HOUSING.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18403, 9 June 1925, Page 9

HOUSING.

NANCES AUTHORISED.

The Housing Committee, of the City r i ncil recently considered the applicar •'a'for advances under the Council's • Sng scheme and seven grants, totalflJ T efiiainder of the applications, numseven in all and representing eX penditure of £5550, were held receipt of further funds. (The Comni' ttee unanimously decided to onotot Cr. Sullivan as chairman of the remittee. jjie report was adopted. No Money Available. A letter was received from Sir Fran- . Bell in reference to tho Council's ligation for a further advance, statwlhe communicated with the of the State Advances Tfefaartroent, who had reported that if tM Department had the funds available for investment it would be a pleasure to Mw to mJ£ *' ,e Bo^ °* tno office to tatertfli* the application; but there -no in the office a very large number of individual applications for loans to build homes received since the beginning ot the year 1924 still waiting to be entertained, and that before , any Ijtfh applications such as that of the CJiristchurch City Council could be dealt with, it was necessary that the applications in hand should be provided for, and the Advances Office, therefore/ was with great regret unable to Jeal with the application. Or. D. G. Sullivan, M.P., said that gir Francis Bell had given him to iin(Jeretaiid that a substantial advance vopld be available for tho Council. He bad, written to Sir Francis 801 l reminding hjm of what was* Baid at that interview. Since then a demand , had been put forward by Wellington for an advance of £IOO,OOO, and that nTjghl Java created a difficulty. Steps should be taken to ascertain exactly the housing shortage in Christchureh. Personally, he considered tho position in CJirjstehurch was acute, although perjapa not so acute as in Wellington and Auckland. The war shortage of 20,9P0 houses in the Dominion during the war had been made up, but not the shortage for the years following tho war period. Statistics he had procured showed that-in recent years the number of marriages effected in tho Christchureh district exceeded largely . thQ riumbor of hew houses built in, tho ' (iity. The Housing Act of 1919 made I provision for the borrowing of thrso millions annually, of which ono million , was to be lent to local bodies. Yet of the five millions which could havo been advanced, to local authorities dur- \< - jag the past five years, only £577,000 , had been so advanced., . Christchureh ■ list? received £23,000, whereas its fair \ share was over £50,000 'of the ad- ,' vanees actually made. The Govemj njent had failed to givo- effect to its ', o\yn Housing Act. Tho Mayor said the Council had ro- ,. ?qived £30,000. • Cr. Sullivar/: Then we are still £20,p00 thort of our share. Cr. E. McCombs moved that the Mayor should be appointed to represent tho Council as a deputation to Wellington to interview the Primo Ministor. Christchureh had not been whole- » lioarted in asking for money for housing, and in that respept differed from , Wellington and Auckland, where special _ moasmes were taken to secure ndvunces from the Government, j "" The motion was' seconded by Cr. W. E. Leadloy, who said the last Now Zcaii Jand loan floated in London was 1 iu(f'fionded in part to provide moro money ,7por housing. ■; Many returned soluier's ffftaro 'still awaiting; advances undor the Soldiers Act for building ■£ ho"ses. • '.',.. f ' Cr.' C. Carr said tho last Council had > dealt' with the matter of housing in a , most dilatory manner, and it failed to get a fair share of the loan money available. / • '.*"'■, Cr. C. P. Agar said it was not just to say the last Council was dilatory. Tho Mayor, before - going to the Ministor, should ascertain what the local requirements were in order that an adequate advance might be applied for. Cr. Sullivan said he still hoped that v a loan of £30,Q00 would be obtained from the Government, even if there "was no hope of getting the £50,000 1 originally, applied for. t Cr. F. E. Cooke said that the' Coun- '■ cii would receive many applications for loans if the money was forthcoming, but at present it was only possible to tell people that the monoy. was not } available. The Council should not de^ penA entirely on the Government, but should, if uetfessary, raise, a local loan (k ipr housing. • ' i■ M The motion was carried.