TOWN PLANNING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 283, 30 November 1933, Page 26

TOWN PLANNING.

APPOINTMENT POSTPONED. MINISTER CRITICISED. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. It is not the intention of the Government to appoint in the near future a Director of Town Planning in the place of Mr. J. W. Maweon, who retired from that position some time ago. Despite that, however, local bodies are to go on with their planning schemes and submit them to the Town Planning Board as required by the Act. This attitude was trenchantly criticised in the House yesterday by Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Labour, Avon), when discussing the Estimates of the Internal Affairs Department. He wanted to know if the director's position was going to ly! filled. The Hon. J. A. Young, Minister of Internal ATairs, said that the absence of a director did not prejudice the operation of the Town Planning Act and did not relieve local bodies of their responsibility to prepare schemes. The board was still in existence, and met regularly to consider the plans submitted, but so far only one plan had come in. That was from Timaru. Mr. Sullivan: One from Christchurch went forward last week. The Mirister explained that in the meantime ..ne Government was saving the director's salary. It was the intention to make an appointment eventually. _ . Mr. Sullivan said that the Minister s statement as to regular board meetings did not tally with the annual report of the Department, which stated that the board had only held one meeting during the year. The Government was simply fooling with the question of town planning, and the failure to appoint a town planner was evidence of that attitude. The Minister declared that the board was sympathetic to the ideals of town planning, but if there were no business to transact it was not worth the expenditure of bringing members from all over the Djminion. Local bodies had until 1935 to prepare their schemes.