RESTRICTION OF BUILDING

Chronicle (Levin), 26 March 1946, Page 2

RESTRICTION OF BUILDING

— Press Association

ANNOUN CEMENT BY MINISTER OF WORKS

Bv Telegravh-

WELLINGTON, March 23. A decision to restrict Government aud uoix-Governmeiit buikling to an over-all value of £19,110,000 in the next financial vear ending Marcli 31, 1947, was announced today by - the Ministei of Works (Hon. R. Semplej. He explained that this action whs being taken as a resuit of a survey, which liad disclosed that the known deinand for all types of buildings aiuounted to £37,369,000, which at the tiine when there was no lack of money was roughly twice the capacity of the industry to absor b, liaving regard to the available manpower, and especially materials. To go beyond the limit of £19,110,000 would induce a state of ehaos and would resuit in a black market in materials and a terrific upsurge in building costs. The allocation that liad been niadc for Government works was £3,560,000 and for non-Government works £10,550,000'. Out of the total programme, £12,500,000 was for liousing construction, divided equally between Q,qvernjnent .and npn-Govemment woi'k. The existing building control procedure would continue.

Mr. Semple said that it liad been clear for some tiiue that the accumulation of deferred building works, deferred maintenance and tot.ally new building projects, botli Government and private, would overwlielm the building in- j dustry if it were to go without restric- 1 tion on to a market fiush with money, ' reasonably well served for ' total man- j povvcr, but suffering badly from bottlenecks in matcrial supplies, ba'ths and sundry items of builders' liardware. Survey of Needs. "In common witli overseas countries New Zealand has recently coinpleted a survey of building demands for the next linancial year, " said Mr. Semple, "and the known demand aggregates £37,369,000— £13,997,000 non-Govern-ment and £13,372,000 Government. The non-Government total would undoubted1}- have been considerably greater liad a readier response been made to an inquiry addressed to the industrial sectiou of the conunuuity. " In reducing the demand to the capaeitv, continued the Afinister, it became necessary tc determine priorities in construction and in doing tliis ihe maia factorsMvere the necessity for building liomes and provisiou for the requirements of botli primary and sec ondary and key Government "and local authnrity services. The problem thon became to equate these consideratious to manpower and niaterial arriving at the pre-determined capacity value of the industry, £19,110,000. It was tlien necessary severely to curtail tlie demands of Government departments, restricting the Government programme to those State activities which of necessity must take precedence. The demands of private building had also to be restric ted to wor(cs of the highest degree of esseutiality. Figures in the programme were: — Government works and liousing, includ ing besides State liousing the requirements of other State departments, £6,250,000; education purposes, £715,000; health and mental hospitals, £580,000; other essential services, £705,000; maintenance, etc., £310,000. Non-Gov ernment works and dwellings, £6,250,000; farm buildings, £300,000; industrial and seleeted commercial buildings. £2,500,000; local bodv buildings, £100,000; hospital boards, £7,100,000; maintenance, £30,000. It would be understood, Mr. Semple added, that this programme refers only to developmeutal and engineering works.