WORKERS' DWELLINGS

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1443, 18 May 1912, Page 6

WORKERS' DWELLINGS

—fy THE NEW SYSTEM. ATTRACTIVE SETTLEMENT AT ISLAND BAY. Tho operations of tho Labour Department iti its endeavours io provide'" cheap housing for the workers havo not Ix'en invariably successful, but .since the erection at Petono of tho elegant dwellings which tile workers did not seem to waist on the terms oll'e.red, a new system lias been adopted, and the results, so far, are looked upon ;\s satisfactory. An 'example may be seen at Dee Street, Island Bay, i\:i)ero 23 houses have been erected according to tho provisions of the Workers' Dwellings Act, 1910. A Dominion reporter went out there with Mr. Woburu Temple, the Labour Department's architect of workers' dwellings, and was conducted through the little settlement under his expert and courteous guidance. The dwellings cover a piece of undulating ground comprising two ridges and an intervening hollow close to the main road and tramway, in the vicinity at' the Home of Compassion. They are of neat and artistic designs, with plenty of variety both of form and colour, and when tho raw newness has disappeared and gardens and shrubs havo grown up around them, the wihole group should form ono of the pleasant est of suburban nooks.

Every Man His Own Landlord. Tho houses are all built of timber, and they contain from four to six rooms each.

Most of tiieni have live rooms. Thero are twenty-thrco houses in all, and seventeen of them are already occupied, tlie lirst tenants having come in a month ago. The tenants pay 14s. to lGs. lOd. a week. This includes fire insurance, but not local rates. Three and a half per cent, of the money is treated as interest on capital expenditure, ami 3J per cent, as sinking fund, so that in 25i years the tenant will be the owner of his house and section. The tenant may at any timo pay oil tho balance owing on' tho house and section, or lie may pny ,S7 or any multiple of X 7 oft' the principal, and thereby shorten considerably tho period that must elapso before his liome becomes his own property. Individual Tastes. These terms proved so attractive that all tho sections in tho block were applied for over and over again. So there aro none of the disappointments that occurred when tho Department used to build houses and . then invite applications to lease them. Nothing is built under the now scheme until the applicant has come forward and paid a ill) deposit. Ha chooses his section, and eighteen designs of four to six-roomed dwellings, by Woburn Temple, are placed before him for selection. Ho may have any reasonable alteration made in the design without extra charge, and he is allowed to choose the colour of tho paint inside and out, the wall-papers, the stvlp of the mantelpieces, and tho.make of the kiichen range. There are limits as to cost in these details, but tho tenant may exceed the limit and pay tho difference. For "Workers" Only. The reporter went through three or four of the houses, and was struck by the «m----venient arrangements, the Targe uiningrooius, and the go Oil taste shown by tne tenants in . the matters left to their clioioo. Similar was generally shown in the external colouring of tho houses, and Mr. Temple assured him that the choice of the tenants in all tlieso matters was perfectly free. There was no authority to insist upon any standard of aesthetic proprioty, though, of course, if advice was asked of him or of any of the building overseers it was readily given. The general result seemed io the visitor to show that, among the workers and their wives there is some real refinement of taste. And it should be borne in mind that these houses are only built i'or workers earning not more than £175 a year at the tinio of application. It does not matter what tho work is—clerical or manual, skilled or unskilled—so_ long as tho income is not more than £17? a year, the applicant is a- "worker" within the meaning of the Act. No others need apply i'or the workers' dwellings of .the Lab-

our Department, but they may get financial assistance through tho Advances to "Workers or Advances to Settlors, (To Prevent Jerry Building. When the applicant for a worker's dwelling lu\s chosen tho site and design, f til© Labour Department calls for tenders, ' and has the building erected under tlw eves of one of its own overseers, to prevent iorry building, and under the gencral supervision of tho architect. All iho houses havo modern conveniences, including hot and cold water laid oil to bath and sink, fixed washtubs lysines the washhouse copper, electric light, and municipal drainage. The contract priccs of tiie : houses at Island Bay range from £350 to £190, and tho provision of so much accommodation and elegance at such figuies must havo cost the architect a great ' etu of careful thought. The prices of the tcctioin to the tenants run from i<o to ,£123. Tho nverago size of the sections is 40ft. by 110 ft. The vents are oollected by tho Public Trust Oflico, but the Labour department retains tho general control until the houses become entirely tiie property of the occuniers. Hr. J. Lomas, Secretary for Labour, is also Superintendent of Workers' Dwellings.