Obstruction Of Fire Station Plans Denied

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28767, 12 December 1958, Page 14

Obstruction Of Fire Station Plans Denied

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, Dec. 11. The chairman of . the New Zea? land Fire Service** Council (Mf church Mctropblirim Fire Board to wait on the council on Tuesday morning to discuss the plans of the proposed new fire and living accommodation to !Kilmore street \ “* •’* tv The deputation will consist of the chairman, Mr W. R. Campbell, the chief fire officer, Mr L. R. Osmond, and a past chairtnan, Mr N. R. Forbes. | . ’ • ... Mr Dean said tonight that it was ridiculous to claim, as the Christchurch board apparently did,’ that the Fire Services Council had obstructed the fire station project. « a The Chief Fire Officer, Mr T. A. Varley, by whose technical advice the council is largely guided, said tonight that in his opinion the plans submitted to the council were not fit to pass on to the Local Government Loans Board. ‘‘There was a great deal technically wrong with the plans submitted,’,’ said Mr Varley ‘‘This is public money which is being spent, and a public building which is to be built—a building which is expected to stand for 40 or 50 years. As submitted, the plans were not in keeping with what is required by Christchurch nor with the minimum conditions promoting efficiency. ‘‘As a technical officer, I am not

satisfied with the plans. I hav» jioted alterations and havg mad* tpy report. I would not be carry, tag out my duty if I passed them plans without comment.” ™ Mr Varley made these remarks after the comments made by Mj Dean had been referred to him. Mr Dean said'that the plans submitted by the board could be improved operationally. "We have not held up the plans in any way, Mr Dean said. “They did not come to us in time for the last meeting of the Loans Board anyway. Our technical staff say the plans could be Improved. I am not a technical man myself, but I am not going to withdraw a letter against the advice of our technical staff.” He said that one fault had been that the chief officer had no wey of getting from his quartet# to the rest of the building except by way of the street The plans in their original form would not have got past the Loans Board. They had to pass both the council and the Ministry of Works first

“According to Christchurch, everything must be hurty, hurry, hurty,” said Mr Dean. “Tfier* has been some delay, but it has not been all our fault.”

Mr Dean denied allegations thst the Fire Services Council had rejected a request by the Christ church Metropolitan Fire Board for more staff. , “The only approach I know of recently was made by a tr»d» union secretary,” said Mr Dean. “We do not get involved ,in,, industrial matters.”