BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Tuesdays and Fridays. TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1948 LEAD FOR OHOPE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 26, 2 March 1948, Page 4

BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Tuesdays and Fridays. TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1948 LEAD FOR OHOPE

Last Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Whakatane County Council, dealt with in Fridays news, gave a practical and sympathetic hearing to a petition from Edgecumbe residents for assistance with township improvements. Recognising that to demand that their special amenities should be provided out of riding funds would be placing an undue burden on the ordinary rates, the petitioners themselves suggested a special rate, from which could be repaid advances made and expenses incurred by the Council. It would seem that Edgecumbe has pointed the way for Ohope ratepayers to have amenities in their township improved. There can be little doubt that, if they made themselves the subject of a special rate on the unimproved values of their properties it would prove to be a sound investment.

That there is ample scope for improvement no-one will deny. In the height of the summer season, with holiday traffic at its peak, dust is a serious inconvenience. But by far the stronger argument in favour of a proper road with decently-formed footpaths through the settlement is \he safety factor. With school opening again

V. t Monday the settlement road will be thronged with children, all of them young, because the Ohope side school caters only for the lower primary classes. As things stand, there is only a poorly-defined footway, obscured at the far end by lupin. Most of the way it follows one side only of the dusty, badly corrugated road. Many of the gateways from houses have access to the road through obscured cuttings in high banks. Add to those facts the fact that Ohope, in common with all tourist resorts, has a lot of motorists from outside districts on the road, and one will appreciate the really serious danger to young children and others. The stranger in holiday mood is always apt to pay too much attention to the scenery or the conversation of the moment and, apart from that,- being unacquainted with local conditions,-is apt to overlook the dangers. Whilst no-one could claim they are dangerous, there are two open water-courses that could stand improvement. And there is the water question. The Council had that under consideration on Tuesday, but shelved it as being impracticable on present costs. It was also pointed out that the chances of finding a suitable supply were thin. That is no doubt so, but there are sound arguments in favour of the fullest possible investigation before the idea is put aside altogether. To return to the broad principle of financing improved amenties by means of a special rate

Ohope is largely a settlement owned by absentee landlords. Most of the rentals collected are well out of the “peppercorn” class. Many be returning handsome dividends to the owners, who should therefore suffer little hardship in finding a special rate to improve their settlement and incidentally enhance the value of their properties.

Those owners who are also residents will probably find little fault with the plan adopted by the Edgecumbe townspeople if it is to be a means of providing ur-gently-needed amenities quickly.