Housing costs

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33355, 13 October 1973, Page 14

Housing costs

; Sir, —Did any of the young Jmarrieds who watched the “Inquiry” programme on television, dealing with home purchase, stop to think that their parents had exactly the same problems? I was married in 1938. My husband bought a solid. 20-vear-old bungalow, in St Albans, for £B9O. He was earning £6 a week. The house today would be worth about $15,000. but a prospective .purchaser in my husband’s salary bracket would be earning $74 instead of £6 a week. He was a foreman cabinetmaker. We had no washing machine, no refrigerator. no motor mower, no car. a small second hand radio, but no television. Our ! entertainments were listening to the radio, going to a film once a week, and visiting friends. Our house, bought from a deceased estate, needed complete renovation, which we did in our spare time. We managed by living :simply, and saving 'hard.— ! Yours, etc.. GRANDMOTHER. | I October 12, 1973.

Riverbed access Sir, —In July I wrote to you about the Ashburton County Council’s reluctance 'to enforce the provisions of the Public Works Act requiring “Public Road” notices to be fixed to all gates across public roads. The County Clerk admitted that there were about 30 such gates across public roads giving allweather “access,” but apparently does not know how many gates there are across other public roads. His excuse that the notices had been the target for vandals was a bit thin, as the regulation states clearly that the "Public Road” notice “shall be fixed upon each side of such gate and at all times maintained thereon by the person or body authorised to erect such gate.” Has the Ashburton County Council taken any action to restore our legal rights, or must we wait for Mr May to enforce a take-over by a regional administering body to clear the way?—Yours, etc.. WAITOREKE. October 6, 1973. [Mr J. H. Bums, County Clerk of the Ashburton County Council, says he has nothing further to add to his previous statement.]