HOUSING FIRST PRIORITY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 27, 12 May 1947, Page 8

HOUSING FIRST PRIORITY

300,000 MORE BY END OF 1947 FIRST YEARLY TARGET Britain will have another 300,000 houses—24o,ooo permanent and 60,000 temporary—by the end of this year if the Government is able to fufil its 1947 programme. These plans, announced in a White Paper, are part of the first yearly housing target Jdr Bevan has set himself. Supply difficulties may put a brake on the programme, but this is what Mr Bevan ho'pes to achieve in 1947:

Completion of these 300,000 houses with a further 300,000 building or planned; a switch to permanent houses after erection of the 60,000 temporaries already ordered; a fall in the price of “traditional” type houses.

Completion of the 300,000 houses aimed at would mean a total production, by next December, of 450,000 houses under the post-war programme for 150,000 were finished in 1946. It is also estimated that at the end of the year there will be 200,000 permanent' houses still under construction. Whether the Government can maintain the projected rate of building depends- on the supply of labour and materials, and chiefly on whether increased imports of soft wood can be obtained.

If the Government completes the total of 450,000 houses in two years, it would mean that it had dealt with three-fifths of the immediate housing problem. Housing is still the first priority demand on labour available for building, and 300,000 men form the force which it is hoped will be adequate to complete 240,000 permanent houses this year. Another 200,000 will be engaged in building factories and schools, and on public works.

Most noticeable feature of the 1947 programme is the strong emphasis—a 4-1 ratio—on permanent houses.

The switch is a policy decision, and temporary housing will show a sharp tapering off before the end of the year.