THE CITY'S FUTURE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 132, 27 February 1908, Page 8

THE CITY'S FUTURE.

THE NEED FOR MORE LAND,

VIEWS OF LEADING CITIZENS. RECLAMATION WORKS AND RAILWAYS A representative of The Dominion yesterday sought and obtained tho viows of certain prominent citizens as to the-measures that should bo taken in the immediate future to provide for tho growth of AVellington and the development of its industries. It was evident, from what was said in reply to his questions, that tho subjcct is receiving earnest attention oil the part of some of those best qualified to give the public a lead, and it was equally clear that practical and capable men, united as to general aims, differ widely in this instance as to the means to bo used.

, ; MR. H. BEAUCHAMP'S .VIEWS. •"In my opinion," said Mr. Harold Beauchamp, "the Evans Bay reclamation scheme if promature. It may bo necessary 111 the dim and'remote future, but not yet. 1 hero is quite a large aroa of land at Miramar which is suitable for industries, and which will, naturally be occupied for tho purpose, in preference to tho more expensive land or tho proposed reclamation.- From information which came before me when I was a member of the Harbour Board, I learnt that the rents which the Board would require from the proprietors of certain industrial concerns for land in that locality would be, at the lowest'estimate, £350 per aero per annum. On the other, hand, there is still suitable land within the Borough . of. Miramar, and almost within-'a'.stone's throw of. the proposed reclamation, for. £1000 per-acre freehold At 5 per cent, this would mean a rental of only £50 per annum. /That is why I think there would be very little chance or land at the head of Evans Bay being readily taken up if'.it wero reclaimed, at enormous cost, by tfio Harbour Board.

ABANDON THE EVANS BAY SCHEME. "Further;-there aro so "many things on which the Board will be compelled to spend money within the next few 'years, that t think it . would, be., better to abanaon the scheme ..altogether, . The land/at Miramar which I have mentioned is'within a shore distance of the existing Miramar Whart, which could be improved and extended so as to. reach water. 40 feet deep, and provide berthage : for- ships as large as the Athenic and. Corinthic. ' Already, as you know, tho .Wellington Gas. Company. Ltd , is contemplating the erection of works at Miramar at a cost of, ahout £100,000, arid I have no doiiht that, if . the landowners , aro not too extravagant in. their demands, other industries will quickly follow the oxamplo of tho Gas .Company. ' It. is quite ovident to anyone who /studies the question with intelligence that'the local industries are being squeezed' out of tho city, and new industries i aro prevented from getting a start by tho high prices, of land and the limited area .available.".

ANOTHER RECLAMATION SCHEME. ' Asked to' indicate ■ his views on /tho possibility, of industrial expansion in other, directions than Evans Bay awl Miramai, 'Mr. Beauchanrp said that -all along the foreshore l'rom a point opposite Davis" btrcet, near whero tho old ( Thorndon Baths.-wero. located, ■ to the - To | Aro Baths, the limit payable' reclamation had been-, reached. Ao, make more land in that quarter would causo inconvenience to shipping, and wonld also bo too costly on account of''the depth■ ot the water. The next reclamation^would,/ have to. take placo to the north of Davis Street, and parallel with theHutt railway line.. It might -to .carried almost; as far as l'etone, and it should' be undertaken by tho Goyernment, which was already. doing somo reclamation work in-that . part of the liaibour in connection with tho straightening of tho railway. This work was capablo of great 'extension, as. compared with the present working plans. In the Ivaiwarra Bight alone nearly, <10 • acres could be reclaimed. "That," said v Mr. Beauchamp, "would, I •believe, bo a much better-scheme .than the •Evans Bay reclamation. It would provide tho' Government ( with - plenty- of land for railway purposes, as, well as furnishing sites for industries with sea-water frontages and railway sidings," advantages which would bo immensely 1 valuable for.the receipt and.dispatch of goods." : ; TE,ARO RAILWAY STATION. : : Speaking. of, railway'matters, Mr. Bo.iu- ' champ'reverted to a theme on which he lias more than once expressed himself forcibly and publicly " I contend that the Government would be wise to discontinue running trains between Thonidon and To Aro, and to .take"up'the'lino. I hold that, since the completion of the tramway system there is no necessity, to run those trains at what must be a large annual loss to the Department. The trains aro .a ' nuisance to the public and to those who have places of business near the-line; and every year they aro more greatly impeding the work on the Queen's Wharf. Sometimes there has to be an entire cessation of traffic, while these generally empty- trains 'crawl along tho streets.' The Te Aro station is merely a passenger station, and is very lifctlo used except, on. holidays. All goods have to be, handled .'at'Thorndon, as the intention to erect goods sheds at\To Arb was, for very good reasons, abandoned." Mr.'Beauchamp remarked, in conclusion: "This • city iis 'tremendously handicapped in hot having cheap land for industries. In this respa'ct. Christchurch, where there ai'e so''.'.'many/flourishing' industries, is much better off, although it labours under the disadvantage .'of the high railway charges on the line to Lyttelton. Even with that drawback', Christchurch is niore favourably situated for industrial development than Wellington, because it has abundance of cheap land all'round it. , ,- ' " ; MR. Ji P. LUKE ON THE FUTURE. ■ Mr. J.. P., Luke was. next seen by'the reporter.. He said it was imperatively necessary for the .controlling authorities; of. the city'and port ot look.ahead, and take measured ' that would enable .Wellington to re-tain-its'present position • of - supremacy . He considered ,that the Evans Bay-reclamation scheme, now'being brought towards finality, would redound to the prosperity of the city. It;was necessary to find an area of land that could be permanently set aside for occupation by industrial.enterprises. For thispurpose .Evans Bay was admirably suited. There they, would have a fino wat-e'r frontage at the head of the Bay, and on its eastern and western shores, all of which would no doubt-be available in the near future for iall kinds of industries and trades. The Miramar'peninsula had an area as large as that of the city of Wellington,, and it was but reasonable to suppose that, in a few years' • time, it would: have a population as large as the present'population of the city. '

