South Yorkshire Times January 20, 1951
Who Will Be First Past (Red) Tape?
Conisbrough Wife’s Wager Over Electricity Supply
A Conisbrough wife has had a wager with her husband that current will not be available for their recently-wired Council house until summer and she thinks she may still win yet, Another husband thinks that the tenants will get their supply “when Nelson gets his eye.” ” It seems senseless,” says his wife.
The couple are .some of the 60 tenants of Council houses in Daylands Avenue. Prior Road and St. Peter’s Road, who for three months have had their houses wired for electricity, but have not yet been connected up.
At Conisbro’ Urban Council meeting on Monday, the Housing Committee chairman, Coun. D. Sheldon, said that it seemed strange for the Minister of Health to give the Council permission to have the houses wired and the Yorkshire Electricity Board to tell them that they had not sufficient electricity.
” It is time, after three months, that the electricity was put on,” he said.
The Council decided to take strong exception to the delay in connection with the electricity supply and the Clerk (Mr. R. W. Birch) was instructed to ask the Electricity Board that the supply be connected without further delay.
The houses are serviced with gas. The tenants themselves have been unable to understand the delay.
The houses were wired in October new fittings had been bought, and it had been hoped that the change-over from gas to electricity would have been completed by Christmas.
A woman who has lived in her Daylands Avenue house 21 years, said it was “silly.” “I have heard that Denaby are getting electricity,” she said, “so why not us? ”
There is one brighter side to the story. Until the current is connected the tenants avoid an increase in their rents of 6d. per week. This is to help the Council Day for the cost of the new installation.