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has been acquired in 185 different towns, irrespective of the areas required for setting apart as recreational or plantation reserves which may be associated with the larger subdivisions. Particular interest centres on the Wellington scheme for the large development in the Porirua Basin and at Titahi Bay, where land for 830 units has already been acquired for housing purposes and further acquisitions are proceeding. In regard to the disposal of building sections, while every endeavour has been made to meet the demand for sections by returned servicemen and others, owing to the necessity of maintaining an adequate supply of serviced sections to meet the requirements of building contractors and the carpentry trade training schools it has not been possible to make as many sections available for disposal as had been hoped. During the past year a total of 54 sections in 7 towns have been approved for release, excluding sites for churches, kindergartens, schools, and other purposes. To date 471 sections in 37 towns have been released. This does not include 24 shop-sites which have also been sold to ex-servicemen. 9. PLANNING Tbe preparation of detailed planning schemes has proceeded in advance of the building requirements throughout the country. Of major schemes at present in hand, the detailed planning of the 6,000-unit Tamaki block, Auckland, is virtually completed, and negotiations are in train with educational, religious, and kindergarten bodies and other associations in connection with their special site requirements. At Mount Roskill, in the Winstone Park area, blocks totalling 500 units have been tentatively schemed. The extensive Porirua-Titahi Bay project has reached the stage where some 700 units have been planned within a broad outline plan covering a wide area and which will finally embrace approximately 3,000 units. In Invercargill a single scheme incorporating some 700 units has been finalized, and it is anticipated that this will enable the State housing requirements in that city to be met for ten years ahead. At Whangarei a complete roading layout has been prepared for the 600-unit Otangarei block, and subdivision of 130 of these units has been completed. At Hamilton detailed planning has been completed of over 300 of the 400 units in the Fairfield area. In New Plymouth exhaustive investigations have been completed on two blocks totalling 550 units, and outline schemes have been prepared for approximately half of these. As regards other towns and cities, the following summary shows the number of units for which detailed or outline schemes have been completed during the year : Christchurch, 1,600; Dunedin and environs, 550; Palmerston North, 158; and Wanganui, 155. Hmaller schemes up to 100 units have been prepared in either outline or full detail for blocks in Gisborne, Hastings, Masterton, and approximately twenty other boroughs and small towns. 10. PLANNING FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS During the year work has. proceeded on the planning and development of housing settlements for several Government Departments including the State Forest Service, State Hydro-electric Department, Ministry of Works, and the Army Department. A grand total of 1,160 house units, apart from recreational, community, and other ancillary buildings, is involved in this planning. The largest schemes are the works construction village at Roxburgh of 600 units, and the Army settlement at Waiouru of 200 units. Two settlements have been broadly planned for the State Hydro-electric Department, one at Maraetai of 60 units, and the other as part of the Roxburgh scheme. For the State Forest Service, villages have been planned at Rotoehu, Tairua, Karioi, Wairapakau, Waimihia, Glenbervie, Tapanui, and Ashley, each of these averaging about 30 units.

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