PERMIT REFUSED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 796, 17 October 1929, Page 16

PERMIT REFUSED

OPPOSED TO ERECTION OF FLATS ONE TREE HILL DECISION **lt is impossible to make a wooden building 1 fire-proof/’ said Mr. P. H. Hollingsworth, building inspector, when speaking against the advisability of erecting, flats on the corner of Puriri Avenue and Wheturangi Road, at a meeting of the One Tree Hill Road Board last evening. An appeal against the decision of the board in its refusal to grant permission to alter a two-storeyed wooden building into three flats and also to construct seven additional flats on the same property, was made by the owner, Mr. R. R. Fisher. Mr. Fisher said that although the first proposed structure could not be absolutely fire-proof, the precautions adopted by his architect against any contingency of fire were more stringent than those takep in the case of city flats. Besides the , fire escapes, every roqm and door would afford a means of exit. After the proposed alterations there would be only one bedroom upstairs instead of three, as in the present instance. The alterations would be for the purpose of design only, while the other building would be erected in brick and concrete. The building inspector remarked that fire escapes were not a means of safety, but just emergency exits when one Was in one’s right senses, which was rarely so if awakened by a sudden alarm. Mr. I. J. Goldstine said that the board .should oppose the proposal. The general trend of the City Council and local bodies was to prevent the erection of flats in certain areas. In this instance the board’s previous decision should be upheld. After a lengthy discussion it was decided to uphold the board’s previous decision.