CITY PROPERTIES;

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2381, 10 February 1915, Page 7

CITY PROPERTIES;

Sir,—l read your report of the arguments of Mr. Morison, K.C., applied Co the leases that have jtlst been awarded by the Court, and fail to reason out the decision arrived at. . It is very clear! to me that shopkeepers on the side of Lambton Quay are on a real j?ood. wicket, compared with the other side,'and are therefore in the position, should they so desire, to burst their large shops Up, and under-let those shops owned by private people. By following the Various decisions as I have done this will bo particularly noticeable in Harcourt's and the Economic cases. A eood deal was heard when the t).LC. petitioned for their lease, which at that time, I believe, was an auction one, and Was afterwards fixed ,by a Court presided over by Judge Sim at £6 per foot, both in Panama Street and Brandon Street, whilst now this Court lias dropped the ground rent oil an adjoining. section Of the D.I.C. to the same firm to £3 13s. 6d. This same anomaly crops up in Johnston Street, where one section let by public tender brings £5 per foot, whilst the Court awards the next section at £3 ss. The Only conclusion tho layman can como to is that the present method of valuation and awards must' bo wrong, otherwise there would not be the continual differences in Court awards within the same street, so tho City Council should try and get the matter put upon a better basis,

I dare say the leaseholders have good argument on their side, and no doubt the Corporation values are perhaps high, as is shown by Mr. Morison's report, still, that does not give the public a satisfactory explanation of the' continued variation. Again, the private owner's tenant should not be placed under' any disadvantage compared with the council's tenant; so it makes you wonder whether it Is prudent for the Corporation to own property, as it is quite certain that they would be getting more advantage out of the property if it were sold, and ,the money invested. It would be as well to make it clear that these awards reficct on all city property even to the private houses, as the cost of the city management must be provided from somewhere.—l am, etc., ' AJAX.