Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

SWANSEA EXTENSION SCHEME. T > Closing of the Important Inquiry. Mter the c Itys4,, of Friday's sit- i ting there was a consultation between "counsel for tho Corporation and the Oystermouth District Council, and the ,result was that the latter body decided to withdraw ,all opposition on certain terms. This was the first matter con- sidered when the enquiry was resumed on Saturday before Major Norton, There was again a good attendaneeof representatives of the jnsblic bodies in- terested. Mr. Honoratus Lloyd aft the outset ob- served: Allow me to announce, sir, that you will no longer be troubled with any opposition by the Oystermouth Urban District Council. I am happy to say that my learned friend has made a pro- posal to me which, after consideration;, the Corporation are advised is a wise course to take. and we are both perfectly good friends. The Inspector: Docs that mean they withdraw their opposition to both schemes? 4 Mr. Lloyd: Yes. Shortly the terms are these: consents to become part of the on the Corporation iuiviiv si- ^ing for a period ox w cars Unit their municipal pte shall not exceed 7s. 9d. in the S: kThe Inspector: That leaves the poor rate untouched. Mr. Lloyd: Yes. Secondly, Lanyland Bay to be sewered and collected in the Uystermouth system within 18 months J of the provisional order coiaing into operation; thirdly, Cray water to be supplied within eighteen months of the j ■provisional order; fourthly, if the scwer- age works are unsatisfactory or a nuis- age works are uns,,t? ance the Corporation to carry out such further works as the Local Government j Board shall direct; and fifthly, the costs t of the opposition, to be paid out of the s common fund. « The Inspector; Does that last provision] mean that the Corporation ara going to l oot tiie bill ? Mr. Lloyd: Yes,-sir. The new Cor- pei-atio-n of the enlarged borough would,! under that clause. pay the costs of the j ,Urban District Council. i With regard to the sewerage scheme, 4 the inspector enuuired who was to make. < the complaint in caso of a. nuisance. t Mr. Lloyd: Anybody. Of course, the Urban District Council will be j I "swamped." Any ratepayer in Swansea i who is not satisfied can make a com-1 plaint. The Inspector: It a complaint was made it would have to bo investigated. Mr. Lloyd: Oh yes. The Inspector: Are you speaking for j the fishery interests as well. Mr. Lloyd: No, sir. The fisheries are still opposing, I understand. The Inspector: Supposing the Fisheries; Committee alleged a nuisanco, Mr. Lloyd: If a body of men interested in the fisheries made a complaint to ilia: Local Government BuarH that the sewage works wl-re awe have under- taken to do what the Local Government Board shall direct. Mr. Tylùesley Jones, junior counsel for the Oystermouth District Council, in thej absence of Mr. Balfour Browne. K.C., j referring to the settlement, saiu the Ovstermoath Council had opposed both. these schemes believing that tlq,,f repre- sented the views and wishes of the people of the district. They believed jrhey ought iÖ take some steps to ascertain the views of the ratepayers, and they decided to have a poll, which took place last Mori-, daft The Inspector: Will you$iva me the result of tho poll-so that I c-au get it on t-,y notcs.P %ir. Jones; The number of electors is 2.470, and the rramlx'r that voted was 775. Of these 419 voted i-i favour of the Swansea extension and sewcrago scheme, and 35a against, giving a majortjy of 63 in favour of the scheme. The Inspector t 1 suppose there was the usual number of spoilt papers? Mr. Jones: Two spoilt papers and 700 people did not vote. Tho Inspector: A big difference! Mr. Jones: That's the -questio-,t- Tlie Council, in considering the result of the poll, had not made up their minds vhether it meant indifference on the I part of these 700. but after careful con- sideration, in view of the poll, a?d in viaw of Dublic opinion, as far as they I could guage it, they came to the conclu- l sion thev were not iustified in continuing the opposition to the scheme, and what- ever their personal views might be, if they were not. representing the rate- payers, they were not entitled to do that. The responsibility is with the Swansea Corporation, and I am glad to say the Corporation have met them in an QX- ceedingly fair manner, and these terms have been settled. That being so, Oystermouth Council withdraw all fur- ther opposition to either scheme. The matter now rests with the Swansea Cor- poration to see that, whatever they pro- vide in the way of a. sewerage outfall is adequate and does not constitute a nuisance. With regard to the clause as to a pos- lible nuisance. Mr. Jones continued, tho abject of that was, if the local people found the outfall was creating a