REBUILDING OF HOSPITAL

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24370, 23 September 1944, Page 6

REBUILDING OF HOSPITAL

—>—_■ AMENDING PRESENT ACT '

BILL PREPARED BY BOARD To enable the North Canterbury Hospital Board to proceed with its schema for remodelling the Christchurch Hospital. a bill entitled the Christchurch Hospital Amendment Act, 1944, has been prepared, and will be presented to Parliament by Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P., in whose electorate the hospital is situated. The objects of the proposed bill are to release a portion of land from the restrictive provisions of the Christchurch Hospital Act, 1887, and to vest in the board for the purposes of the hospital the dry bed of the creek which originally formed one of the boundaries of the lands covered by the Christchurch Hospital Act. The Christchurch Hospital Act vests areas of 5 acres 2 roods 32 perches and 1 acre 34 perches respectively in the North Canterbury Hospital Board in trust for the purposes of a kitchen garden, and of pleasure gardens and recreation grounds for the use of inmates of the Christchurch Hospital only and for no other purposes. The board is not permitted to erect any building* dn the land except those that may be approved by the Christchurch Domains Board.

The Christchurch Hospital Amendment Act would release 1 acre 2 roods 33 perches of the larger area from the trust provisions of the principal act, and would vest the land in the Hospital Board for the purposes of the hospital The balance of the area would remain vested in the board in trust for its original purpose, and under the same conditions as to building. The dry bed of the creek which under the ' Christchurch Hospital Amendment Act would be vested in the board for the purposes of the hospital occupies an area of 24 perches. Copies of the proposed bill, together with a plan showing the area of land in respect of which the release is desired and the dry bed of the creek, nave been deposited at the Magistrate’s Court in Christchurch, and at the Hospital Board's office. They are open to public inspection until October 2, when the bill will be forwarded to the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The board has sent copies of the bill and the plan to the Minister of Health (the Hon. A. H. Nordmeycr), members of Parliament, and its 30 contributory local bodies.

SUBPORT BY TRADES COUNCIL

A decision to support the North Canterbury Hospital Board's plan fof rebuilding was made by the Canter* bury Trades Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour at a meeting this week. The plan was explained to council representatives by officers of the board during a tour of inspection.

Mr A. B. Grant, secretary of the Trades Council, said yesterday that, while the policy of the council was to guard jealously against any encroachment of public reserves, it'felt that in this case the slight encroachment upon ground which, after all, was the property of the Hospital Board was warranted in the good interests of the public.