Under the presidency of Lord Henry Bentinok the annual meeting
of the Rural Co-Partnership Housing Association was held on Tuesday last. The report of the Association showed that an excellent beginning had been made in attacking the problem of rural housing by the instrument of co-partnership. The Association fully realize that it is essential to the movement to build cottages cheaply. But cottages cannot be built cheaply if the pedantic and ill-devised by-laws so often in force are insisted on Therefore the rural housing problem becomes the problem of clearing away the by-laws and giving a free hand to the architect and to the devisers of cheap systems of construc- tion. At the close of the meeting a suggestion was made that any detached house in a rural area which had attached to it an eighth of an awe or more of land should automatically be taken out of the operation of the by-laws as regards restric- tions on construction. Since it would free them from the oppressive and expensive restrictions the builders of cottages would be tempted to do what is always desirable, i.e., add a garden to all rural houses. The Secretary of the Association is Mr. Ernest Betham, 4 Tavistook Square, W.C. Those who desire to help on the work of rural housing should not fail to communicate with him.
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