nuisance and they could make out a substantial cam. they could put their representations before the Local Government Board. That, of course, would not prevent any- ûne-if there was a nuisance—seeking their remedy at common law by obtain- ing an injunction The examination of Mr. Sidney Low- cock by Mr- Clone was then resumed. and some time was spent in examining diagrams, showing the working of the .penstocks at. the different state I of the tides. It was pointed out that thó\ present Oystermouth sower tank had a 'èapacity of 200,000 gallons for an esti- mated resident population of 15,000. The tanks Swansea proposed to erect woul(i I hold 8,009,000 gallons for a population of I 250,000 Thus the capacity of the Oystermouth tank divided by the popula- i tion was 13.3, while the capacity of the I' Swansea tanks divided by the population was 32. Oystermouth had a very bad I' sewer at the present time, and a had posi- tion for the. outfall, and the discharge could only take place about two hours Oil the ebb tide. A long conversation took place privately between the Inspector, Mi". Fryer, of the Board of Agriculture, and Mr. Deer. who ids! --ncred Mr. Trevor Ihnter for the fisheries, and at the conclusion the npector. addressing Mr. Vesey K^ nox, ■; uiid the conversation luul nothing to do with the Rural Council. Mr. Yesey Knox: I had no snspicaon of Hl:c1.t-. sir. The Inspector: In 1889 the Corporation made a proposal to extend their borough fcjr the inclusion of a slice, of the western area. It took in practically the drainage areas of Brynau and Cockett r-nrl a por- tion only of Oystermouth. Doaa die Rural District Council raise serious opposition to the inclusion in the borough of the i r-air.,a,-e area of Coc krm ? Mr. Vesey Knox: We do oppose it, sir, but we don't «ay we have the ,a;m<> ob- jection to that part of the proposal as ftomo other parts. The Inspector: You do seriously oppose Mr. Vesey Knox: Yes. Continuing, Mr. Knox said that so long as they were charged as the sanitary authority in this area, whether it was going to leave them or not, they thought it right to ask certain questions so that tii. ay nrisyit obtain lull advice as to whether the proposals would do them any harm. He should ftot ask questions from the point of view of breaking down the ease, but in order to know exactly what was to ba done. Mr. Vesey Knox then asked Mr. Lowcock whether he did not consider the present state of the shore from Brxninili to Bkic-k- pili was reasonably good. Mr. Lowcock said he considered the whole of the way round vhe foreshore showed signs of pollution. Mr. Vesey Knox: But there is no pollu- tion, that would be injurious to health. Mr. Lowcock: I am not speaking from a medical point of view. Cross-examining the witness in relation to the u.y weather flow, Mr. Knox ob- served: The more usual event in Swansea is a little fall of rain. We were told rain j foil on 200 days in the year in Swansea. Witness: A day on which more than one-hundredth inch of rain falls is called a rainy day. A sea fog will give you one- hundredth inch. If there is anything more than the dry weather flow you will be bound as a matter of precaution to commence your discharge during tho fourth hour of the flood?—Yes, j certainly, if there are reasons—wet weather. Tnat is tho kind cf tiling that will hap- pen a good many days in the year ?— About 55 day If yon discharge when there is any ap- preciuble rainfall you will be discharging a largo quantity of sewage there fre- j quencly at this fourth hour?—As frc- qucnliy as the rain renders it necessary to do so. lire Knox: This is the doubtful hour, lJ I I t I Kind my point is that on a large proportion of days there will bo a discharge at that I doubtful hour of more or less diluted sewage. It will not only be on the days when it will he dibreed six times, but even when there is little rain the whole of the sewage will be discharged at the doubtful h our. Ir. I'Oweoc/:You ir.—t remember that this refers to 45 years hence. Mr. Knox contended that if depended upon how much water the Corporation kept out of the se-frer. If they allowed it to go in as freely as at present tha tank might be filled frequently. iu-'?.-ht be filled freluentf.y. be a very much more diluted liouid. The inquiry was then adjourned Monday's Proceedings. The Local Government Board inquiry! into the Swansea borough extension sciieme was resumed at the Guildhall on liloitlay, before'.Ma,j or Norton, 1>.t After the luncheon interval it was an- nounced that a settlement had been reached with the Swansea Rural District Council on the following terms:— (1) Tho whole of tlie areas applied for to be included; (2) The Borough and District rates raisea in the added areas and Llansam- let not t<> exceed 66. 