfactory if the owners of the properties were to comply with the
notices in this manner.
If the owners do intend to comply with the notice, and carry out the
work themselves, the best method for them to adopt is to hold a meeting
and decide upon having it done, then to appoint one of their number, or
some other person to superintend or carry out the work, and afterwards
collect the money, but this is very seldom done, and the wisest course
(which is generally adopted) is not to comply with the notice, but let
the urban authority execute the work themselves. This again entails
considerable labour upon the town surveyor, who has to superintend the
work and see that all the details contained in the statutory notices are
properly carried out, but his labour does not end here. Upon the
completion of the work the amount expended has to be recovered “from the
owners in default according to the frontage of their respective
premises, and in such proportion as is settled by the surveyor of the
urban authority, or (in case of dispute) by arbitration.”
It is scarcely necessary to point out what an immense amount of
responsible work this involves. First, a separate account of all the
labour and materials employed on the street must be most carefully kept
and totalled at the end of the work, with such additional sum for
supervision, &c., as the urban authority may think necessary.[151] The
exact length of each property “fronting, adjoining or abutting” on the
street, must be most carefully measured. A proportionate sum has then to
be calculated for each of these, and this sum is often complicated by
cross roads, cul-de-sacs, narrow passages, strips of land intervening
between the street and the properties, and many other perplexing
intricacies, in addition to those persons who are legally exempted from
any payment under the following clause of the Public Health Act 1875:
“The incumbent or minister of any church, chapel, or place appropriated
to public religious worship, which is now by law exempt from rates for
the relief of the poor, shall not be liable to any expenses under the
last preceding section as the owner or occupier of such church, chapel,
or place, or of any churchyard or burial ground attached thereto, nor
shall any such expenses be deemed to be a charge on such church, chapel
or other place, or on such churchyard or burial ground . . .” (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 151.).
The town surveyor, having ascertained what is the amount of the sum due
from each owner, shall proceed to fill in the amount upon a form a
specimen of which is now given:
_To the Owner of certain premises fronting, adjoining or abutting upon
a certain street called in the parish of in the
borough of in the county of _
Whereas the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the urban sanitary
authority for the said , by a notice in writing pursuant to
the statute in that behalf made and provided, dated the day of
, 18 , required you being the owner of certain premises
fronting, adjoining or abutting upon a street or highway called
, within the said (and not being a street or highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large) to level, pave, metal, channel
and make good the said street or highway within the time and in the
manner specified in the said notice, and according to the plans and
sections deposited at the office of the surveyor to the said urban
sanitary authority at :
And whereas the said notice not having been complied with by you
within the time limited by the said notice, the said urban sanitary
authority have executed the works mentioned or referred to therein:
And whereas the expenses incurred by the said urban sanitary authority
in levelling, paving, metalling, channelling and making good the said
street, amount to pounds shillings and pence:
Wherefore take notice that I the undersigned, being the surveyor of
the said urban sanitary authority, in pursuance of the statutes in
that case made and provided, do hereby apportion the sum of
pounds, shillings and pence as the proportion of the
said sum of pounds, shillings and pence, to be
paid by you as such owner aforesaid, such apportionment being
according to the frontage of your said premises, fronting, adjoining
or abutting upon the said street or highway.
Further take notice that the aforesaid apportionment will be binding
and conclusive upon you unless within the period of three months from
the day of the date of this notice you shall by written notice to the
said urban sanitary authority dispute the same.
Dated this day of , 18 .
______________________________
_Surveyor to the said Urban Sanitary Authority._
______________________________
_Clerk of the said Urban Sanitary Authority._
There seems to be no power on the part of any owner to dispute the
question as to whether the works carried out have been necessary or not,
or whether the cost of the works have been excessive; the only point
upon which they can go to arbitration is that as to whether the
proportion settled by the surveyor is accurate or not, and this point
the arbitrator is left to decide.