RAILWAY EXTENSION. "I ihink," continued Mr. Luke, "it will he necossary to link up .Kilbiriiio and Miramar with the railway system, for the purposes of trado and commerco as well as for passengers. , ' The mattor is. ono on which the engineers of the Government, the" City Council, and the Harbour Board should bo asked to report. I was surprised when, owing to tho action of a few sensitive merchants along Jervois Quay and others associated with the Harbour Board, the Government eliminated almost all the trains between Te Aro and Thorndon. 11l my opinion the miisanco, if thoro is any, caused by the trains'to Te Aro is not to be compared .with tho noise of the tramears in J envois and Waterloo Quays."

Speaking as a layman, Mr. Luko'suggested that .the railway to Miramar should .begin to riso near Taranaki Street, and should be carried over Clyde Quay' at a high level, and through Mount Victoria at the back of-'the'City Hotel, or above tho Kent Terraco reserve, then along tho Town Belt and so on to'the Miramar peninsula. THE DOCK SITE. Asked for his opinion on tho dock aito question, Mr;.-Luke said" I regret exceedingly that this question has been so long in a state of uncertainty. Steps sliQiild have been taken to get it settled quickly and conclusively. The engineering and practical

side of ' tho question has not been given sufficient weight in the discussions. An expert report should bo obtained as to the suitability of Evans Bay. or any other part of the harbour for a dock. Personally, I am not convinced'that the advocator, of" a change havo shown it to be warranted." OTHER SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS. "I have not the slightest doubt that tho great railway developments consequent on the opening of tho Slain Trunk . lino will cause tho Government to require all tho land it is reclaiming beyond tho Thorndon station and along the Hutt line for railway and Government purposes. After a portion of the Hutt river lias been dredged, which I think will be done at no distant date, there will be considerable development at that end of tho harbour." One or two other questions were asked, and it was elicited that in connection with a proposal to duplicate the tram line to Island Bay, it would, in Mr. Luke's opinion, be necessary to run- the track through the middle of the Basin Reserve, and, in view of .the provision of a fine recreation ground -at Duppa Street, lie did not consider that the partial loss of tho reserve ,as a sports ground should bo treated as an objection. In regard to the proposed now railway station, Mr. Luke said/Wellington people'did not wish for anything luxurious or extravagantly ornamental, hut they expected reasonable facilities. The site, ho thought, should bo where Cable's foundry now stands. SUGGESTIONS BY , MR. W. CABLE. To tho mind of Mr. W. Cable, the land-' for-industries question is a matter of finance rather than topography. ' 'Rating on unimproved values," lie said, '.'is going to drive all industries out of the city. It is not a question of "reclaiming land here or there. That will, not provide spaco for industries that need large yard room and floor space, as it -will liot'Tring down the price of land much as long as we have this absurd system of rating on unimproved values." . . LESSONS FROM OVERSEAS. Mr.'Cable mentioned, as worthy of favourable .consideration,' the German system of making manufacturing industries free from municipal rates on certain. conditions. In going through Canada he saw signboards with tho inscription—"Sites '-for industries free of. municipal rates for sixteon' years." It seemed ridiculous that land should be so costly in and about this city. At Homo lie. had visited some of the busiest Lancashire manufacturing .towns, and found that, the sites A of were, rented at ]*Jd. per square yard.: "Where, within'2o miles of. Wellington, could I. rent land, for manufacturing at that! price?".' asked . Mr. •Cable: . : '.'People are.,.going tho .wrong way about it, iii their endeavours to mako Weli-. ington a great manufacturing town."