4d., in Cla«e os. ,¡,d and Penderry 6s. in the first year, in- creasing by Id. in the second year, and 2d. in each of the three following years; (3) The water rate of Llansamlet not to exceed 3 per cent, for ten years. (4) The Corporation to sewer the: streets and places t-hown as proposed to be sewered on th) signed plan, with the addition of Lonlas within ten years, or within two years of completion of main trunk Rawer, whichever is earlier. (,5) On the adjustment with the Iiural District Council tho sum of £ 12,000 to be paid by the Borough as compensation in respect of the added burden to the Kural District Council for general pur- poses. un Adjustment of debt to include the assessable value proportion of the Rural District's contribution to new road from Gowercon to Pendawdd of t;s.()Ü\), and of Lhe cost of widening of road frotn Pontarddais to Gorseinon, and cf the Llangyfelach road, provided sanctions have been granted hy the appointed day. (7) The Rural District Council to be nt liberty to drain adjoining areas in tlie valley of tho River CIYlB and the villages of Llangyfelach and Bryn- towad into the Corporation sewars on terms to be agreed or settled by arbitra- tion in accordance with the terms of the Public Health Acts. (8) Costs of the Rural District to be paid by the Corporation. (9) Ward divisions of added areas to ho revised and agreed, any difference to be referred to Major Norton. (10) The Corporation shall persist in their application that the whole parish of Cockett shall be included in the borough, in accordance with their agree- ment with the Parish Council, and tho Rural District Council shall support that application, but if the Local Government Board will not consent to the inclnriÏon of the part of Cockett north of tho ridge, the Corporation shall pay to the Rural District Council a sum of £ 10,500 in respect of the added burden for special expenses to the part of Cockett not included, and of the like burden to th3 part of Penderry not in- eluded, buchsum to be apportioned between, the parishes in the proportion of thi cost in respect of sewerage as already apportioned by the Surveyor of the Swansea Rural District Council, and shall take over all debts charged speci-j ally on those parishes in respect of work!ll taken over. The sum payable in respect of the added burden on the Rural Dis-i trict for general expenses shall in tho! same event be reconsidered by Mr. Cash and Mr. Keen. (11) In the event of the whole parish of Cockett being included, the Corpora- tion to be at liberty to connect up thoj sewers constructed by them for Fforest- j fach and Waurutrlwydd to tho'District J Council's outfall sewer at' Gowcrton. In such event the sewers of Llansamlet and Bryntowad mentioned in paragraph 71 are to be connected to the Cornc; ition sewers. No navment in either Mr.. Mansel Franklin, clerk to the Glamorgan County Council, said he was not a party to the terms, and he had not been properly able to take them in, but the County Council thought it quite improper that parties representing local interests should agree on terms involv- ing the alteration of the borough, and the consequent administration without proving a case either on public health or PT oving a case eit],?er o-a public health The terms mentioned had b(n agreed on as a matter of financial bargain, and it was not too much to say that the terms about the roads were not in the least affected by the extension of Swan- sea. They were not in the parishps affected, but outside altogether, and it l was virtually, in effect, the payment of a sum to the Rural District Council to withdraw its opposition to certain plans affecting individual parishes that had or had not been, placated. The County Council submitted that itw as the duty of the Local Government Board to look upon the extension 'of the borough from the public health point of view and other local government considerations. From that point of view the County Council would not have opposed a well considered and properly digested scheme, but in this case the Corporation had, without any conference with the County Council, put forward a scheme for a boundary .that he should dowcribe as au extravagant, fancy one, with no .8ènSë In. it from any point of view. The County Council would most gladly have given its consideration to any suggested Dr'o-- posal of the Corporation, and endeavoured to correct it so far as they were extrava-, gant or unsatisfactory. Tho County j Council had had si; •> ini this nui& tete xeeuit L44i. the 1 scheme put before tho spector was one that tho Council considered to he iil- digested and unsuitable for adoption. The land on the other side of the watershed was, in the opinion of the County Council, quite unsuitable for in- clusion in the borough, and the Council also considered that the extravagant amount of laa to be taken