It must not be lost sight of that there is a clause in the Public Health
Act 1875, which makes the expenses so settled by the surveyor very
binding upon the owner of the property in question, unless he appeals
within three months from the service of the notice, as the following
extract from the clause will show:
. . . “Where such expenses have been settled and apportioned by the
surveyor of the local authority as payable by such owner, such
apportionment shall be binding and conclusive on such owner, unless
within three months from service of notice on him by the local authority
or their surveyor of the amount settled by the surveyor to be due from
such owner, he shall by written notice dispute the same” . . . (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 257)[152] and it must also be borne in mind that the
person from whom these expenses may be recovered “is the owner of the
premises at the time when the work was done, not the owner to whom
notice requiring the work to be done may be given” (_vide_ Fitzgerald’s
Public Health Act, p. 301, 3rd edition); so that the town surveyor must
be very careful to make sure that any of the property abutting on the
street has not changed hands before he commences the work.
After the 150th section of the Public Health Act has been carried out
and a private street has been thus put into thorough repair, the urban
authority may take possession of it and declare it to be a highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large; the following section of the Act
gives the modus operandi necessary to effect this:
“When any street within any urban district, not being a highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large, has been sewered, levelled,
paved, flagged, metalled, channelled and made good and provided with
proper means of lighting to the satisfaction of the urban authority,
such authority may if they think fit, by notice in writing put up in any
part of the street, declare the same to be a highway, and thereupon the
same shall become a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large, and
every such notice shall be entered among the proceedings of the urban
authority.
“Provided that no such street shall become a highway so repairable if
within one month after such notice has been put up, the proprietor or
the majority in number of proprietors of such street, by notice in
writing to the urban authority, object thereto, and in ascertaining such
majority, joint proprietors shall be reckoned as one proprietor” (38 &
39 Vic. c. 55, s. 152).
The necessary notices in conformity with this section are usually
prepared by the town clerk, so that the town surveyor has nothing to do
with this proceeding except to maintain the street after it has been
declared a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large, in the same
manner as he does the rest of the public streets within his district.
There is still one other clause of the Public Health Act 1875, which
deals with the question of private roads, and it is as follows:
“Any urban authority may agree with any person for the making of roads
within their district for the public use through the lands and at the
expense of such person, and may agree that such roads shall become and
the same shall accordingly become on completion, highways maintainable
and repairable by the inhabitants at large within their district; they
may also with the consent of two-thirds of their number agree with such
person to pay and may accordingly pay any portion of the expenses of
making such roads” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 146).
This clause is very explicit and requires no comment, it would however
be much better for the urban authority in contemplating a case of this
description to execute the necessary works themselves and agree with the
person about the expense, for if they are intended to be afterwards
taken over it is to be feared that the roads would be very improperly
constructed in the first place by the person intending to hand them
over. It must be noted that the word “roads” is used in the above clause
instead of “streets” as in the other clauses I have quoted, and also
that the word “maintainable” is added to repairable.
Street is the term legally used in the Public Health Act 1875, and is
thus defined:
“Street includes any highway (not being a turnpike road) and any public
bridge (not being a county bridge), and any road, lane, footway, square,
court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not” (38 & 39 Vic. c.
55, s. 4.) so that whereas in the 150th section of the Public Health Act
1875, any of the above can be dealt with, it is only open for the urban
authority to deal with roads under the 146th section of the Act, and it
is sometimes rather difficult to define a road for the purposes of the
latter section.
[151] In some districts the urban authority make an additional charge
of 5 per cent. upon the total outlay to cover the cost of preliminary
surveys and supervision of the work by their surveyor; this 5 per
cent., however, is not paid to him, but is paid to the city treasurer,
and thus becomes a set off against his salary.
[152] See also 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55, s. 268, where a person who deems
himself aggrieved may memorialise the Local Government Board, &c.
One of the most important duties devolving upon a “town surveyor” is
that of exercising control over any new streets that may be constructed,
or any new buildings that may be erected, within the limits of his
jurisdiction.
