AMALGAMATION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 156, 27 March 1919, Page 6

AMALGAMATION

MIRAMAR AND THE CITY

NO BENEFIT TO J.HE BOROUGH

The Mayor of Miramar (Mr. F. Townsend) addressed tho residents of Se-atoun and Mirainiu- in tho llasonic Hall Inst flvening ou amalgamation witii tho city. There was a very largo attendance, indicating that a'great deal of interest is being taken in the question. LMr. A. D. Crawford presided.

Mr. I'ownsend, who was received with applause, said the reason why ho had consented to give them the information he had at his disposal was because ho had been in touch with the .subject for many years. He -had had opportunities of discussing the' question of amalgamation with members of tho City Council, but up to the present there had been no inclination on tho part of the city to take in Miramnr. The present Mayor of the city had expressed the desire- that Ihe borough should amalgamate with the city, but the question, had not come before tho City Council. There had been several ponvcrsations, but nothing definite had been arranged. In 1911 and in 1913 these unauthorised conventions took place, and the borough wrote on July 10, 1013, to the city milking suggestions and asking r|iiestion.s but no reply had ever been received fain the city. The Miramar lioruugli was growing, and growing very fast, and lately there appears to have been considerable discussion on the question of amalgamation, and several ratepayers 'had interviewed Mm, but they did not appear to realise that benefits should Miramar was a unique, borough—it iinn all the conveniences of the city, and it was only a matter of t.ime when the borough would have its drainage. Drainape was in tho bnroueh. but it would take Rome time to provide snwnjte for the whole of the boran»li. IMroJC amalgamated with the city in ymt? a«o_ and had not yet got complete tHitm-rp. or water supply. Miramar wa= an indenenrten', borough. It was independent in its finances, and thn prospects before Mirnmar wore excellent. It. was only a matter of time when the munieiiinl rn(iuirem°nf.= of the borough would bo fully •"ot. Resides v-rjtiiifr lo (lie city. be (Mr. Towi'send) and a councillor waited on Hm Mnvnv oir. LiilteV but the latter had nothinsr tn sav. Tt was nather"tl. nwev'r.' t.bat if Mi'"imar amalgamated with tl-e city tl"> latter would not tnk" over Hie loan fW the tramv>i-c, nnd nny pxtmision of the trams would iiivpc j sitate jrirninar being o special ratiiv j arwi. Tie also had e«vornl intervi™,; | with the Tramways Committee on the question of fares, and was (old that the borough was giving its residents too long a ride for the fw-es: that was to say, the sections wore too long, nnd with amalgamation the fares would' be increased. And they would not get a belter service.' On the basis of population, there were more trams running to Miramar than there wero in the oily. There were twenty-five trains running to Miramar North, and thirty-five to Seatoun every day. That was sixty trams daily for a, population of .'IOOO. In respect to drainage and water fiupply, Miramar would be a special rating district to carry the burdens of any extensions or additions. There would be no benefit in nmalgamaiton with the city because they would have nothing more than Ihey'had now, nnd they would' Inso their identity. Some people said that under amalgamation the rates would be lower; that, slid the speaker, was a fallacy. Miramar to-day was a lower rated area than the City of Wellington, and with all the facilities of the city except a library and a zoo. If the city decided to raise' a loan for street improvements or water works, Mir.'iinar would be charged its share of the rates to meet the interest on the bans, but for any work required in Miramar (he borough would' be made a. special rating area. The capital value of the borough was .£BOO,OOO, the improved value was about ,£500,(100, and the debt was about JMOO.000. Why should a borough with such a, financial position amalgamate with Wellington, which was so heavily in debt? The borough must, get a quid pro quo, there must bo satisfactory and equitable conditions, and Miramax must not amalgamate without conditions, like Melrose and Onslow. They had electric light and gas in the borough, and they could not get more at the presont time from the city in respect to light than the borough now possessed. Tho material was not available. If Hie borough amalgamated with the city they would coine under the city building by-laws. The frontage in the city was 2flft., and tho frontage in iM.ira.mar was -tOft. Even with tho 20ft. frontage there were cases where one, house had been put. at the back of another. In Miramar there was no chance, of a house being built just behind another, and for all time there was no chance of a slum area , in Miramar ro long as the borough remained independent. When Miramar was first cut up the sites ware not less than a quarteracre each, Glift. frontage, and the residents at that time thought (his was small enough. Later il was reduced to 40ft. frontage, and he thought that was wiiall enough. He thought they were better off as they were; amalgamation with Hie city would bring them no benefits, on the contrary they would lose many advantages. Miramar, he thought, Mould by the residential area of the city, and the'population would grow: it was growing, and as the oo?t of bnildinc; dropped'many buildings would lie erected in i'ho borough. > >fr. Townsend was psked numerous q-zAtions. -nil of which he appeared to answer satisfactorily. ■