from the parish of Llansamlet wr< quite urtrea- 50nahlp. No case had been made out for this. The fact that some local bodies thought a part should be in- cluded was hot a sufficient reason for the inclusion, or such an enormous area. The scheme would take in the drainage of Glais, at the north, which was two away and had a drainage scheme of its own. The Inspector: Did you say that Glais has a system of drainage? Mr. Franklin: I understand that an arrangement has been made for drain- age into Pontarclawe. Mr. Knox: It is an option. Mr. Franklin replied that what ho wanted to convey wan that Hat had I)ee'led for, and it would have been drained a good deal quicker by the arrangement made than if it came into Swansea. He did not know how far it had been the Inspector's duty' to make himself acquainted with the drainage of the area that was added to Swansea in 1899. If not, he supposed it would be his duty tc bnng to his notice that a great many of the places to the north of Morriston which the Council promised the Parlia- mentary Committal should be sewered, < he understood had%iOt been attended to. Mr. Lloyd: Oh dear! Not only has. it been done, but has been spent. Mr. Franklin replied that wns: a large number of houses unsewered fromi Treboeth to Morriston. Concluding, thej epeaker said there was no case made out! for such a large extension, and offered; on behalf of the County Council to con- sider with the Local Government ,Beard or with the Corporation boundaries that would be appropriate for every reason-! able extension, as distinct from ones rived at without consideration of im-j pcrtant interests. The Inspector, alluding to the sewering; matter raised by Mr. Franklin, said the plans of the borough eewers seemed TO show tl,itftlie north and north-west of I the existing borough was not sewered. Mr. Wvrill went into the box to give: evidence as to many works executed in! this locality. This matter then dropped, xand the T t k 1 1 .t' 0 Inspector asked what was the position off the Gcwer Rural District-Council. Mr. -ATarlay Samson thought a short! conference would result in an arrange-I ment. L 1 4)v(l j Mr. Lloyd said so long as the Counpil! pn t forward such a ridiculous Bgure an j arrangement would b9 impossible. A further conference fcok place as to the opposition of the Gower Rural Coun- cil and the Duke of Beaufort, but before the Inspector adjourned, the Clerk to the! County Insurance Committee presented j a resolution of that authority strongly protesting against the extension, ur ip,, that it was unfair, and urgent that j parishes 'of high ratable value should be thus severed from their original connec- j tion?. If the extension was allowed it would mean a considerable decrease in the income of tho Insurance Committee-, besides involving the transfer of the in- sured persons from one area to another. The inquiry adjourned for half an hour. After a private confcrenco between counsel for the Corporation and the Gower Rural District Council, the fol- lowing terms of settlement vs ere arranged and later announced by Mr. Lloyd:— fI) The borough and district rates to be for a period of five years 6s. 6d. in the t, and after the expiration of such r.-?riod of five years it shall be the same as the Swansea rate. t (2) The sum of £>,50() to he paid to i the Gower Rural District Council in ¡ satisfaction of the burden, inclnding-l th? sa'aries of the oflieialsremaining I with them after the incorporation of I Brynau in the borough, and the eQb3! of the District Council to be paid by the Corporation. The terms of a settlement with the Duke of Beaufort, which was also ar- rived at. provided for the continuance during the respective lives of the offices of coroner and deputy coroner by Mr. it" H. Glynn Price and Mr. C. J. C. Wilson respectively at the same fees, etc. TussscSay'G Proceeding's. The Town Council liaving arrived at settlements t opposing Councils and other lntevcfcio or wlndi opyoaitoin had been wituarawn 0.11 terms, wnen Major C. E. Norton, E.B., resumed the -L,ocal Government Board inquiry 10 ?o the Swan- sea extension sciiemo -hl morning at the Uuildhail, only cviennce nece?sajy m him to disclose tho Councils case for the j Echpme was called' Couusel had all gone! back to to?Bj and the Town <Jier? (Mr. ii. Lang Coath) appeared for the Corpora- tion.  