This duty is imposed on him by the following clause of the Public Health
Act 1875:
“Every urban authority may make byelaws with respect to the following
matters; (that is to say,)
“(1.) With respect to the level, width and construction of new streets,
and the provisions for the sewerage thereof;
“(2.) With respect to the structure of walls, foundations, roofs, and
chimneys of new buildings, for securing stability and the prevention of
fires, and for purposes of health;
“(3.) With respect to the sufficiency of the space about buildings to
secure a free circulation of air, and with respect to the ventilation of
buildings;
“(4.) With respect to the drainage of buildings, to waterclosets, earth
closets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools, in connexion with buildings,
and to the closing of buildings or parts of buildings unfit for human
habitation, and to prohibition of their use for such habitation;
“And they may further provide for the observance of such byelaws by
enacting therein such provisions as they think necessary as to the
giving of notices; as to the deposit of plans and sections by persons
intending to lay out streets or to construct buildings; as to inspection
by the urban authority, and as to the power of such authority (subject
to the provisions of this Act) to remove, alter, or pull down any work
begun or done in contravention of such byelaws. Provided that no byelaw
made under this section shall affect any building erected in any place
(which at the time of the passing of this Act is included in an urban
sanitary district) before the Local Government Acts came into force in
such place, or any building erected in any place (which at the time of
the passing of this Act is not included in an urban sanitary district)
before such place becomes constituted or included in an urban district,
or by virtue of any order of the Local Government Board subject to this
enactment.
“The provisions of this section, and of the two last preceding sections,
shall not apply to buildings belonging to any railway company, and used
for the purposes of such railway under any Act of Parliament” (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 157).
The result of this power having been so given to urban authorities, is
that they have all framed sets of byelaws, which having received the
sanction of the Local Government Board, are now law in the several
districts.
In the year 1877, it being found that considerable variation existed in
the requirements set forth in the byelaws, according to the districts
from which they emanated, and experience having shown that the forms of
byelaws previously issued by the Local Government Board were inadequate,
the Local Government Board in order to assist urban authorities issued a
series of model byelaws; amongst the series being a set of byelaws
regulating the manner in which new streets should be constructed and
buildings erected.[153]
These model byelaws are too extensive to give in detail, as they contain
99 clauses, but every town surveyor should at once procure a copy, even
if his corporation have not adopted them, nor intend to do so.
One of the first difficulties that often presents itself to those who
have to enforce the observance of the necessary “giving of notices and
deposit of plans and sections by persons intending to construct new
buildings” is to prove that the building is “new” so as to bring it
under the operations of the Act.
In many cases, of course, there can be no doubt where bare land is being
built upon, but often after buildings have been partially destroyed by
fire, or where extensive alterations are being carried out, some
considerable elements of uncertainty as to what is a “new building” are
introduced.
The law attempts to settle the question as follows:
“For the purposes of this Act, the re-erecting of any building pulled
down to, or below the ground floor, or of any frame-building of which
only the frame-work is left down to the ground floor, or the conversion
into a dwelling house of any building not originally constructed for
human habitation, or the conversion into more than one dwelling house of
a building originally constructed as one dwelling house only, shall be
considered the erection of a new building” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 159).
But the difficulty at once presents itself as to what is meant by the
words “ground floor.” Does this mean the actual floor level, or the
cubical space contained by the walls, floor and ceiling of the “ground
floor” (or as it is sometimes called “ground story”) of the building?
The latter may be assumed to be the correct interpretation, for if we
order a man to hang a picture, or to fix a chandelier on the “ground
floor,” we certainly do not expect to find them placed upon the floor.
It is important that this point should be settled definitely, or some
more explanatory term employed in the Act in order to determine what is
a new building, for in the present state of uncertainty it may be urged
that the whole building must be razed to the ground, whereas if the
proper meaning of “ground floor” is taken, would the removal of the
superstructure and destruction of the ceiling only of the “ground
floor” bring the new work under the definition of a new building and
within the operation of the byelaws?
This uncertainty is now taken advantage of by builders and others, who
sometimes find it irksome and inconvenient to be obliged to construct a
building in accordance with the byelaws of any town. Somewhat sharp
practices are consequently resorted to in order to evade the law, and
old buildings are converted into new ones without any powers of
interference by the urban authority or their surveyor. This is greatly
to be regretted, as unless the building comes within the operation of
the byelaws, it is frequently erected without any sanitary precautions
or even stability.
Sometimes a so-called repair of a building is commenced by adding a new
roof perhaps, at a higher level than the old one; when sufficient time
has elapsed to allay suspicion, a new front is erected, and then new
back and side walls in due course, the alteration of the interior floors
not attracting much attention.
