Difficulty Over Site For Play Centre

Chronicle (Levin), 9 November 1949, Page 4

Difficulty Over Site For Play Centre

The Levin nursery Play Centre is seeking to establish its headquarters on the Levin Park Domain, but a difficulty has arisen 1 in that the act governing re-N ! creational areas 'do-ss not provide 1 for such an organisation. This is ; the ruling of the Minister of ■ Education, Mr. McCombs, who told ; the Mayor, Mr. H. B. Burdekin, recently that nothing could be done at this stage to assist the centre Apparently, said Mr. Burdekin at Monday night's meeting of the Levin Borough Council, there could possibly be some arrangement where an exchange of land could be brought about, but with the election so near he doubted whether the Minister couid give his time to it at the moment. Surely the large area set aside for sport at Playford Park would more than compensate for the loss of a small area of reereational ground at the Domain, remarked Cr. D. J. Sweetzer. Cr. R. S. Antcliff said that the Levin Play Centre was a great boon to mothers. It had been "pushed about" a great deal from hall to hall. From his observa,tions the centre's activities were more reereational than educational, and he thought the Domain Board could approve of the land being given to the centre. The Mayor said that under the Nursery Play Centre regulations a quarter of an acre of land was necessary. "Don't think that I am not in favour of it. I most eertainly am." he a'dded. "It is only that I think we should wait until after the elections." He added that the Levin Park Domain Board could make a recommendation to the Lands Depariment, which controlled the park, that the area be given to the centre. This was accordingly agreed to by the council.