At th6 outset, however, the Inspector said included in Mr. Midgley Taylor's pian for sewers in the added areas was a scheme for a sewer in the northern part of tha parish of Cockett. The Local GovcrJl-! ment Board had at present an application! from the Rural District Council loi; the same purpose. As the two local authori-1 ties had come to an agreement, and the! Corporation would in future be respon- sible for the sewers that were going to be made, lie should like the two plans com- pared, so that when the Local Government 1 Board held an inquiry on the Rural Dis-' trict Council's scheme it might be assured I that tho Corporation approved 01 the pro- posals. ,¡ The Towh Clerk said he appreciated the j point. The Inspector said the Rural Countil's application was ready for inquiry, and probably the Local Government Board would have fixed a date for hearing but for the Borough Council's extension I scheme. The Town Clerk said the Inspector would have observed that in the terms of settlement with the Rural District Coun- cil, instead of having its own works the Corporation would drain into the sewers 'I proposed by tha Rural District Council. The Inspector: Quite. But as far as the two schemes are concerned they are more or less identical. You can only drain one way. I want to be sure that the Town Council raise no material objection to that scheme. Mr. Ldward Harris said Mr. Midgley Taylor 'had told them he knew the! Gowerton sewers, and considered it bet-' ter to ufs them than to pump. The Inspector recalled Mr. David Wil- l liams to question him on matters of policy. First he gaye his reasons for be- lieving the arM fixed by the House of Commons Committee was unsatisfactory geograp' cally and administratively, and said the, Corporation was influenced by drainasre considerations. The Inspector pointed out that the 1889 proposals provided for talcing in only portions of the surrounding parishes, What induced the Corporation to apply j for such a large area irrespective of the parish of Cockett, where the Council I asked that the whole be taken in? Witness pointed out the difficulty of taking only parts, and Raid iu the case of Llansamlet the Council was influenced in asking that the whole of the area be taken in by the fact that it would be diffi- cult to divide the parish because there was nothiug to which to add the re- mainder Probably as a result of the extension th6 Corporation wchild be able.to lay out villages on modern town planning lines. The Inspector: I understand there are I in Swansea at the present moment certain insanitary areas 'in respect of whIch it might be desirable to make a representa- tion under the Housing- of -the Working Classes Act? I draw a distinction. be- tween certain isolated individual sanitary properties and insanitary areas. What I want to know from you is your view as j regards the existence of inaftnitary areas in the borough at the present moment. Tli-rp are two or three very bad spots indeed. I think it is generally agreed that the whole of Foxhole ought to be cleared. There are also in the neighbour- licod of Greenhill another lot that ought to be razed to the ground. In reply to the Inspector, witness j thought the areas were about 8 and 10 acres respectively. Ho did not think the 1 clearance of these areas was included in the Council's commitments for the next five years. The Inspector: I suppose the Town Council have to some extent been inflti-I enced by the fact that there is a dearth (I f working houses at the present?— That is so. And that until you can clear these you must provide accommodation for the people you displace ?-The witness pointed out the difficulty experienced at Foxhole in closing houses for necessary repairs. Will the extension of the borough en- able you to obtain kind in any of the outside districts more cheaply than you can get it in the borough r—I think so. The Borough. Surveyor (Mr. J. it). i Heath) gave evidence to fhow how the borough was overflowing its boundaries. In reply to-the Inspector, he said he did not regard Waunarlwydd, Killay, or Dun- Vant as outgrowths of Swansea. The ad- visability of continuing the main road to Mumbles (which would need to be wid-1 ened) to Langland Bay had not been con- i sidered by the Council, but it would bo desirable. The Town Clerk said this matter had been informally considered. The Inspector asked if the Council would in time electrify the Mumbles railway. The Town Clerk said it was held by the Improvements and Tramways Co. on a perpetual lease of 999 years, at a rather high rental—he believed some 913,000 per annum. The Council had already been in negotiation with the. company, as a re- sult of which they sincerely hoped some- thing would be done to materially im- prove the transit facilities. Members of the Corporation were keen in regard to this; and he thought there was a very fair prospect of the improvement being made. The Inspector: Are the Corporation ap- plying for extension of their Electric Lighting Order to the added areas--Tlie Town Clerk: Yes. Witness said there were 2,500 acres of the borough area that could not bo built upon. Tho Inspector said in his view Oyster- mouth, Cockett, and Brynau afforded a magnificent opportunity for a town-plan- ning scheme.