A VALUABLE SCHEME

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 56, 3 September 1926, Page 2

A VALUABLE SCHEME

• ■ — ■—4-. SETTLEMENT IN HUTT VALLEY. OPENING UP FRESH LANJJ. Warm approval of the provisions of the Hutt Valley Land Settlement Amendment Bill, which pro? : vides for the opening up of residential and industrial areaß in the Hutt Valley, was expressed by, members oi the House of Represent -- tatives yesterday afternoon. The ..-.- Bill was passed. ; _ ■ • The Minister of Lands (the Hon. £.■■■■ D. M'Leod), in moving the _eco«#r reading, said that there w»re omiftdons in the original A«t whiek heA ... 3;iven rise to certain. difHoulties,. and "■•■ the amendments proposed were to remove those difficulties. The proposal was. to hold monthly sales of block. _f land. There was also provision for setting aside land for industrial purposes, and it was proposed that thie.... irea should be well away from the residential' area. The railway deviation was now well in hand, and with the exception of tho bridge the -construction work was well, out into the .entre of tho settlement. It was .pro-: posed to extend the railway later into. the industrial area. The Minister point* -; ed out that the Bill was not an amend-— went of the general land laws, but only, -fEected the scheme in the Hutt Valley. Ono month's notice had to be given o£ the sales, and purchases would be made on the amortisation principle. It had been found necessary lately to reduce. the size of allotments, which were now;" -"' from a 66ft frontage to a 50ft front. : age. The section of the original Act which provided that no person could bold more than ono section had. been. recast, as it was not considered that the prohibition was now necessary. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central)!; "Is there a provision s to guard against the cutting up of sections, and, say, building three houses on two sections!" • The Minister: "I have' no doubt that ... the local bylaws will guard against that." ... Sir John Luke (Wellington North) said that the scheme would be a very,..... valuable adjunct to tne city. He would . -..' like to see a clear line of demarcation " between the residential and industrial -.. areas, and a provision inserted in the Bill to ensure that the residential area should not be trenched upon by industrial enterprises. He thought that this week's sale was satisfactory, and considered that tho remaining sectiong should still be open for selection. „-.-.• Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central)' ." stressed the desii ability of separating residential and industrial areas. The •- scheme was a big one, and up to the '••• present, so far as the residential, section was concerned, had been a complete success. He thought it would result in helping to solve the housing problem in Wellington. He would like to have seen some provision in the Bill that holders of land could not transfer sections before a certain lapse of time . without the consent of the Minister;. . He warmly congratulated all those who " were concerned in the scheme in anr way. > ..... Replying to the discussion, the- Mm- . ister of Lands thanked all those who ' had assisted in the housing side of the scheme.. As to the separation of the residential from the industrial area,-Mr. ' M'Leod mentioned that a town-plan-ning scheme had been adopted, andthere was no intention of departing" '• from it. It was felt to be desirable"to"^ sell off sections in blocks because if they allowed houses to be built sparsely ■ over different parts of the district muchexpense would be incurred in .oadinj.. '■: The total expenditure on the scheme so far was £355,000, so it was necessary to get the sections occupied as soon as • possible. - ■-'.::,?.;.■:" _The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward(Invercargill): "How much do you expect to get beyond the £355;*)00?" The Minister: "Our calculations are that we shall probably get half a million leaving £150,000 to go towards the - cost of the railway." . The Bill, was passed.