PLAN TO EXTEND BOUNDARIES

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 44, 15 November 1940, Page 9

PLAN TO EXTEND BOUNDARIES

Further Evidence On Hutt Petition

BOROUGH ENGINEER’S STATEMENTS

Comparisons of the services being provided by the Hutt County Council in the Epuni riding, which is part of the area the Lower Hutt Borough Council has petitioned to have included in its boundaries, were made before the boundaries commission which continued its sitting at Lower Hutt yesterday. In all. the borough seeks to have 6836 acres included in its boundaries which would increase its size to 10.542 acres.

Mr. A. M. Goulding, S.M., is chairman of the commission. Mr. H. W. Mackintosh, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Mr. J. P. Mcßae. District Valuer, arc the other members. The parties are represented as follows: Lower Hutt Borough Council, Messrs. E. P. Bunny and N. T. Gillespie: Hutt County Council. Mr. T. C. A. Hislop; Hutt Valley Producers’ Association Ltd., representing the market gardeners, Mr. T. P. McCarthy; Messrs. AV. G. and G. R. Kells, owners and lessees of various pieces of laud affected, Mr. E. F. Rothwell.

Continuing his evidence, R. D. IL Hill. M.T.P.I. (London), M. 5.1., Lower Hutt Borough town-planning officer, said that he thought the ultimate city area would embrace not only the lower valley but the upper valley and Wainui-o-mata. The level 1760 acres to the north which the borough sought would accommodate 25,000 to 30,000 people, and with a population growth based on past increases, it would be settled in approximately 15 years, or a much shorter period if the Housing Department developed the suggested 1000 houses a year programme. Mr. Hislop: Is It not the general complaint with the State houses here that there is not enough room at the back for domestic purposes; that the sections are too small in view of the disposition of the hofises? Witness: If the bouses are properly sited, there should be adequate room for all requirements. Mr. Hislop: Should not the county people have to decide whether they should be transferred to another area? The chairman: That is a matter for the legislature. Mr. Hislop: Is not their opinion relevant? I could call them all and we would be here for a year.

'[’he chairman: I suppose you could call them all.

Mr. Gillespie: We could wait 50 years and call the prospective population.

Mr. Hislop: Apparently you want to shut out the expression of opinion by those whom the borough wants to absorb and who will have to pay if such absorption occurs. It is a fact that 9 • per cent, of them do not want to come into the borough: it is not unusual to wish to avoid increased rates for services they are already getting. Mr. McCarthy, to Mr. Hill: Is it not a complaint of your council that a large number of the State houses here have been let to people who really belong to and work in "Wellington?—lt should be a definite policy to house workers as near as possible to their employment. Mr. McCarthy suggested that if these houses were emptied of occupants working in and belonging to Wellington it would make sufficient houses available to meet the predicted demand for some years. Witness agreed, but said that the suggestion was impractical. It was obvious that for a number of years the Hutt must act as a dormitory for Wellington. There was under 50 acres of Native land in the borough suitable for close settlement, but considerable difficulties were entailed in title ownership. Mr. McCarthy: If the market gardeners can be dispossessed, why not the Natives? Residential Development. He knew that the market garden lands produced considerable economic wealth in the shape of a large production of vegetables for "Wellington and, at certain times, for the rest of the North Island, continued Mr. Hill. It was regrettable but inevitable that the market gardens- must eventually give way to residential development; some hundreds of acres had already been sold.

Mr. McCarthy: You agree that the general principle is regrettable?—-Yes. Mr. Hill said that he believed Tawa Flat land was at a price prohibitive for close settlement under Government schemes.

Mr. McCarthy: You know the price has not deterred the Government in buying land here? —I am not aware of that.

On Yhe western slopes, Mr. Hill said, there were 1500 acres available for housing which would accommodate 10,000 people. The cost of services would be such, however, as to preclude this land being developed ’ till after the flat bad been. AVainui-o-Mata had been visualized in the scheme as a residential area of the future and already 4000 sections had been subdivided there, but the present access made any settlement unlikely for a long time. Making convenient access would be very costly, but no doubt would go through sometime. Mr. McCarthy: Your development scheme takes the easiest line, disregarding the conservation of wealthproducing land and Hie wishes of people now living outside the borough? —The boundaries visualized are natural ones.

