SPORTS AREAS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20986, 13 December 1939, Page 11

SPORTS AREAS

HAMILTON SCHEME NO GOVERNMENT GRANT FUTURE OF THE PROPOSALS With all three local bodies concerned having objected to the proposals, the scheme of the Hamilton Domain Board to improve the sports grounds in Hamilton has made little progress in recent months. The Government will now have to decide whether a commission should be appointed to inquire into and report on the board’s proposals and the objections raised by the local authorities. Expectations of the board for a Government grant of £6OOO for the work may not reach fulfilment, according to a communication received at the meeting last night from the Department of Lands and Survey. “Before the question of the appointment of a commission is considered, I think certain points should be brought to the board’s attention,” stated the Under-Secretary of the Lands and Survey Department, in a communication to the Domain Board.

“In the first place the board’s proposals involve a capital expenditure of £12,750, of which the board itself proposes to find the sum of £750. It is suggested that of the remaining £12,000 the Government should provide £6OOO, the Hamilton Borough Council £4OOO, and the Waikato County Council and the Waipa County Council each £IOOO. Now the position is that there is no prospect whatever of a Government grant of £6OOO. Indeed, it is very doubtful, in view of the fact that the Hamilton Domain Board has a valuable endowment area provided by the Crown, whether any grant at all would be available. In that case the financial liability of the local bodies under the scheme would be doubled and their opposition would become so much stronger. In the second place, it would be difficult to prove that the sports grounds are generally used by the inhabitants of the Waikato and Waipa counties. This difficulty is a very real one. In the third place there is the point that the present time is not opportune for embarking upon heavy expenditure involving ratepayers in additional financial burdens. Possibility of Loan “The matter might possibly be approached in another way,” added the Under-Secretary. “A domain board has no authority under the 1928 Act to raise a loan, but cases have latply arisen where it has been decided that the Physical Welfare and Recreation Act, 1937, gives sufficient authority for a domain board, subject to the approval of the Local Government Loans Board, to raise a loan for domain improvements. The security being limited to the board’s revenues, the amount of any such loan would necessarily be limited, and in the case of your board no doubt a fairly drastic modification of the improvement programme would be involved. However, the matter may be very seriously considered as one way of meeting the difficulty.” The objections raised by the thret local bodies concerned were as follows:

Hamilton Borough Council: (a) That the borough representation on the Domain Board is inadequate, (b) That Galloway Park is not suitable as a stadium and main sports ground for the district. (c) That if the proposed works proceed, they will prove a further liability on the local authorities. The council is also ot the opinion that greater value both in regard to capital and maintenance expenditure would be obtained for the moneys available if the control oi the domain lands was placed in the hands of the local authority. Principle Considered Wrong Waikato County Council: (a) That the centralisation of sports grounds in the larger centres is undesirable and that it is preferable that encouragement should be given to the provision of sports grounds in the country. (b) That it is wrong in principle that the country ratepayers should be taxed to provide amenities in the towns. Waipa County Council: (a) The council does not subscribe to the opinion that some, if not all, of the works are urgently required. If improved recreation facilities are required in the borough they musl surely be to supply the of the inhabitants of Hamilton itself. The only inhabitants of the county likely to enjoy, even to a limited degree, the additional recreation facilities proposed to be made available, are those living in the extra urban areas surrounding the Hamilton borough, (b; The land values in the extra urban area referred to are low and in consequence the annual yield of rates which are assessed on the basis of unimproved values is likewise low. (c) So far as the county as a whole is concerned, it is contended that there are ample domain lands and sports grounds available to, and maintained solely by, the residents of the county. These areas are suitable for all forms of physical training, sports, and recreation, and are adequate for the present and future requirements of the inhabitants of the county.

The board decided last night to leave the matter until the next meeting to discuss. Mr F. A. Swarbrick. the chairman, did not think that the time was opportune to suggest the appointment of a commission, and the board could use -what little money it had to the best advantage. He thought the raising of a loan was out of the question as probably no one would lend the board money and the board could not pay the interest if ii secured the money.