Halswell Decision ‘Very Pleasing’

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31462, 31 August 1967, Page 7

Halswell Decision ‘Very Pleasing’

“Very pleasing,” said the chairman of the Paparua County Council (Mr D. H. Warren), when asked yesterday for his views on the Halswell County Council’s decision on Tuesday night to ask the Local Government Commission to approve the amalgamation of the two counties from April 1.

The Paparua and Halswell County Councils have discussed amalgamation intermittently over the last three or four years. The talks were revived recently when the two councils were “paired” in the discussions among metropolitan councils on boundary adjustments. Mr Warren said that Paparua had always made it clear that if Halswell wished to join Paparua, , his council would consider 'it. There had been no actual decision by Paparua to agree to the amalgamation, but the question would be discussed at the council meeting on Monday night.

“Halswell 'bnd Paparua counties have a community of interest, and there is every reason to believe that the amalgamation will work out all right,” he said.'

Mr Warren said that when representatives of the Paparua, Halswell, Heathcote,

Mount Herbert, Wairewa and Akaroa county councils had met the chairman of the Counties’ Association (Mr W. Baird) at the end of July to discuss a possible merger, it had been agreed to ask the National Roads Board reading needs survey team to investigate. “It is still possible that this survey will be made in view of Baisweil's decision,” he said.

However, when the survey team investigated Halswell and Paparua three years ago, it had no recommendations to make on roading equalisation grants from the board. If the amalgamation takes place, it will be the first complete amalgamation of counties in the metropolitan area. The only comparable mergers of recent years were the absorbtion by the City Council of New Brighton borough in 1941, and of Sumner borough in 1945.