LATIMER CHANGES Mr Kirk Challenges City On Legality

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32265, 7 April 1970, Page 16

LATIMER CHANGES Mr Kirk Challenges City On Legality

(From Our Oion R«port«r) WELLINGTON, April 6. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) challenges the Christchurch City Engineer (Mr P. G. Secular) to produce evidence in support of his statement: “The legal provisions for the changes in purpose in Cramner and Latimer Squares were contained in an act of 1877.”

“T h e Christchurch City Reserves Act, 1877, clause 2, specifically lays down the powers of the Mayor, councillors and almoners of Christchurch in relation to public domains, and provides specifically for the maintenance of ‘such routes as are already provided for’,” said Mr Kirk.

Mr Kirk said that the fact that this was still a binding provision was shown by the fact that on previous occasions when a use of such parks appeared to conflict with the uses laid down by the donors, the Christchurch City Council had sought permission of Parliament by means of a local bill.

In 1929 this method was used when it was desired that part of the bank of the Avon should be used for a Plunket building. In 1933 the same procedure was used to regularise some unscheduled activ-

ity of the Christchurch City Council in relation to the Godley statue block.

"The uses of these lands are absolutely protected by a specific act of Parliament," Mr Kirk said.

"They can only be changed by the same method. It would be a wrong of the first magnitude if the City Council should move to bend or to ignore the law for its own purposes.”

Mr Kirk Mid that it would be better if the City Council lost no time in initiating the procedures by which a local bill might be presented to Parliament on the subject. Mr Kirk said that in 1953 the Reserves and Domains Act repealed and changed the uses of certain lands, but neither in this act nor in any of its amendments were the provisions of the 1877 act repealed.