Cases of this description are very troublesome to the town surveyor, as
if legal proceedings are to be taken against the offender, it is
necessary for the surveyor to make surveys and drawings of the works as
they are in progress in order to prove his case, and these might extend
over a considerable period of time.[154] In order to make these surveys
it would be necessary for him to enter the premises whilst the works
were in progress, but there does not seem to be any powers conferred on
him by any Act of Parliament for such a purpose, so that really he has
no power to prevent the occurrences I have mentioned.
It must also not be forgotten that what may sometimes appear to be an
entirely new building, may only be an addition to one that existed
before the passing of the Act, and although the new work may be ten
times as large as the old, still much conflicting evidence may be
brought to bear before it can be proved to be a “new building” within
the meaning of the Act.
Turning again to section 159 of the Public Health Act 1875, these words
will be found as defining also what is a new building: “or the
conversion into a dwelling house of any building not originally
constructed for human habitation.”
It would have been better in the interests of sanitation if the Act had
prohibited the conversion of any building at all into a dwelling house
without the approval of the urban authority, for as the law stands at
present, it is open for an owner of property to convert stables or
warehouses, &c., into dwelling houses, by simply asserting and bringing
witnesses or other evidence to prove that they were “originally
constructed for human habitation” irrespective of whether they are
adapted for the purpose or not, thus defeating the intention of the
Public Health Act to secure a better description of dwellings than those
that were erected before the passing of the Act.
When a dispute does arise with anyone as to whether a building comes
within the definition of “new” or not, it is well if possible to agree
upon certain points of fact and upon plans, &c., before the case comes
into court, and then to endeavour to get the magistrates to “view.” This
course if pursued often saves lengthy litigation, and a great waste of
time and money.
With reference to the deposit of plans of new streets or buildings, the
following clause of the Public Health Act 1875 provides that this shall
be done:
“Where a notice, plan or description of any work is required by any
byelaw made by an urban authority to be laid before that authority, the
urban authority shall, within one month after the same has been
delivered or sent to their surveyor or clerk,[155] signify in writing
their approval or disapproval of the intended work to the person
proposing to execute the same; and if the work is commenced after such
notice of disapproval, or before the expiration of such month without
such approval, and is in any respect not in conformity with any byelaw
of the urban authority, the urban authority may cause so much of the
work as has been executed to be pulled down or removed” . . . (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 158.).
The result of these clauses of the Act with reference to new streets and
buildings is, that some of the most arduous and irksome duties of the
town surveyor are embodied in the few words they contain. These duties
consist of, first, the careful examination of, and report upon all plans
of new streets and buildings; secondly, the constant supervision of
these streets and buildings whilst the works are in progress; and each
of these duties will be considered in the course of this chapter.
First then, as to the deposit and examination of the plans of new
streets or buildings.
The byelaws of which I have already made mention should contain some
such clause as the following:
“Every person who shall intend to make or lay out any new street,
whether the same shall be intended to be used as a public way or not,
shall give notice to the urban authority of such intention, by writing
delivered to them at their office, or at the office of their surveyor,
and shall at the same time leave or cause to be left at the office of
the urban authority, or of their surveyor, a plan and section of such
intended new street, drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every
44 feet, and shall show on every such plan the names of the owners of
the land through or over which such street shall be intended to pass,
the level, width, direction, the proposed mode of construction, the
proposed name of such intended new street, and its position relatively
to the streets nearest thereto; the size and number of the intended
building lots, and the proposed sites, height, class, and nature of the
buildings to be erected therein, and the proposed height of the division
and fence walls thereon; and the name and address of the person
intending to lay out such new street, and he shall himself sign such
plan, or cause the same to be signed by his duly authorised agent.
“Such person shall show on every such section the level of the present
surface of the ground above some known fixed datum, the level and rate
or rates of inclination of the intended new street, the level and
inclination of the streets with which it will be connected, and the
level of the lowest floors of the intended new buildings.
