| Description | Minute volume indexed. The minutes are handwritten and printed and signed by the committee Chairman. The minutes are in the appropriately titled minute volume. The minutes are an extremely interesting source for social history, as they include the comments of builders, property owners and other locals interviewed as part of general slum clearance and improvement works carried out on individual properties in Birmingham during the early 1900s. The minutes of 14 January 1908 contain several comments by property owners who believed that the policy of the Housing Committee and the 'extravagantly high standard' imposed by public health and housing legislation had destroyed the market for affordable housing for the poorest classes in Birmingham, creating unnecessary demolition that had created a housing shortage and driving up the rents of the better quality housing that remained, whilst simultaneously affecting the livelihoods of the owners themselves. There are also details on compensation payments granted to property owners for houses purchased by the Corporation for improvement or demolition. |