NEW HOUSES.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 July 1920, Page 5

NEW HOUSES.

DEMAND IN NEW PLYMOUTH. A RAPIDLY GROWING TOWN, ESSENTIAL WORKS FIRST. Unless drastic restrictions arc placed upon the erection of all nonessential buildings, there will be fewer houses erected in New Plymouth this year than there were last year. The above statement, which was made • by a well-known New Plymouth builder to a Daily Newa reporter yesterday, is somewhat startling, in view of the acute shortage of houses in New. Plymouth at the present time and the rapid rate at which the population is increasing. | Qualifying his remarks, the builder said ! that with the present scarcity of build- ! ing materials, coupled with the difficulty of securing skilled labor, it was hopeless to expect any material increase in the number of dwellings erected, for a considerable time at least, unless all non-essential building was eliminated. The reporter suggested that one way of increasing the number of new dwellings would be for a committee or board to be set up in each town, the members of which should be public-spirited men; and that this committee or board should be empowered to refuse to allow the erection of any building, however small, unless it could be classed as absolutely essential. Such committee or board to be successful should be given drastic powers, and instead of the right of saying yes-or no only in applications for buildings of a ' greater cost' than £3OOO, even the smallest of jobs should be included. « The scheme received the hearty support of the builder, who remarked that if non-essential, building was to be cut out altogether, the comparatively small unnecessary jobß would have to be included as well as the big contracts, In support of this contention he instanced cases of men, mostly retired farmers, buying houses in No* Plymouth and then getting builders to make alterations and additions, costing in some cases as much as - £ 1000. Then, again, a number of people were having expensive private garages built, when cheaper places would do just as well. There were numerous other instances of small savings which could be made in materials and labor, which when totalled up would be equivalent to several new dwellings a year. SIMPLER HOMES ADVOCATED. "If we are ever to catch up on our house shortage the people must realise the necessity of economy," he added. ft They must* be satisfied with simpler houses, and something in the nature of standardised houses should be adopted in order to get the best results. There's too much waste going on at present; the man with plenty of money is throwing it about recklessly, and the result is that the worker cannot get a decent home because he hasn't enough money to enable him to compete with the bigger fellow. "Take one instance—concrete, paths. It is absolutely wicked that a man, because he has money, should be allowed to put down concrete paths and ornament his garden with concrete posts, at a time when houses can't be built owing to lack of concrete. Everything except that which is absolutely essential should be cut out, and the* best way to do this, is for some competent authority to have the right to say whether a certain job is essential or not." ARked if he could see any relief ahead, the builder smiled, and replied that he could not see any easing of the position until money became* tighter, It was a remarkable fact, he added, that as long as there was plenty of money about, there would be a scarcity of houses, because the output was less and the demand was greater. I TIMBER PROSPECTS.

Discussing the prospects of getting more timber, the builder stated that he had recently visited a number of mills in the Rangitikei and Waimarino districts and he found that the output of timber was greater than it had ever been. But although this was the case New Plymouth was imable to get a greater share, because it was in competition with the large and wealthier centres, which were able to bid higher. The position was that the price had been fixed by the Board of Trade, but he knew of a number of instances where larger prices than those fixed were being offered simply to get the timber. The New Plymouth price list was not as high as most of the other centres, with the result that the people who wanted timber and were prepared to pay any price m order to get it, had a "pull" over the New Plymouth 'builders who could not bid as high. There was such a tremendous demand for timber, and so much leeway'to make up, that he could not sec any relief in that direction for a very long time. The prico had gone up slightly again, but it was only fair to explain that timber had advanced practically the least of all building material, as a result of the war, the advance being only a little over 33 1-3 per cent.