VALUE OF APPEARANCES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 659, 11 October 1933, Page 4

VALUE OF APPEARANCES

The Rotorua Borough Council has given a lead to many towns in New Zealand in its decision to insist upon unifopmly tidy j street frontages. The council has decided to take matters into its own hands and ask for legislative authority to impose a charge upon property owners and occupiers who neglect to cut their street lawns when they are in a position to do so. The council has spent a considerable amount of money in improving street frontages and it is entitled to expect co-operation from property owners in this direction. A property owner cannot be expected to spend time and trouble upon his frontage if the municipal authority gives him no material to work upon, but where lawns are sown and planting carried out, property owners in their own interests should endeavour to keep them in order. An attractive street frontage does a great deal to enhance the appearance and consequently the value of a property and it should be realised that in improving frontages the council is conferring a benefit upon ratepayers quite apart from aesthetic considerations. 0 It is particularly important in a holiday and tourist town such as Rotorua that a favourable impression should be created upon visitors and it is in matters such as the improvement of street lawns, the development of private gardens, etc., that private residents can do a great deal to assist their town in this direction. There is no doubt that a great deal of the charm of Rotorua lies in its gardens and reserves and the council has shown wisdom in insisting that this standard should, not only be maintained, but improved. Provided that the necessary local bill can be put through the House, the council will be empowered to cut any street lawns which require cutting and impose a charge upon the property owners responsible for the neglect. This should do a great deal to encourage a uniformly tidy and attractive appearance in the residential sections of the town. In keeping with its decision to improve the residential section it may be suggested that the council should carry out a definite scheme to improve the town square. At the present time this area appears to have been entirely overlooked in the general schemes for improvement, and although it cannot exactly be called neglected, its appearance is very much out of keeping with the remainder of the reserves in the town. The fine trees which flank the square could very well be incorporated in a scheme of orderly lay-out with properly gravelled paths, flower beds and lawns. By the employment of relief labour, the general appearance of this central'reserve could be greatly improved and it could then take its rightful place as the central point of public out-of-doors ceremonies. In other boroughs, central squares of this nature are utilised to the best possible advantage — Palmerston North is an excellent example— but it cannot be claimed that at present this is the case in Rotorua.