STATE HOUSES

Chronicle (Levin), 27 February 1947, Page 4

STATE HOUSES

Mayor Acts Quickly

RAPID COMPLETION OF MORE UNITS PROMISED

Following quickly on his statement to the Council on Monday night, the Mayor of Levin, Mr. H. B. Burdekin, made further representations to the Inspector of Hbusing Construction, Mr. G. A. Swanger, with the result that fie personally visited Levin yesterday to investigate the position. Accompanied hy the' Mayor and the contractor, Mr. G. C. France, he visited the site in Chamberlain Street, and a promise was obtained from Mr. France that two of the houses would. be availahle for occupation within a week or ten days. It was made clear that the cause of the present delay was mainly with sub-contractors. The remaining three units should* he ready within a month. A promise that further State house contracts would be available in the near future was also obtained from Mr. Swanger and it was hoped that it could be arranged that these be let individually as it was understood that a number of local builders would contract for one building, whereas, they would not be prepared to tender for blocks of five of six as previously. In regard to the State houses urider construction in Lincoln Place, Mr. Swanger said the most the contractor could promise was that they would be gone.on with at an early date. By special arrangement with the Housing Department, permission had been obtained for the early occupation of the Chamberlain Street houses ii^' spite of the fact that they contained no hand basins. The Mayor, however, said he was hopeful that these would be obtained and installed before the tenants moved in. _ _ The shortage of these basins was Dominion-wide, said Mr. -Swanger. "Though it is apparent that local plumbers have them in stock they will not make them available for this contract." he added.

Commenting on the housing situation generally, Mr. Burdekin -produced statistics showing the building figures in Levin since October, 1945, when the Chamberlain Street contracts were first let. During that period no f ewer than 88 permits have been issued by the council for private dwellings. Of these 51 were now occupied, 34 still under construction and three not yet started. The balance between buildings available for rental and privately-owned ones was most tliarked when it was remembered that during that period only three State houses had been made available for occupation. Of the six houses contracted for in October, 1945, in respect of Lincoln Place, : the total result to date had been the laying of the foundations of two units. ' The Mayor added that he had made strong representations to both Wellington and Palmerston North with the result that it was now hoped that the position wouiet be remedied in the near future. There were many cases where civilians as well as servicemen were unable for various reasons, to commit themselves * to building their own houses and they must coiisequently depended on rented houses, continued Mr. Burdekin. Contractors had . not for many years embarked on specuiative building and this had resulted in a greater demand for State rental houses. Servicemen Told the Facts Speaking to members of the Levin branch of the R.S.A. last night, Mr. Burdekin reviewed the present housing situation. "There are 18 builders in and around Levin and if each one would contract for one State house, he would, besides alleviating the position, ! have the satisfaction of knowing that he was helping.his mates to get somewhere to Iive,"-said Mr. Burdekin. "X'am hoping that with organisation, we will get a number of these houses started— and finished within a reasonable tinie. There can be no standing on ceremony. If houses are held up because they are not painted on the outside they should oe occupied. The pamting can be done later." There had been- considerable criticism of the progress of State houses, said Mr. Burdekin. "We don't mind criticism but be fair with it. "The Government gets most of the blame for delays, but local contractors have got to carry some." Admittedly there were problems to surmount and an acute shortage of eertain commodities, but the policy seemed to be that as soon as a particular item was/unobtainable the work stopped completely. The Chamberlain Street houses had been held up for five months owing ;o lack of tiles. In the case of another house all that was required was the sanding downtof the floors but the contractors had said they wouldn't bring the sander down for the one job. "They're coming now," he added grimly. The houses in Chamberlain Street had been 3tart,ed 18 months ago, continued Mr. Burdekin, but they could easily have been completed within 12 months. "The question has been worrying me a lot," continued Mr. Burdekin. "I am approached two or* three times & day by people- wanting homes. Many of them are expeetant mothers. What can I tell them?— nothing that will give them any hope of early tenancy." Mr. Burdekin added that he had approached Mr. J. Thorn in Levin yesterday and told him the facts, regarding state housing in Levin and requested that they be passed

on to Mr. Semple. Mr. Thorn had replied that he was very pleased to have the information and would pass it on to Mr. Semple. He personally was of the opinion that we were entitled to a far greater proportion of these houses- than had been the case cluring the past year, having regard to the number of houses actually completed during that period. In conclusion, Mr. Burdekin appealed to builders among the servicemen present to "rally round and help to make a home for one of their numbers."