“Every person who shall intend to erect any new building shall give
notice to the urban authority of such intention by writing delivered to
them at their office or at the office of their surveyor, and shall at
the same time leave or cause to be left at the said office detail plans
and sections of every floor of such intended new building, drawn to a
scale of not less than 1 inch to every 8 feet, showing the position,
form and dimensions of the several parts of such building, and of the
watercloset, earth closet, privy, cesspool, ashpit, well, and all other
appurtenances; and together with such plans and sections he shall leave
or cause to be left at the office of the urban authority, or of their
surveyor, a description of the materials of which the building is
proposed to be constructed, of the intended mode of drainage, and means
of water supply.
“Such person shall at the same time leave or cause to be left at the
office of the urban authority, or of their surveyor, a block plan drawn
to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every 44 feet, and shall show the
position of the buildings and appurtenances of the properties
immediately adjoining, the width and level of the street in front, and
of the street, if any, at the rear of such building, the level of the
lowest floor of such building, and of any yard or ground belonging
thereto.
“Such person shall likewise show on such plan the intended lines of
drainage of such building, and the intended size, depth and inclination
of each drain; and the details of the arrangement proposed to be adopted
for the ventilation of the drains.”
With reference to the deposit of plans as required by the above byelaw,
the following suggestions as to the best manner of effecting this may be
of some use:
(1.) The town surveyor should see that the person, or his agent,
intending to carry out the work, deposits tracings of the proposed
street or building signed by himself, so that there should be no after
dispute as to what really has been deposited; these tracings should be
on good paper properly inked in and coloured so as to be indelible. In
some towns it is the practice for original plans to be deposited
temporarily with the surveyor, who is expected to have them traced and
then returned to the owner, but this not only tends to the possibility
of dispute as to the correctness of the tracings, but it also takes up a
large amount of the surveyor’s time, or of such other officer as may
have charge of this branch of the duties.
In order to insure that the plans deposited shall not be afterwards
claimed by the person making the deposit, it might be well to add these
words to the clause of the byelaws which I have quoted:
“All such plans and sections so left at the office of the urban
authority or of their surveyor, shall remain the property of the urban
authority.”
(2.) It is advisable for the town surveyor to have in his possession a
number of printed forms on which application should be made by the
person intending to erect a new building and filled in and signed by him
or his duly authorised agent. The following is given as a specimen form
for this purpose:
_To the Surveyor of the Urban Authority of _
I hereby give you notice that it is my intention to erect certain
buildings in street, and that the following particulars relate
thereto:
—+———————————–++—+————————-
No.| Questions. ||No.| Answers.
—+———————————–++—+————————-
1 |Christian and Surname _in full_, || 1 |
|Address and Occupation of || |
|persons for whom buildings to || |
|be erected. || |
| || |
2 |Number of drawings deposited. || 2 |
| || |
3 |Name of architect, if any. || 3 |
| || |
4 |Description of buildings and of || 4 |
|the materials to be used in || |
|construction of same. || |
| || |
5 |Situation of buildings. || 5 |
| || |
6 |Level, or intended level of cellar,|| 6 |
|or ground floor, with reference || |
|to surface of street. || |
| || |
7 |Thickness of walls. || 7 |
| || |
8 |Height of building in stories. || 8 |
| || |
9 |Area of clear open space at rear || 9 |
|or side of buildings exclusively || |
|belonging thereto. || |
| || |
10 |Distance across such open space. ||10 |
| || |
11 |Description of ventilation. ||11 |
| || |
12 |Width of street or open space ||12 |
|opposite buildings. || |
| || |
13 |Size and description of drains, ||13 |
|and traps, and if ventilated. || |
| || |
14 |Inclination of drains. ||14 |
| || |
15 |Description of outlet to drains. ||15 |
| || |
16 |How supplied with water. ||16 |
| || |
17 |Situation, dimensions, and ||17 |
|particulars of apparatus of w.c.’s.|| |
—+———————————–++—+————————-
And I herewith leave detail plans and sections of every floor of such
intended new buildings, drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to
every 8 feet, showing the position, form, and dimensions of the
several parts of such buildings, and of the watercloset, privy,
cesspool, earthcloset, ashpit, well, and all other appurtenances; and
also, a block plan drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every
44 feet, showing the position of the buildings and appurtenances of
the properties immediately adjoining, the width and level of the
street, the level of the lowest floor of the intended building, and of
the yard or ground belonging thereto.
