DEPARTMENTAL OFFICES

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 89, 9 January 1935, Page 8

DEPARTMENTAL OFFICES

Wellington Problem

NEED OF INCREASED ACCOMMODATION

Building Scheme Discussed

Ministers of the Crown ami departmental experts are giving constructive thought to the need of more adequate office accommodation for State departments in Wellington. Under the strain of economy in recent years the question has become a problem which, in some features, is causing anxiety. With ■a view to solving it, a building scheme embodying the best principles of planning both for future service and amenities is receiving Ministerial consideration. It is claimed that conditions justify enterprise. The main Government building—with the distinction of being the largest wooden structure in the world—is said to be almost grotesquely overcrowded. One of the jokes of the large body of servants.in the departmental barracks is that if they all were to breathe outwardly at once the automatic fire alarm bells would ring! Conditions therein, however, though admittedly unsatisfactory, are tolerable, compared with those in the adjoining odd building, which is known colloquially as the “tomato house,” and by other names besides; for instance, the long, corrugated iron part fronting Stout Street, and looking toward the new railway station and its prospectively line gardened approach, is called “Ratcatcher's Row.” The buildings were “rushed up” during the World War. as was the practice in oilier countries, but whereas authorities elsewhere, yielding to civic pride, cleared such wartime litter away, here the improvised edifices have been allowed to stand in the way of progress. Officials agree that the unsightly buildings are anything but conducive to the health and best working efficiency of State servants. It is contended that the fact that most of them arc employed at extracting taxes and teeth from the people, should not deprive them of sympathetic consideration. Their duties apparently are as' disagreeable as their environment. Several of them already have suffered in health. Scope for Enterprise. It would be unpardonable to suggest or allow it to be inferred that the Governmeijt has neglected the position or been indifferent to the needs of departmental workers in the capital. Administrators also have been the victims of circumstances, and have had to practise economy in national expenditure. A grant of some £5OO was made during this financial year for the purpose of alleviating conditions in the main buildings here, but so far the money has not been spent, it being recognised that it would be more economical in the long run io remove the “tomato house” and make provision for a modern type of structure in keeping with the architecture of the new railway station—something that would be a credit to the State and the capital. There is no desire among Ministers to indulge in extravagance. It is thought, however, that circumstances may not be so favourable for years as they are now for building a departmental block that not only would eliminate congestion in existing offices but would meet all expansion of service for the next decade at the least. The State is paying about £14,000 a year in i rent for offices in . Wellington, with the result that, departments are distributed as widely as white'butterflies. It. is pointed out that a great deal of that expenditure could be devoted with advantage* to the payment of principal and interest charges on a new up-to-date block which would accommodate many departmental units under one roof. Cheaper Aloqey. The remedial plan most favoured in administrative circles is to take early advantage of cheap money and abundance,of labour and' erect a Mock of offices on the site of the temporary buildings fronting Stout Street. Such a structure would harmonise with the remarkable improvement that will be wrought in the locality on completion of the splendid metropolitan station and administrative offices for the Railways Department. If constructed on the lines suggested by State administrators and experts,- the structure would serve •as the north-eastern’ facade of a great departmental block that, in the future, must replace the present main Government building which, it is estimated, will be of service for at least twenty years more.

It probably will be a month or two before the tentative plans take the form of a progressive policy, but the ground and its possibilities for improvement have been inspected by administrators, while practical officials have been giving attention to the cost involved. There anpears to be unanimity about the necessity for a new building to replace the notorious “tomato house,” and afeo as to the favourable circumstances for exercising tlie mood to build. llllHlllllllllllillillllllllllllllllllllllllllllll