SANATORIUM SITE REJECTED

Chronicle (Levin), 9 April 1948, Page 4

SANATORIUM SITE REJECTED

Levin Will New Have To Provide ,§ Alternative Land | ♦ * — — — «— • The site selected in Kawiu Road, Levin, by the W^stern Hospital Districts' Joint. Sanatorium Committee for the pro- ^ posed sanatorium has' been rejeetejd, and the- Health Department has now requested the committee to submit an alterna- ■ tive one for consideration. , . ,

• The chairman of the committee,Mr. J. A. Nash, said today that the first he or any other member of the committee had ' .heard about chis decislon by the Health Department was at a recent meeting between a deputation from the committee . and the Minister of Health, Miss Howard, when the Minister had informe.d them that the proposed site ha'd been "washed out." The Minister had also promised to look into the matter herself, he said, but to date nothing had heen heard from her. The committee wasrinvited by the department to submit anofcher site, continued Mr. Nash, and had set up a special committee to make its own investigations, On hearing of the decision this morning, the Mayor of Levin, Mr. H. B. Burdekin, immediately communicated by telephone with »the offiee of the Minister of Health. He was informed that the decision had been made by the Minister of Native Affairs, Mr. Fraser, and in view of this the matfer was out of Miss Howard's control. Mr. Burdekin then rang the seci'etary to the Minister of Native Affairs, Mr. M. R. Jones, who advised him as follows: — Firstly, that

the site selected, which is owned by. the Taueki Estate, is to be reserved • for settlement by the Maori race and is not availabl'e for the proposed sanatorium; and secondly, that if the sanfftorium was to be sited in Levin, then an alternative site would have to be found locally. • To this end Mr. Burdekin is now CQnferring with* the chairman of the Horowhenua County Council, Mr. A- M. Colquhoun, so that joint ,representations can be made in ret gard to an aiternative site in Levin. The selection of the^site of ■ 165 acres in Kawiu Road was originally made over a year ago, after its recommendation by a special committee of departmental oflicers who inspected 11 iocations in. the Wan-ganui-Palmerstdn North-Paekaka-riki area. The second choice at that time was the property in MacArthur Street, Levin, owned by Mr, W. S. Long. Since the final decision was made legal difficulties have been encountered over the question of Maori ownership of the property , and apparently no settlement was reached. The estimated cost of the institution in February. 1947, was between £300,000 and £500,000. *