HOUSING PROBLEM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 82, 16 June 1944, Page 5

HOUSING PROBLEM

TEMPORARY MEANS SUGGESTED

ARMY HUTS NOT FAVOURED

A suggestion that the Borough Council should move in the direction of procuring a number of Army huts for election in the Whakatane Domain, as temporary residences for couples and families who were desperately needing accommodation in the town., and an outlet for the men returning from overseas in increasing numbers, who desired to marry and settle dbwn without the prospect of a home* was not favoured by the majority of Borough Councillors, when it was raised' by the Deputy-May-or, Cr S. S. Shapley, at last Monday's meeting.

Cr Shapley said that the huts were now being offered and already there was a shortage of accommodation for something like 30 or 40 families. The position would be more acute as the men came back from the war, and it would take many months to build sufficient houses to meet the demand. From a businessmans point of view it would be disastrous if icn the post-war years they could not expand their business or increase their staffs because of the housing shortage. There were hutments at Matata and at Tauranga, and it only required a little agitation to procure them for a temporary tide over. At least it would be possible to offer the families who came to Whakatane some sort of accommodation instead of none at all. People in the post-war period would be thankful to have, a roof over their heads. j He mentioned also the fact that, there were many vacant sections in the town which should be brought to the notice of the State Housing Department for building on, rather than cutting up large areas further away from the shopping centres. No one knew the housing shortage in Whakatane better than he did, declared Cr Canning,, who added that there were literally hundreds looking for accommodation. The same position obtained throughout New Zealand. He did not. however favour bringing in huts, even as a temporary measure. Decent houses should be. put up or none at all. Cr Shapley: That's all very well, but what's going to happen in the meantime. The Mayor: My experience has been that there's nothing more permanent than a temporary dwelling. Cr Canning said he could remember the time when people lived here in tents. A few years later there was a glut of empty houses. The same thing could happen again. Cr Sullivan said he agreed wholeheartedly with Cr Shapley, but he believed that the position could be met if the Housing Department would take immediate measures to construct houses. It was true that there were no answers to the recent call for tenders to erect Government houses,, but this position had been braught about by the manr powering away of so many tradesmen to the larger centres, from where they had not returned. He understood in any case that the Government was averse to permitting any of the Army huts to be used as houses. Cr Shapley then moved that the Housing Department be contacted and urged to hasten the construction of new houses which were desperately needed in Whakatane. After contacting the Air Force authorities, (the Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry stated yesterd'ay that he had! consulted most of the Born ough Councillors who had agreed to grant permission for the 1 erection of the huts, on the underStanding that they would be se?t back fromi the roadway, and were only there for the duration.