—Witness said he should strongly recommend the Council to pur- sue a town-planning scheme for the whole of that area. The Inspector asked what was the pro- pojal with regard to the representation of the excluded areas of the parishes of Penderry and Clase Rural. Mr. Edward Harris. Speaking for my- Speaking for my- self, and without instructions, I suggest that the two parishes should bo amalga- mated and given two councillors to re- present it. He suggested this parish should be named Llangyfelach. Mr. Ivor 1-1. Gwynne, chairman of the Education Committee, gave evidence, and was followed by the M.O.H. (Dr. Thomas Evans), who eaid the application for a drainage loan would leave only 2 per cent. of the houses in the bvrcngh unconnected with eewers. Speaking of housing, he said there were no empty houses under 10s. per week, rents were high; subletting, even in small houses, was very prevalent, and there was overcrowding. Questioned as to insanitary areas, wit- ness said practically the whole of the Strand was an in-sanitary area, and others were in the district around the G.W.R. station, Greenhill and Foxhole. Do you consider any so bad that you ought to make a representation under the housing of the working classes in respect of them ? No, but it would bo very desirable to have these places swept away. It would cost the council a very large sum of money, he added, and the policy was rather to do it gradually by building houses and producing a surplus. Tie thought he could administer the in- creased area with an increased staff. The Inspector intimated that in the afternoon he would make an inspection of phø insanitary areas with the Medical Officer. # Dr. E. Bice Morgan, medical officer of the Clase and Llansamlet districts, put a question privately to the Inspector, who said if the order were granted the usual clause as to compensation of officials would be included. This closed the evidence, and the Inspec- tor asked Mr. Harris if some particulars as to assessments of railways in the rural district which had been promised him on the previous day. Mr. Harris replied that he had as yet been unable to secure these, but would do so and forward them. The Inspector observed that if the en- quiry had proceeded he should have had the assistant overseers there. It was an astonishing thing to him that he could not hgupplicd with such a simple thing. He was tinder the impression the a,^snst:i.nt overseers had levied rates for years on assessable values they had got out of their own brains. Mr. Harris: They don't distinguish be- tween buildings, land, etc. The Inspector: I don't think they ever heard the words assessable value until I came down! The Town Clerk, alluding to the agree- ment arrived at the previous day be- tween the Corporation and the District Council, said one of the terms was. that, as mentioned in Mr. Honoratus Lloyd's address, The Swansea Rural Council no longer opposes the scheme, but sup- ports it." Unfortunately in the hurry that ensued in getting the terms on paper, there was no mention on the terms put in for the sentence he had quoted, and ho regretted he had not been able to get them signed by counsel or solicitors as it should b3. Mr. Edward Harris said he was quite, prepared for the agreement to go in as settled between Mr. Knox and Mr. Lloyd and read. He did not want to import anything into that which might j put him 111 an awkward, position as clerk. Mr. Coath need not bo alarmed, because if the Rural Council agreed not to oppose he might take it that it was supporting. The Inspector did not see much in the point. The Town Clerk thought inasmuch as the words bo Lad read were terms of settlement, they should go on the agree- ment. lIe was not signing the terms unless the words did' come in. And un- less the words did come in the terms were not complete. Mr. Harris said he had pointed out to the Town Clerk that whatever terms were arrived at would be included in an agree- ment under seal, and then any additions necessary could be put In. I The Inspector: Is it necessary to have an agreement like that under seal, be- cause I take it that as the result of my j report' the Local Government Board would make an order ? Mr. Harris: My friend has been trying to import Mr., Lloyd's speech into the agreement. The Town Clerk: There is no settlement I between the parties unless that goes in. -Air. Harns: Very well; we are prepared to resume our opposition. The Town Clerk: Rather late in the day! The Inspector said he could see the Town Clerk's position, but if he were sup- plied with copies of the agreement as ar- rived at, he thought matter could be left to the Local Government Board. The Inspector thanked the officials of the various local authorities for their courtesy in supplying him with the in- ,-formation he thought necessary. J. ]