You have taken the line of least, resistance and shut your eyes to other available areas?—Not readilv available.

To the chairman. Mr. Hill said it. was outside his power to take into account the economic aspect of tlie lands.

The chairman: Then it can tie said that you formed your plan disregarding this economic aspect. Mr. Hislop: I thought I heard it said to be the ideal of a town planner to spend money 1 Mr. Hill said that the urgent need of housing accommodation outweighed the value of rhe laud to tlie north. He had prepared a plan three years ago for tile aiii.-ilg.'imation of the Lower Hutt and Fetoue boroughs ami part of the Hutt. County : this followed almost tlie <:inn’ imuiularies as now proposed. It could hi- taken that with dei-lared <luveriiiiieiit policy anil the extent nt tlie land it had purchased in ilie norlhern areas, tlie State intended to proceed witli an intensive housing doveliijimeiit scheme.

To Mr. Rothwell. Mr. Hill said it was most unlikely that, the land of Messrs. Kells would be develojied before the flat land had been used. Al! rhe same there was always some demand for hill land.

Appearing In person. Mr. Cooper, a borough ratepayer, after questioning Mr. Hill. spld tlial lie was pfiviuir £l7 a .rear rales on a quarter-aero residential sod.ion, xvliih- market tin r(loin*r< in Park Avonno, which was in (In* bnr-

ough, were paying £l5 for a full acre; this was not British justice. The chairman said that no doubt the gardeners had special rating as urban lands.

To Mr. Cooper, Mr. Hill said that six acres of market garden land in part of the borough were owned by the Catholic Church authorities whom, he believed, intended to use it as the site of a Marist Brothers’ school. It would take 26 to 30 houses. This concluded Mr. Hill’s evidence, which had occupied more than eight hours. County Services. 11. R. Bach, B.Sc., A.M.1.C.E.. ■borough engineer, Lower Hutt, said there was little or no artesian water suitable for community supply in the area north of the borough. On the county area individual pumping plants used water from shallow bores; this would not suffice for community supply. A bore at a depth similar to that used in tlie county area produced water which the Department of Health pronounced, unsuitable even for swimming pools. The Housing Department had proceeded, with a complete water supply scheme to service its houses in the county; this was being co-related with a borough scheme. In the county there were 77 State houses ready for occupation between Nae Nae Lane and Porutu Street, and the borough had arranged to give these temporary services to enable occupation this summer. There were no proper sanitary service facilities in the county in the valley area. The method of disposal by septic tanks on. individual holdings was a dangerous one, as these might be in the infiltration zone of the artesian water supply. The county council hud not the legal power, the plant or the facilities to carry out tlie maintenance of .modern services: tlie borough council was sufficiently equipped to do so. The borough had for some years required that factories and industrial buildings be in permanent materials: the county hn'd not exercised this control. An example of tliiscould be seen in Gracefieid Road, where one factory built to borough standards was adjacent to one in the county, which was a wooden-framed, corrugated iron structure. The company owning tlie latter structure desirtAl to erect a .similarly-construct-ed one in Bell Road in the borough, and was refused permission, with the result that they built up to the required standards in the borough and carried out extensions in wood and corrugated iron to tlie county area factory. ,

Replying to Mr. Hislop’s statement that the Epuni area of the county lia'l been gazetted a town planning area, witness said that the county had not the facilities to provide Hie services it. was empowered to.

Witness continued, in relation to liis, st:.to,men) about drinking water in tin' Epuni area, that the Depiirtinont of Hen It li would not prevent people from drinking bud water. He eould not |>rodree reports on Hie water: these were in part mental, an'd thus eonl'nlonl iul. Mr. Hislop sai ( | that some of rli.,~e present at tlie inquiry had been drinking tliis water for years, and were still lio.'iilby. Tlie rate in tlie eounly area l lie borough desired to absorb was sd. in tlie £. unimproved value, as against 1/- in Hie borough. Tliis area was £753.000 capital value, and £27-1.000 unimproved value, prodiuing £5540 a yefir in rates to the county. To witness: ('an you suggest any great inducement why these county people should pay another 7il. in the pound?—That question will be answered by other witnesses.

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