No Definite Date For New Police Station

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30667, 5 February 1965, Page 12

No Definite Date For New Police Station

The construction of buildings in Christchurch, particularly big industrial buildings, was very much behind schedule, causing a lot of people much concern, said Mr R. C. Neville, at the monthly council meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Com* merce last evening.

The concern, he said, was particularly great for big projects like the university buildings at Ham. “There is going to be a lot of distress for various people,” said Mr Neville. He was commenting on a statement by the president of the chamber (Mr A. R. Mackay) that the Christchurch district police headquarters was in a deplorable state.

“Mr Mackay’s description ‘deplorable’ is an understatement,” said Mr Neville. “Something must be done about a police station for

Christchurch. We want something to be done now, even if it is temporary.

“I want to know where we are going and when we are going.” On the recommendation of Mr J. Roysmith, the chamber adopted a resolution that the president (Mr Mackay), vicepresident (Mr B. J. Drake) and Mr Neville, call on the City Council and discuss with it the sending of an invitation to the Minister of Police (Mr Allen) to inspect the police station with a view to expediting action. Mr Mackay said he had been trying to get the Min-

ister to make an announcement about the proposed new Christchurch district police headquarters and central police station. He said that on January 18, this year, Mr Allen wrote saying; “Regarding the proposed new Christchurch district headquarters and central police station, I regret that the information contained in my letter of September 30, 1964, is incorrect. “It stated that construction was scheduled to commence late In the 1964-65 year. “This should have read towards the end of the 1965-66 financial year.” Mr Allen, in his letter, also said: “You will no doubt appreciate, planning for the erection of an establishment of the size envisaged in Christchurch is a major undertaking and at this stage tentative dates only can be supplied. “Discussions regarding the site and the possible acquisition of additional land are at present proceeding, and no definite date as to the awlability of the land for starting construction can yet be given. “However, you may be as-

sured that this project has high priority among police building works and every effort will be made to avoid delays in the erection of the building.” “We don’t seem to be getting very much further, as you can see from the letter,” said Mr Mackay. “It almost appears as far as we can ascertain that the site has not been fixed; certainly the purchase of the land has not been completed.”

Mr R. B. McNish said that there were one or two other things around the city that needed urgent attention. “Bulldozers are mowing down great blocks of old buildings to make way foi flats and all sorts of other projects,” said Mr McNish. “Private enterprise is doing a very good job. “It is building a great, wonderful city—a considerable asset to the community. “Alongside private enterprise you have other old Government buildings—not only the police station. “There is also the Magistrate’s Court and the Supreme Court.” The Supreme Court, said Mr McNish, was shored up with great baulks of timber. Not far away, was a foundation stone for a new Supreme Court with an inscription bearing the date of 1936 or 1937. The Magistrate’s Court and the Post Office, said Mr McNish, were what might be called anachronisms. “My dictionary says that an ‘anachronism’ is a ‘mistake of time, by which something is put in the wrong period,’ ” said Mr McNish. “These Government buildings belong to the wrong period. “They belong to the eighteenth century—not to the twentieth century. “What do we do about it?”