The Press THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1959. Unsewered Housing

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29008, 24 September 1959, Page 12

The Press THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1959. Unsewered Housing

Nobody should question the Christchurch City Council’s wisdom in checking the spread of housing in unsewered areas. The council is better equipped than any other authority to prevent the dangers to public health that may be caused by injudicious subdivision. The Health Department and other agencies may advise against close settlement of certain areas; but if their advice is rejected they lack immediate powers of enforcement. The council can always refuse subdivision permits; and its exercise of this authority could not be better justified than by concern for public health. The drainage problem affects the entire metropolitan area, not the city alone. The City Council has decided upon a logical approach by convening a conference of all interested local bodies and government departments. Housing policy should have been co-ordinated in this way years ago. Prospective home-owners could have been protected from land speculators who were unable to guarantee effective drainage; and ratepayers would not have been burdened so heavily with the costs of draining outlying suburbs built on difficult sites. Even now, the City Council is unwilling to impose a total ban on the use of sections where drainage may be deficient. In “ cases of hardship ” it will still issue building permits. This policy is open to grave objections. They were put succinctly by Cr. H. E. Denton when he referred to an “ invidious ” task, and asked whether hardship or health would be the deciding factor. In other words, are the personal interests of

individuals to take precedence over the health of the community? The urgent need for stricter control of subdivisions has been shown alarmingly by health statistics, residents’ complaints, and reports to local bodies. The < problems already created may take years to solve completely. Lack of co-ordination among local authorities and the Health Department has caused unfortunate confusion about drainage requirements. There is good reason for believing that this lack will soon be remedied. The social attitudes of the public themselves, however, tend to determine land use; and the public may learn more slowly than local authorities from their mistakes. House-building in advance of sewerage may have been less imprudent when Christchurch was smaller and good land more readily bought. In their desire for a sophisticated environment, New Zealanders ought not to overlook the basic requirements for healthy living. An American visitor, Professor C. W. Kruse, this week referred to the immediacy of -the sewage problem in every civilised community—an immediacy, in his view, much greater than that of air pollution or radiation contamination. If Christchurch is to develop along logical and healthy lines, the right priorities for civic amenities should be recognised. An indefinite increase of unsewered areas would delay the time when all urban communities will have proper drainage. It would be wasteful, uneconomic, and hazardous. The City Council is to be commended for its new policy, imperfect though it is.