DEVELOPMENT OF LEVIN.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 13 April 1910, Page 2

DEVELOPMENT OF LEVIN.

BUILDING PROGRESS

SOME INTEBKSTIXG FACTS

The stable progress which, has larked the development of Levin nring the past two years is exomliiied in the number of new houses hat have been erected in the disriet, and although those constriictd during tho financial year just lo.sed are not as great numerically s those put up in each of the two 1 receding years, there is every inlication that the progress made rithin the twelve • months ended ,Larch 1910 has been of that steady i a til re which is sviionomous with lura.bility. _ During the year just closed tlur-;v-three pu 1111 it.s were issued by the borough Council, and altogether ;wenty-eight entirely new buildings, diiefly dwellings, were The *ross amount of value was £/850, md the fees paid to the Council totalled £27 ss. The houses were erected at the rate of about two a month, and considering that during the, year depression was_ widespread aver' the dominion, it is felt that the progress made locally in building was very satisfactory. _ A good many new houses are now in course of erection. The previous two years were exceptionally busy ones for building; in fact they are regarded as abnormal. The fees 1908-1909 amounted to £44 lfs fid. The Council recognised that this was exceptional, nnd when it framed the estimates for 1909-10 it com- - pnt.ed the fees at £25, so that as a matter of fact a little more building was effected than was actually anticipated. A good many new houses have been erected in Cambridge street, but generally speaking their allocation has been Fairly equally distributed. The average building seems to cost about £300 for a five or six-roomed house. ]' Rom these statistics it is patent that people of a substantial class are moving into the district, and on all hands there is evidence that Levin is undergoing the. process of steady development which is a most important factor in stable and enduring progress. The Mayor, in the course of an interview, expressed himself as quite satisfied with the figures. ITe emphasised the point already alluded to with reference to the slump in the building trade throughout the dominion last year. The houses that are being erected, he mentioned, are permanent structures, and they are occupied or will be oec'n,:ied by men who must have faith in the district. Persons, of course, from time to time left the locality. Business reasons took them away, but their places were 1 filled up, and there was a steady 1 filtration into the place of a good (dass of people. One thing that was contributing to the development of Levin was the fact that people had taken advantage of the generosity of the Government in connection with Advances to Workers. The houses had been built upon sections of freehold land which had been bought and paid for by the occupier and they were men who meant to stay in the district. Very few towns, he thought, could show, during the last two years, building operations amounting to £10,000. One could hardly expect that this would continue year after year. Tie hoped to see the land sub-divided, because people were anxious to settle in this district provided they could exchange or sell their properties. He was only in l'almerston some days ago when he was told 011 the best authority that there were plenty of inouiries for small farms down the line. Tll reply to a leading question, the mayor said lie based his hopes on the future on two or three points. One was the cutting up of the land around Levin, more particularly the native land. The question of the land being divided into small areas for fruit growing must; become a great factor in tho future. Even now manv people were advocating the establishment of a, canning factory near Levin, and with the assistance of the Government it should not be long before a theory become an actuality. Mr Gardener •ilso gave his personal opinion that the farmers, instead of sending their produce to Wellington direct without knowing practically how the prices stood, should place their goods in one callable man's hands who should do, if possible, a retail trade amongst the shopkeepers and storekeepers. That would systematise things, and he was certain under such an arrangement the farmers would make another 30 per cent. Altogether the Mayor expresses a cheery optimism in regard to the future of the town.