THE HOUSING SHORTAGE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 259, 17 January 1941, Page 4

THE HOUSING SHORTAGE

EIGHTY State houses have apparently failed to cope with the shortage of accommodation in Whakatane. There still remains the necessity for Ohope to serve as an overflow settlement for those citizens who find it impossible to ob~ tain a home in town. The position is remarkable in that, with building- permits during the past year amounting to £23,000 and a steady exit of volunteers for service overseas, and the resultant breaking up of homes, there still remains an acute shortage. What would be the position, in normal times can be imagined in view of the above. Continuously, visitors are telling us that the town has grown beyond all recognition. Familiarity with its. activities has probably blinded the actual residents to the forcible nature of this fact., but it is only necessary to point to the suburb on Hillcrest, the thickening up of suburban residences at Kopeopeo, where King Street has been linked with the group of new houses, and the: growing settlement at the Heads to realise that in spite of the war Whakatane is definitely still going ahead. The daily stream of cars from Ohope serve as another reminder of the population living at the resort less than five miles distant, every person of which regards the town as their centre. All these facts make interesting speculation as to just what size the town of Whakatane will be when final adjustments are completed and all who desire, to have a home here will have been satisfied.