Signed minutes of Bath City Council meeting as the Bath Urban Sanitary Authority
Reference Number
BC/2/1/5
Level of Description
Series
Title
Signed minutes of Bath City Council meeting as the Bath Urban Sanitary Authority
Date
1872-1905
Extent
Extent: 4 vols
Description
The Council met acting as the Urban Sanitary Authority for Bath from 1872 to 1905.
Urban Sanitary Authorities were the successors to Local Boards of Health, which were introduced by the 1848 Public Health Act. This Act provided for the setting up of Local Boards of Health with powers over matters such as the provision of sewers, paving and cleansing of streets, and the registration of slaughter houses and lodging houses. Boroughs could if they wished adopt the Act (it was not compulsory to do so, except in a small number of areas). Bath wished to adopt most of the provisions of the Act, but also wanted to obtain additional powers; for this reason it obtained its own Act, known as the 1851 Bath Act. Under this Act, the Council became the Local Board of Health for Bath.
The Council's responsibilities under the 1851 Bath Act were at first carried out by a new committee, the 1851 Bath Act Committee, which reported to the Council. However, in December 1871 the Council decided to change the way it dealt with its responsibilities as a Local Board of Health: the Bath Act Committee came to an end and its detailed work was passed to two new committees, the Sanitary Committee and the Surveying Committee; the full Council meeting as the Local Board of Health dealt with policy and high-level matters, and received the reports of the Sanitary and Surveying Committees. The first meeting of the Council acting as the Local Board of Health took place in April 1872.
Later in 1872, another Public Health Act effectively resulted in Local Boards of Health becoming Urban Sanitary Authorities. Bath City Council acting as Local Board of Health thus became Bath City Council acting as Urban Sanitary Authority. The first meeting under this new name took place in October 1872.
In 1905, the Council again changed the way in which it dealt with its public health responsibilities, and stopped holding separate meetings of the Council acting as Urban Sanitary Authority. The last meeting was held on 28 March 1905. From this date, all the Urban Sanitary Authority functions were dealt with at the quarterly meetings of whole council, with the Sanitary and Surveying Committees reporting to these meetings.
