HATAITAI ENCROACHMENTS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 222, 13 June 1919, Page 6

HATAITAI ENCROACHMENTS

OBJECTION TO INCREASED ; EENTAIS. Councillor W. H. Bennett introduced to last evening's meeting of the City Council a deputation representative of Hataitai encroachment holders. He stated that the circumstances which had led to the holding of these encroachments had begun in Wellington from the beginning of Wellington's suburbs. Kcccntly the rentals, for these encroachments had been increased, and the deputation wished to protest against these increases.

Mr.' W. Fielding, who handed in a petition siirned by every encroachment holder in Hataitai, said that they wished to: protest emphatically against the increased rentalr. demanded for encroachment areas, deeming it to be a breaoh of faith on the council's part, as it was understood that when these properties were fenced in only a peppercorn rental would be charged. "We' might state," said Mr. Feildint 1 ; "that about seven or eight years ago wo entered into mutual agreements with the City Council for a.nominal rental of .Is. per annum, and now you are demanding a 'range of charges,: some of the ratepayers, being asked to pay 7s. Gd.. 10s.; 12s. Gd., 155., and even l?s. Gd. In one caso a ratepayer is paying 15s. for' a 2ft. encroachment, while immediately behind this ratepayer another owner is charged ss.'' for 15ft. of land. Another, in the same street, pays nothing at all for a 20ft encroachment.' The City Council did not consider it necessary to have written agreements whon these' rentals wero first imposed, but we are now in formed that written agreements are to be general, and will involve an additional expense of anything up to 20s. each. If written agreements were not: necessary a few. years ago, why should they, 1)0 drawn up now? Wo fail to see why, there is any necessity for written agrements, as by paying t an annual rental to the council its equity is establishedj. and i,ho council lias the right at any time (should tho occasion ever arise to have the streets widened)' to demand the removal of fences to the proper 'boundaries, regardless of- f.ho. amount of rent paid by the occupier. You must see the unfairness of these charges, for,, no matter how excessive they may be, we have no more claim upon these small stretches of land than if there were no rents paid at all. In some parts of Hataitai encroachments are essential, not only for the good appearance of tho place, but also for eliminat. ing dangerous footways. Without those encroachments the suburb would bo ona of the most unkempt in the Wellington district, but as it now stands it sets a good example to most of the others.

Mr. H. Tolan, of tlie Hntsiitai Ratepayers' Association, said that his association was whole-heartedly with the deputation. It was a question only second in interest to the traffic tunnel (which was always first). The Outlying Districts Committeo had visited Hataitai and knew nil about the matter. The residents ot Hataitai had always done what they could to beautify the place, and the beautification of the encroachments was not neglected. . They wished to protest, too, on behalf of the Government against the charge of being mudo ngftinst the school, which looked like ail effort to reduce the area of the. schoolground. The Mayor said that the mutter-would he referred to the Outlying Districts Committee for careful consideration. Later on the council decided to refer the matter to the committee mentioned.