WELLINGTON'S PROBLEM

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 54, 1 September 1926, Page 10

WELLINGTON'S PROBLEM

MORE SEEKERS THAN HOMES

THE PRIVATE BUILDER TURNS

TO AGAIN

DEMOLITION OF INSANITARY

BUILDINGS.

; Commenting to-day upon state- ' meiits recently made in the House in regard to the aorious conditions of housing in many parts of Wel- • lingtou and also upon reports of ; the activities of tho Auckland City .Council in tho direction of enforcing demolition orders for tho removal of old and unsanitary ' houses, Councillor H. D. Bennett, : chairman of the Health Committee if of. the City Council, pointed out tho : difficulties which had faced the .City Council in insisting upon the 'demolition of places which were no longer hygienieally habitable, but remarked that there were indications that those difficulties were today being lessened.

' During the war years and in tho years that followed, he said, the shortage of houses of all descriptions, from the smallest cottages upwards, had ; been such that no council could exorcise its powers in regard to ordering demolition, of old premises, for any kind of a roof was better than none at all, and if the council did not ask itself the question: "Where are these people to go?" the people very soon asked the council. In any case, had tho council decided that this and that building should bo pulled down in the best interests of the health of those who lived in them, Magistrates would have been very loth to support the council in the event of an appeal to them.

Those conditions were not peculiar to "Wellington by any means; they were found in greater or less degree in every town of size in the Dominion, and, for that matter, since the war the housing problem had been world wide. If one went back twenty years one recalled the same difficulty in this city, but it was during the war years that the ratio of increase in population to increase in the number of dwellings became suddenly and seriously upset. The Bent Beatriction Act had had a good 'deal to do with the acuteneas of the problem, and private enterprise had taken a long time to get over it, but to-day there were evidences of a revival in house building. The most casual observer must have remarked upon the large numbers of new houses in all parts of the city, and particularly in the suburbs of Miramar and Karorj.

BETTER, BUT A LOJTG WAY TO GO. The best evidonce of the return of private enterprise to house building ,was given by comparative figures, said Councillor Bennett: — 1926. 1925. City 77 81 Northland .... 13 12 ;Melrose 278 241 • Wadestowii ... 47 47 ■ :Onslow ....,., 55 31 IKarori 116 32 Miramar ...... 161 120 J 747 564 Even so, "Wellington was so far behind that it would take a long time for her to gain the level which was hoped for. It had to be remembered always that iv a city of 100,----000 inhabitants there always was a tail and a certain number of people would continue to live under conditions that would not be accepted as even, bearable by the average citizen.

Not for a moment was hp attempting to oxcuso what were thoroughly unsatisfactory conditions in many parts of tho town, particularly in the Te Aro Plat area, but ha would say, bearing that fact in mind, that Wellington was not really so badly off as compared with at least one other town in the Dominion.

During a recent investigation by the Mayor and others, quite a number of unfortunate cases were brought to light, but Wellington had few cases so bad as those reported from another city of tent dwellers and even of "dugputs." THE BOGEY OF TE ARO FLAT. For years past Te Aro. flat, the oldest part, of Wellington, and tho worst laid out area of the city, had been the bogey of the city authorities. Council after council had thought over plans for its improvement, and, coincidental!)', tlie improvement of the living conditions of the people there resident, but the financial difficulties were so great that nothing could be done. To-day the prospects were a good deal brighter, and the city might look more cheerfully upon the big job of ending tha nightmare of that area.

Tha two big factors wero the passing of tho Town Planning Bill, and the movement, headed by the Mayor, for the concentration of impprtant buildings on Mount Cook.

Developments were followed Try developments in kind, and Te Aro flat, once given the turn, might be relied upon to clean itself up. More than a mere clearing away of the slum areas was required, and in that was the necessity for a city plan to ensure that that one considerable area of natural level land should be developed to give the greatest economic service. In its present condition a great deal of the flat was hopelessly wasted from a true economic standpoint.

When the council's estimates for the current year were being drawn up, continued Csuncillor Bennett, the Mayor asked for £.1000 for town planning, and .particularly for laying out a scheme lor the improvement of Te Aro flat. The had been approved by the and latterly the Mayor's hand ihad been greatly strengthened by the -town planning legislation. No doubt "3Hr. Norwood, who was very keen on the subject, would pursue the matter bofore his term of office expired.

Wellington and tho boroughs of the Hutt Valley were separated by a good many miles, but the activities of the valley were closely' allied with those cf the city, and in house building especially progress made at Lower Hutt and Petone was assisting in tho relief of the city's problem. FLATS AND FLATS. ' The fiat and tlio so-called tenement house bad 'come into vogue in Wellington to a remarkable degree, continued ■ Councillor Bennett, and though the council's policy of equallising car fares foi any distance along tramway routes had encouraged many people to leavo -the city area, and make for tho health - '" ier suburban districts—the number' of brand new houses was proof enough of •that—flats would always be in demand, • and the erection of larger and specially buildings for this purpose .-'•would be a feature of city area development. The Health Committee and the council knew well enough that many of the flats were not flats at all, for two or three families simply lived under the same roof and shared cooking arrangements, bathroom, and lavatory. The bylaws laid down definite conditions in regard to the letting of flats, but while tho. hom§ shqrlago was afei.ll a serious.

matter strict observance of tho regulations had not been insisted upon. Authority had been given recently for the amendmont of a bylaw providing that apartment houses of two stories must bo of briek —a rule which, in fact, was never generally observed —to allow of two-story wooden houses being divided up as fla^s, so long as separata bathrown and cooking arrangements, and fireproof ceilings, were provided.

As regarded cleansing orders and orders requiring the carrying out of repairs, the council had, oven during the worst years, been consistently strict, and with the improvement of the general housing position, the council would, more and more, tighten up upon tho owners of promises no longer fit for occupation.