COTTAGES FOR PENSIONERS

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26659, 19 February 1952, Page 6

COTTAGES FOR PENSIONERS

STATE SUBSIDY OF £14,625 CITY COUNCIL TO BUILD 44 UNITS A subsidy of up to £14,625 for the 44 pensioners’ cottages which the City Council proposed to build in St. Albans and Andrews crescent, Spreydon. has been approved by the Government. This figure represents 25 per cent, of the estimated cost of £58,500 for the cottages. In a letter to the housing committee, which was received by the council at its meeting last evening, the Secretary to the Treasury (Mr B. C. Ashwin) stated that Ipan finance at 3 per cent, for the balance of the cost would be made available through the State Advances Corporation on application. Two conditions of the subsidy were that the cottages be let only to age beneficiaries or persons in comparable circumstances or with comparable incomes, and that the council work with local welfare organisations to ensure that a periodical check was made on the health and conditions of the occupiers. The Mayor (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P.) said that he had received advice from the Minister in charge of the State Advances Corporation (Mr J. R. Marshall) that the council’s applications for loans for the pensioners’ cottages would be considered by the Local Government Loans Board on February 19. He had previously drawn the Minister’s attention to the fact that the loan applications had been very long delayed. The application for the loan to build cottages in. Andrews crescent had been in since last August. “I don’t think the Loans Board is entirely to blame,” said the Mayor. “Late departmental reports are probably to blame. I sincerely hope that in future the Treasury or whoever is responsible will not be as long-winded as they have been In considering these applications. It is no fault of the City Council that there has been delay in calling tenders for the construction of these cottages.” The chairman of the housing committee (Cr. C. Baldwin) said that in discussions with the Minister he had asked why the subsidy for housing was 50 per cent, for religious organisations and 25 per cent, for local bodies. The Minister’s reply was that local bodies were able to call on the rates for housing projects. . “I think the Government is misled m this matter,” said Cr. Baldwin. “Local bodies have at all times made housing projects self-supporting, and this policy will be followed with our cottages.” Cr. Baldwin suggested that representations should be made to the Government to increase the subsidy, particularly for housing the to 33 1-3 per cent. This would assist materially in housing the aged. The committee had more than 300 applications for single cottages alone, and it was going to take a long time to catch up with them.