§ Mrs. TateI beg to present to the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled a humble petition of the undersigned owners of property, 62 in number, in the villages of Paulton and Timsbury, in Somerset, which has been declared to be in a clearance area and ordered to be demolished, showing that the said property is in such condition that, with the expenditure of a reasonable sum of money, it could be made fit and sound for human habitation. The petitioners humbly pray that their houses be taken out of the clearance area and that they be permitted to apply for a grant for reconditioning their property under the Housing (Rural Workers) Amendment Act, 1938. The destruction of their houses would mean great hardship to them, and they urge upon the Minister of Health the desirability of fuller use being made by the Clutton Rural District Council of its powers of reconditioning and that a more reasonable view be taken as to what constitutes a slum dwelling unfit for human habitation under the Housing Acts. They would wish to draw the attention of the Minister to the acute shortage of houses in their district and the desirability of saving all existing property which can be made sound.