LOAN MONEY FOR SEWERAGE

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27638, 20 April 1955, Page 12

LOAN MONEY FOR SEWERAGE

Board Expresses Concern REPRESENTATIONS TO MINISTERS Concern about the success of its latest loan issue was erpressed by the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening. Reporting that the Local Government Loans Board had authorised the raising of half the sewerage loan No. 1, 1954, of £BOO.OOO and of half the New Brighton Sewerage Loan, of £300,000, the finance committee said that the issue had been put on* the- market on April 1 and some £35,000 had been taken up of the £550,000 required. “The committee feels some concern as to the success of the issue, in view of the heavy demands that are being made by local authorities throughout the length and breadth of the country on available capital resources,” the committee said. “The board is committed to heavy expenditure, and further large contracts will be advertised in the ■ near future. Present commitments total £214,148 on the No. 1 loan account and cash available is £3B 835. “Some satisfaction is felt at the recent published statement by the Minister of Finance (Mr J. T. Watts) on the proposed legislation to assist the financing of local body loans, and it Is hoped that this will result in adequate funds being available to enable the board’s works to proceed without interruption.”

The board agreed to approach the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Health (Mr J. R. Hanan) to point out the importance of the board’s projects and urge that they should be given priority of available finance. Since the committee’s report another £2OOO had come in, but the response was, “to put it very mildly* not overwhelming,” and a large }sum was needed if the board was to carry out its programme, said the secretary (Mr R. R. Senior).

He said the board was over-com-mitted to the extent of £173,000 on its No. 1 sewerage loan. Its commitment in New Brighton was £97,000. There was sanction for £1,100,000 from the Loans Board. As soon as the board had raised the first £550,000 it would want the balance. The board had also authorised application for a loan of £lOO,OOO as the first instalment of the sewage treatment loan, which was estimated to amount to more than £1,000,000, and £500,000 as the first instalment of a reticulation extension loan.

The board’s programme had been prepared on the assumption that it would have finance, material, and labour available, Mr Senior said. “Demands on capital resources today are pretty colossal, and the capacity of the country to face up to the demands —well, you know as much about that as I do, but I feel some concern as to the board’s ability to acquire what we need,” he said.

“If we are going to give a service anything nearly within the programme we have published, then we have something to give us a great deal of concern in raising the finance. It may be that legislation will be brought down to help lodal bodies, but I think this board should make representations for priority to moneys which are available for local body works. There may be works which are not so important as ours,” said Mr Senior