Correspondence.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 258, 4 May 1895, Page 2

Correspondence.

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION BUILDINGS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAU. Sir, — I was present at the meeting on Wednesday, re Municipal Buildings, and was surprised at the diversity of opinion expressed by those present, and the absence of anything like a suggestion to : meet the circumstances of the case, it appears to me that the ratepayers have not studied the question properly, and each individual aired his conviction for ! or against without giving any alternative. | Talcing the whole of the objections to | the Municipal Buildings being erected in Manchester Square as explained by His Worship the Mayor, into consideration, theposition seems to be this : — 1. That there are insuperable obstacles in the way of placing the buildings there. 2. That the cost of the buildings would be considerably more than on the site on which the Borough Council proposes to place them. 3. That the buildings, if placed in j Manchester Squaic, would overshadow | some other biiiWin-;-, round the same, j and that it would he quite impossible j to close the roads over the S'juaio. : Now, I will tf.Ue these objections j seriatim. j 1. Tlica'c arc no insuperable obstacles in tho way of placing the buildings on the Square, even in the centre of the cross roads, Manchester street and Kimboltou road, because neither of the roads or the Square have ever been dedicated to the public. 2. But, supposing there were " insupe- j rable objections," the road need not be clob.:d as it is i'iv-j chains wide instead of one, as is required by tho Borough Council regulations, and the position v.ould therefore bo this (but it is difficult to work this out without a diagram). I I S ! GO Kimbolton Load. ?-< "% } | i _!_£ i _ _ Tho Square is live chains by live chains, the road is two chains. Taking off the area for the building, which I understand will he half a chain each way (or thereabouts), leaves a mai'gin of three-i'ourths of a chaiu on each .side of the building, which is equal to a road one and a-balf chains wide, which would enable everyone to go round the buildings in the same manner that ninetynine out of one hundred do uov.' round the Square. One or two ratepayers have expressed their surprise that I should advocate the erection of buildings on the Square, because there would be no "square" left. Seeing that the Square is about two and a-half acres iv extent these would be something like Municipal Buildings, rather larger in extent, if I mistake not, than St. Paul's Cathedral in London as to ground area. The Public Works Act gives power to Borough Council to 'diminish the width of any roads, and, if your readers will take the trouble to work out the areas, they will find it something like the above diagram, and they will sec that there will be three-fourths of a chaiu wide on each side. I am, etc., E. GiES en, Manager Colonists' Land and Loan Corporation. Feuding, May 2nd, 1.505.