South Yorkshire Times, February 15, 1947

Bid to Keep Builders
Conisbrough Watch on Housing Prospects

Conisbrough Urban Council are to make a bid to retain local building operatives within the urban district. Their surveyor Mr A. W. R. Taylor, reported to the housing committee on Monday that the Ministry of Health had advised that tenders for 54 houses proposed for the Conanby number 1 site should not be invented for the time being unless exceptional conditions could be shown to exist.

On Wednesday the Council confirmed a recommendation of the committee that the Ministry be informed that when the present 30 houses now in course of erection were completed, no building operations would be in progress in the urban district and building trade labour would be obliged to seek employment outside the district. The Council requested permission to advertise for tenders.

“We don’t want these people to go outside the district,” Coun. R. H. Shepherd (committee chairman) said, “because we want some houses erecting then we want to keep as much labour available as possible.”

Coun. Shepherd reported that the question of building the 54 houses by direct labour had been raised and the committee recommended that Mr Taylor asked the Timber Control if timber could be obtained for scaffolding in the event of the house has been erected by direct labour. “Conisbrough council were one of the pioneers in this direction,” he added, “and we have pride in the houses we built before.” The committee’s proposal was confirmed.

Coun G. Cheshire reported that the West Riding County Council had informed the Urban Council that persons who were receiving £3 a week (excluding rent) or less would be entitled to use the County’s domestic help service free. There was a gradual scale rising from 1s 6d per day to 2s 6d.

The council approved a sanitary and highways committee minute that the council should lend their support to the scheme. And that the county medical officer (Dr Fraser Brockington) should be asked whether particulars of the scheme were being forwarded to local doctors, midwives and clinics.

The ambulance the County Council had provided Conisbrough recently has been removed, Coun. Cheshire said, and Conisbrough had had to fall back on the open type of vehicle, which was not satisfactory. The council objected to the removal of the ambulance and were to ask the county authority to implement their undertaking to the Urban Council and to return the ambulance.