Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

Hans Town, Chelsea Improvement Acts 1790 and 1803
6.60 Until the 1770s the area stretching from Knightsbridge in the north to the Kings
Road in the south was still mostly fields and market gardens. During the 1770s
the outward spread of London led the architect Henry Holland to put forward an
ambitious scheme to develop the area, which was then known as Hans Town. 102
He was granted a building lease by the Earl of Cadogan, 103 and the development
of the area unfolded over the next 50 years. The 1790 104 and 1803 105 Acts were
consequential upon the building rights granted to Henry Holland to develop Hans
Town. The 1790 Act authorised the creation and repair of the public streets and
passages with powers to light, clean, repair, pave and appoint watchmen.
Commissioners were appointed to supervise these works and their powers were
enlarged by the 1803 Act.
6.61 The preamble to the 1790 Act recorded the lease of 89 acres of land in Hans
Town granted by the Earl of Cadogan to Henry Holland and the fact that Holland
had already constructed Sloane Street running across the land from
Knightsbridge. The preamble also stated that the benefit and safety of the
inhabitants would be enhanced if provision were made “for forming and paving, or
otherwise repairing and keeping in Repair [the streets] and also for cleansing,
lighting, watching, and watering the said Streets … and keeping the same free
from all Nuisances, Annoyances, and Incroachments”. The 1790 Act accordingly
appointed Commissioners to carry out the necessary works and to levy an annual
rate on the inhabitants of Hans Town to cover the costs. The 1803 Act amended
the powers of the 1790 Act, in particular to ensure that the streets and pavements
were properly cleaned.
6.62 The Commissioners’ powers under the 1790 and 1803 Acts ceased in 1855 with
the creation of the Metropolitan Board of Works by the Metropolis Management
Act 1855. 106 The Commissioners’ functions passed to the local parish vestry
before transferring to the new metropolitan borough councils pursuant to the
London Government Act 1899. 107 Today they mostly vest in the Royal Borough of
Kensington and Chelsea 108 and are funded by local taxation pursuant to the Local
Government Finance Acts 1988 and 1992. Accordingly since none of the services
for which the 1790 or 1803 Acts were passed are today provided by either Act,
both Acts have become unnecessary and may be repealed.
102 Hans Town, which comprised about 90 acres, was named after Sir Hans Sloane (1660 - 1753)
who purchased the manor of Chelsea in 1712. Sloane Square, Sloane Street, Sloane Gardens,
Hans Street, Hans Crescent, Hans Place and Hans Road are all named after him. He was
President of the Royal Society and President of the Royal College of Physicians.
103
The Earl had acquired the land through marrying one of Sir Hans Sloane’s daughters. The land
remains part of the Cadogan Estate.
104 30 Geo.3 c.76.
105 43 Geo.3 c.xi.
106 18 & 19 Vict. c.120.
107 62 & 63 Vict. c.14.
108 Responsibility for maintaining the streets of Kensington and Chelsea is shared between
the Royal Borough and Transport for London.
186