Dated this day of 18
Signature in full,
Address,
Occupation,
A similar form may be prepared relating to plans of proposed new
streets, but of course the number of the questions contained in it will
be less.
(3.) When the necessary notices have been given and the tracings
properly deposited with the surveyor, he should carefully examine them
to see if they are in accordance with the byelaws which are in force in
his district. They should then be folded and placed in a large envelope,
which should be endorsed with the name of the person proposing to carry
out the work, the description of the work proposed, the name of the
architect, if any, the name of the builder, if any, the date of the
deposit, and a blank left for the date of approval. Each envelope should
also have a large number stamped upon it.
(4.) These particulars should be entered in a book of reference against
a corresponding number, so that at any future date it may be easy to
find and refer to any plans that have been deposited by means of an
index and the number on the envelope.
(5.) If on examining the plans the surveyor finds anything in them
which does not conform to the byelaws, he should be empowered by the
urban authority to return them at once to the person depositing them,
without having to wait to lay them before a committee, as this is a
great saving of time. In returning the plans the surveyor should write a
letter setting forth a schedule of his objections and the particulars of
the manner in which the plans and sections fail to comply with the
requirements of the byelaws.
(6.) If the plans are redeposited unaltered or showing still some
non-compliance with the byelaws, the surveyor must lay them before his
committee and explain in what respects they are defective, leaving it to
the committee to decide whether they shall be approved or not.
(7.) If the plans are in accordance with the byelaws, the surveyor
reports the fact to the committee, whereupon the plans should be at once
signed by the chairman of the committee.
(8.) All plans which the committee decline to approve of should be at
once returned to the person who deposited them with a written
notification of the reasons.
(9.) Plans which are approved of by the committee and afterwards
ratified by the general meeting of the urban authority, should be
carefully put away in pigeon-holes, so that by means of the reference
book previously described they can be easily found at any future time.
This is very important, as no extension of a building the plans of which
have been thus approved by the urban authority can ever afterwards be
carried out without their consent; and the plans of any alteration which
would not involve building upon an increased area must be deposited as
in the case of a new building.
(10.) A notification in writing should be sent to the person who has
deposited the plans when they have been approved by the urban authority;
and in sending this notification it is well to draw his attention to the
fact that notice must be given to the surveyor of the commencement of
the work, in order that the foundations, drains, &c., may be examined
by him before the ground is filled in.
The importance and necessity for the deposit of plans with a sanitary
authority cannot be over-estimated, but this deposit is of but little
practical good unless it can be insured that all the buildings are
erected strictly in conformity with these plans, and this, according to
the Act, is the duty also of the town surveyor. As a matter of fact, it
is quite impossible for any single person in any large town to perform
this duty, and a staff of assistants is consequently necessary if the
sanitary authority really wish their byelaws to be enforced.
Anyone who is practically acquainted with the difficulties that even
architects experience in superintending buildings they have _themselves_
designed, and how much they have to trust to the clerk of works (of
which there is generally one to every building), will readily see what
an absurdity it is to suppose that a town surveyor, with his multitude
of other duties and attendances at committees and meetings, can even
pretend to see that the 99 detail clauses of such byelaws as those
emanating from the Local Government Board Office, or even those of a
less stringent character, can possibly be enforced, especially when it
is remembered that many of the buildings he has to inspect have no
superintending architect, but are being erected for purposes of
speculation by what are commonly known as jerry builders.
Laws may be passed, books on sanitary questions may be written, but
until a change is made in the machinery and manner of the inspection of
buildings in the course of erection, and a large staff of inspectors or
sanitary police or some such officials are kept by a sanitary authority,
very little real advancement will be made with the poorer classes of
buildings.
It must in fairness to the builder be stated that to erect houses in
strict accordance with the model byelaws would probably mean loss of
money to him, as they could not possibly be built with any prospect of
a reasonable return upon the outlay. This partly arises from the
stringent clauses inserted with respect to the structure of walls and
other precautions for the prevention of fires. I cannot help thinking
that too much interference is now made by sanitary authorities for the
protection of property from fire.[156] It is not a sanitary question,
and is certainly one which chiefly affects insurance companies. Every
one should be able to pay his small insurance premium and the companies
should look after their own interests, and not expect it to be done by
others. If the sanitary authority wish to interfere in the question of
fire, why should not the protection of _life_ be considered as much as
property? Yet no clause can be discovered in the model byelaws rendering
it compulsory to make some provision in dwelling-houses or factories for
the easy escape of the inmates in case of fire. Indeed, as the Public
Health Act does not authorise the enactment of a byelaw for such a
purpose, such a clause would most probably be held to be _ultra vires_.
