Easing Congestion In Wellington

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30154, 11 June 1963, Page 12

Easing Congestion In Wellington

Comment by the deputychairman (Mr H. R. Sampson) on the difficulties of the New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board over a site for new headquarters raises the interesting possibility that national organisations may increasingly see advantages in establishing their principal offices in centres other than Wellington. Although in recent years most government agencies and many big private undertakings have tended to direct their operations from the capital, there are sound arguments against regarding this practice as inevitable. The Apple and Pear Board’s problem illustrates the growing shortage of commercial sites in Wellington. a city notable for its geographical challenges to architectural ingenuity. In other main centres, and particularly in Christchurch. innumerable pockets of commercial land remain undeveloped. Because some

national organisations are specially concerned with activities in specific areas of the Dominion, it may be more logical to maintain headquarters in one of these areas than in Wellington. It is not everything to be close to the heart of government, with all the shortages of office space, housing accommodation, and labour resources that ■ this proximity entails. Modern communications facilitate the exchange of business information quickly and relatively cheaply over long distances The lower overhead costs of headquarters in cities where land is cheaper than in Wellington or Auckland are a factor worthy of consideration by anybody thinking of renting or building office or warehouse accommodation. In the interests of balanced development throughout the Dominion, the Government might well encourage such an attitude.