Housing Conditions

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 74, 14 April 1937, Page 6

Housing Conditions

NAPIER'S BAD SPOTS Below-Standard Houses In New Surroundings SURVEY WELCOMED Post-eartfcquake Napier is spokea *>f as "the newest city 'in tke ■world," a tenn'of which; tke Napier people are proud. Visitors to tke town are skown tke new kuildings, tke new gardens on tke Marine Parade and tke many little corners wkick are certairtly a credit to tke "borough. It is just as well," all tkings bedng considered, tkat a large percentage of tke population are txnaware of tke f act tkat in tkis eazne "new Napier" tkere are houses witkout - katkrooms and "batks, -witkout sinks and wasktuks; houses wkick are ftom 40 to 50 years old, and wkick look as if tkey have never keen toucked up since first tkey were kuilt in tke days when Napier was notking more tfcatt a small seaside village. Seeing is believing, and if sceptics do not care to believe suck statements abont tke " world 'a newest city," let ihem m.ake a tour of some of tke borough's back roads and' by-ways. fEkey will find dwellings wkich would mot look ont of place in tke worst elum area of & large city. Tke borougk autkorities kave weleomed tke Government housing survey ackeme, and kope tkat tke survey broom will make a clean sweep along those* zoads and streets wkere ■ discrepit kouses are a blofc on tke .landscape. Even in streets wkick are.juet off tke business area of 'Napier tkere are tenants occupying kouses witkout ; proper facilities for washing. Some contain no batks. or bathrooms; otkers»o iinks for tke washing of diskes'; still otkers witkout tubs for tke housewLfe'a Monday morning wash-day. An Amazing Fact. It ja an amazing yet true fact tkaL* fe suck kouses tke , dwellers .live in. comfort and cleanliness. Tkis . is a eredit to" tidy minds, and tke oceupiers are xeally wortky of better living conditions. It would be most nnfair to say tkat Napier has its slum areas; tkat is f ar from so. It may safely be said that in respect of untidy and .impropeilyequipped kouses Napier is no worso j tkan any otker town of approximately tke size. Tke point tliat seemsludicrous is tkat tke people of Napier xevel in tke complimeut tkat tkeirs is tke newest city in tke world, and yet tkey tolerate kouses wkick ougkt to have been demolisked or renovated years ago. . Most of these houses arekccupiedby tenants. Becanse of bad times, many iave found, it exceedingly , difficult, to | earn enougk to pay for the bare • necessities of life, wkick are food, clotkiug aud kousing. Food and'el'otking must be purckased, and in *a niimber of cases arrears -of Tent kave been allowed to accumulate. The result kas been tkat tke landlorde kave been financially •mbarrassed and kave not been in a position to improve tkeir properties, giving up-to-date facilities to ■ tke dwellers. • , . : Tke Public Health Act, 1920, makes no stipulation that batks, wask-tubs and must be inatalled in dwellings. Tn regard to the sanitary .arrangements • to be observed, tke Act stip'ilates tkat tkere must be a supply of wholesome water available for tke inmates of a dwelling and suitable appliances.for tke disposal of refuse water in a sanitary manner, Nor do tke Napier borougk by-laws make suck provision, except to astipulate tkat kot batks, tubs and sinks must be fitted. New kouses, of course, are never built without proper facilities fer wasking.

Better Living Oonditious.' Tke purpose of tke Housing Survey Act, 1935, is to ascertain tke extent of overcrowding in a community .and tke extent to wkick pkysical conditions fail to ensure tke maintenance of a reasonable standard of health and comfort. It also eeeks to iind out tke number of people wko are detrimentally affected by existing kousing conditions. Napier 's housing survey is sliortly to be nndeTtaken. The Borougk - Council' 's officer wko aequires tke neeessaTy information regarding houses and living conditions will be required to ask many personal questions, and householders are asked to realise tkat in doing so the officer will be acting in'tke interests of tke konsekolders, themselves. Wken'all tke required iuformation is to kand, it will be dispatcked to the Minister of Interital Affairs, who in turn will kand it on to the GovernorGeneral. To kis staff lies the responsxbility of determining whetker - effect skoUld be given to, recommendations - inade wkereby better living conditions iu Napier as well as in otker towns and eities may be effected. f