Another cause of expense to builders is the necessity imposed on them to
provide a comparatively large open space at the back or sides of new
dwelling-houses, thus sacrificing land, and sometimes making it almost
impossible to build at all. This necessity for open gardens or yards at
the back of even small labourers’ dwellings is in some towns pushed to
an extreme. If such houses are erected in a thoroughly sanitary manner
in all points of detail, it is questionable if this open space is really
beneficial. My experience has shown me that the space is often misused,
animals, such as rabbits, chickens, pigeons, &c., being kept there, or
it is made into a so-called garden, really a refuse heap which is a
receptacle for all the garbage and filth of the house, soon becoming a
fruitful source of disease to the occupants of the house itself and the
neighbours. It is also difficult to ensure that the space thus provided
and approved of in the deposited plans shall not be built upon at some
future period. It would be better if the streets in front of such
dwellings were wide, and a narrow street or “drangway” constructed at
the back for the dust-cart service, supply of coals, &c. The houses
themselves should have their rooms properly and thoroughly ventilated;
underground kitchens or living rooms should be prohibited. The drainage,
water-supply, and all the apparatus in connection with them, should be
perfect but simple. At the back of the house should be a small yard or
court well paved with asphalte or other impervious material, in which
should be placed the wash-house, w.c., &c. These and public parks and
plenty of fresh air in the streets and in the dwelling-houses themselves
should take the place of the large open spaces at the back of small
dwelling-houses, which, as I have already stated, are generally so much
misused.
The model byelaws with regard to new streets and buildings issued by the
Local Government Board contain most admirable clauses–valuable
suggestions which should receive attention from any town surveyor who
has to advise his corporation upon the subject of framing a set of
byelaws for his district–but they necessarily contain many clauses
which are not suitable equally well for towns in the north, south, east,
and west of England.
Many of the clauses are too stringent to be enforced, but this arises
not from any fault in the byelaws themselves, but rather from the
machinery employed in carrying them into effect. To secure all that they
require adequate inspection is needed, and this might be effected if
there was a fee charged by the urban authority of any town for the
purposes of proper inspection of buildings in course of construction;
and although it must be admitted that any provision which increases the
cost of construction of small dwelling-houses which shall be complete
in all sanitary requisites is undesirable, the extra cost of such
inspection would be too small to be appreciable, while the advantages
arising from such improved supervision would, even from a pecuniary
point of view, be of immense advantage not only to the community as
tending to improve the public health, but also to the owner as ensuring
good honest work in return for his money. In larger and more expensive
buildings this supervision is exercised by the architect, but as a rule
there is no architect employed in the case of small houses, and the
builder is accordingly left to his own devices, with frequently
unfortunate results.
[153] ‘Model Bye-laws issued by the Local Government Board for the use
of sanitary authorities. New Streets and Buildings, IV.’ Printed by
George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1877.
[154] It is open also to question whether in the case of an old
building being gradually altered into a new one, it would be possible
to prosecute, as there is the following limitation as to proceedings
in the Public Health Act 1875: “Any complaint or information made or
laid in pursuance of this Act shall be made or laid within six months
from the time when the matter of such complaint or information
respectively arose” . . . (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 252). The complaint
could not be made when the work was first commenced, as no offence
would have been committed, and if made after the work was finished, it
might be urged that the offence was commenced more than six months
prior, and that the complaint should have been made “when the matter
of such complaint or information respectively arose.”
[155] Plans are usually deposited with the surveyor as being the
officer who would be most likely to understand them.
[156] Nothing can be more vexatious than the bye-law compelling the
party walls of new buildings to be carried up above the roof to at
least 12 inches; not only does this frequently spoil the architectural
appearance of a building, but it causes great expense in order to keep
the wet out: a very difficult thing with a wall treated in this
manner.
