The Municipal and Sanitary Engineer's HandbookBoulnois, H. Percy (Henry Percy)
Science
The Municipal and Sanitary Engineer's Handbook
Boulnois, H. Percy (Henry Percy)
Municipal engineering; Sanitary engineering
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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