JERRY BUILDING

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 4747, 17 September 1935, Page 2

JERRY BUILDING

AN ATTACK IN BRITAIN. PROPOSED STANDARD. An attack on jerry building and the use of shoddy materials has been launched, both by operatives and by employers, in the building industry in Britain, says the "Manchester Guardian."

.A deputation of the National Federation of Building Trade Operatives saw Sir Kingsley Wood, the Minister of Health,. on the type of property built by some speculative builders, and urged that the Minister should lay down standards of specification. The Minister, whose reply showed that, while there was no danger of a relaxation in the standards of municipal bouse building, there was little likelihood of legislation protecting the public against jerry building, disclosed that the Ministry was watching with interest a proposal by the federated building trade employers themselves to set up a standard in self-protection against the bad builder.

The operatives' deputation was led by Mr. T. Barron, president of the National Federation of Building Trade Operatives, Mr-. R. Coppock, the secretary, and Mr. George Hicks, M.P. Various points were raised, including the question of more rigid control over the standard and quality of materials used in building. Complaints were made that in many cases shoddy materials were being put into new houses of a certain type.

Minister's Reply

In his reply, Sir Kingsley Wood said that there was no intention of relaxing the standard of houses erected by local authorities whose duty it was also to make inspections and secure compliance with the bylaws. The present low cost of money and the substantial subsidy for slum clearance should make for higher standards. He doubted whether new and effective legislation could be devised to protect people who had bought houses which were not_of the standard and quality they were represented to be, but there were remedies available under the present law for offences which amounted to false pretences. It was particularly important that nothing should be done to slow up the supply of good houses. He was giving close attention to a scheme of the National Federation of Building Trades Employers to draw up suitable standard specifications. He understood that it was the intention of the employers' federation to keep a register which would include only builders whose work had been found satisfactory. Registered members would be able to obtain certificates for any house, subject to inspection, stating that it conformed to an appropriate specification and would agree to put right, free of cost, any structural defects which appeared within six months. The Ministry had shown its interest. in this scheme by appointing an observer to the committee, which, under the chairmanship of Sir Raymond Unwin, was working out the details of the scheme.

Advance in Quality

Sir Kingsley Wood added that there had been considerable advances in the quality of house-building and that houses now being built compared very favourable with those built in the past. He was, however, fully in agreement with the federation's desire for good houses, and he would take such steps as were open to him to see that standards were maintained.

Sir Raymond Unwin, chairman of the committee engaged on working out the details of the builders' scheme, told a reporter that it was too early to say what programme the ' committee would eventually agree upon. It had had one formal sitting of an extraordinary character, and would be meeting again later.