UNLICENSED BUILDINGS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 81, 15 June 1945, Page 5

UNLICENSED BUILDINGS

CONTROLLER LODGES COMPLAINT V BOROUGH COUNCIL'S QUANDARY Whether or not a person should be penalised for proceeding with the building of a structure for which, he had already sought authority, and for which he had waited nearly two months without result, was * question which exercised the Whakatane Borough Council last Monday evening when a letter was .received from, the District Building Controller pointing out ' two local breaches of the regulations and suggesting that the Council should institute proceedings. * The Controller stated that in one instance there had been no application for a license at and the building which had been erected as ~a garage did not comply with the toy-laws in any case and could only be described as shoddy. In the other instance although an application had been lodged the building had been started before a license had! been granted. | The Building Inspector (Mr F. W.j Lysaght) reported that the first mentioned structure had been com.menced in spite of a warning issued by himself. There wfts however quite -a lot of illicit building going on in the Borough. It was very hard to control and no one knew anything ..about it until the building was erected. The Council of course had the power to take the drastic action of ordering the demolition of the -buildings concerned. At the present time the Controller had refused to grant any licenses for building garages of any kind and tliis had been largely responsible for the breaches. "The trouble is said the -Mayor. ''We are not only having these shoddy buildings going uj> ? -but the action of those responsible .penalises those who do apply for a license." Cr Canning criticised the action of the Controller in refusing permits lor garages, la many instances the people concerned owned valuable <iars and were forced to keep them in the open or to spread sacks and tent flys over them. This position should be recognised.

Cr Warren pointed out that one of the offenders was a returned man, and a qualified tradesman, who after growing impatient with the delay had utilised his spare time in making a start. It was very hard if the iCouncil was going to prosecute in r .tliis> instance. The Mayor: I admit the justice of the case, but at the same time we . '.cannot let them go ahead with these ..structures without proper authority. Mr Lysaght agreed that in dealing with the Controller tiresome delays frequently occurred over very small things and expressed the opinion that much time would lie saved and /difficulties overcome if the power -to grant licenses for minor things was vested in the Borough Council. Cr Sullivan strongly supported the suggestion of empowering the local _authority to act. There was he said a growing need for the introduction of a system of priority whereby the local bodies could handle the most pressing needs instead of having to siubmit all applications to an officer in Hamilton who had no local knowledge whatever. If the Borough could deal with homes for returned lhen, State houses and essential public buildings in that and submit anything over and above to the Controller the whole position w T ould he eased.

The Mayor stated that he had been assured that the half completed building conformed fully with the and it would be most unfair to prosecute merely because of the .departmental delay. It would be a good point to ask the Controller if in the ordinary course, of events he intended to grant the permit or not. It was evident the Council was not inclined to handicap a man who was trying to help himself. The question of the other raan j who had proceeded without any application was of course different altogether. The Council decided to take no action in the first instance and to refer the completed job to the Works Committee to make inspection and report back. On Cr Armstrong's* motion it was

further decided to write the Minister concerned urging that a greater measure of control be vested in local bodies in order to facilitate the position which was fast assuming very serious proportions.