BUILDING BY-LAWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 March 1920, Page 3

BUILDING BY-LAWS.

AREAS FOR EWEIjUNG-HOUSES. STREET FRONTAGE V. AIR SPACE. In the Magistrate's Court at New Plymouth yesterday, before Mr. T. A. B. Bailey, S.M., the Borough Inspector (Mr. R. Day), for wnom Mr. Ronald H. Quilliam appeared, brought an information jagainst Mrs. MaTy Ellen Freeth (Mr. A. A. Bennett), for a breach of sub-section 3 of By-Law No. 587, which forbids the sub-division of property within the borough, which (loos not make provision for a minimum street frontage of 40ft., to every section on which it is proposed U erect a dwelling or upon which a dwelling is already erected. Charges were also made of disposing of land which had been sub-divided in such a way as to leave a section, on whicli a dwellinghouse stood, with less than 40ft. frontarrp

Mr. Quilliam pointed out that the land in question was at the corner of Robe and Vivian Streets, and there were hi it five sections, all of which had ''onscs on Minm. 'Some of the fences were not on the boundaries of the orig*'irii iitb-division, and last year the property was again surveyed and sub-divid-ed ?nd r,nir>" - f the boundaries were altered. A sale >f ond of the properties was made and when the fence was shifted to the new boundary it left one • f the sections with a frontage of a liHle i"o-« *Tift„ 33ft. Tins, the' Borough Inspector contended, was a breach of the b.V-law, which could have been avoided had a strin of land been taken nfT the section which had been disposed of, and the boundary fixed where the fence originally was.

Mr. Bennett admitted a, technical breach had boon committed, which ho said could nol be avoided without defendant makinff herself liable to an action for breach of contract for pale of the property. He pointed out, however, that, the nronertv had all the airspace as renuircd under the by-law. and submitted that air space was of more importance than street frontage. fTe ealled the evidence of. n surveyor in support of the plan of sub-division ■<nd as to the amount of air space n'-nvifW. TTn a1«o drew attention to a recent, decision of the Borough Council to admiTT-ctcr this particular bv-law according to the merits of each ease in future. The Magistrate held' there had been a' breach of the bv-drtw. but as it was the first case of its kind the penalty | was fixed at 10s, with costs 20s.