WORKERS' DWELLINGS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 256, 22 July 1908, Page 5

WORKERS' DWELLINGS.

( SOME INTERESTING FACTS. HIGH COSTS IN WELLINGTON. Since occupying the position of Chief Advisory Officer to the Labour Department on tlio matter of workers' dwellings, Mr. J. I.omas, in his annual report laid beforo Parliament yesterday, states that lie had visited a number of blocks of land placed under offer to the Government for workers' dwellings. \Two of the largest blocks had been referred to tho Land Purchase Board for their favourable consideration —one block "being within easy distance of the centre of Wellington. . ; Owing to the "price of building material, if the Department had to pay an oxcess'ive price for land it would be almost impossible to erect workers' dwellings with all the latest conveniences and 'to let them at reasonable rents. The difficulty of getting land at a reasonable figure in or near Wellington and Dunedin was very great, and offer ' after'offer had been rejected. The prices asked, even in suburbs situate several miles from Wellington centre, 1 ran from '£4'to £S per. foot of frontage, and anything cheaper than this was cither upon an unroaded hill-top or remote from the tramline. ' It was. hoped that suitable lands would bo obtainable with the; completion of the railway duplication works both at -Wellington and Dunedin. There was a fairly largo area of land available both at Pctone and Lower Hutt, comprising some 1142''sections. At present most of tho occupants of tho Petono workers' dwellings worked at Petone. The fact that there wero 68 applicants for the last eight cottages eroctcd at Seddon Terrace proved conclusively that a real demand for dwellings existed in Wellington. Three houses were inicourso of erection at Petoiie. A largely increased 'vote was asked for this year to enable tho Department to extend the operations of the Act commensurate with tho demands for tho dwellings. \ ' SOME EXPERIMENTS/ Mr. Woburn Templo; architect to tho Department, gave details of two interesting experiments, viz.: (1) Carrying out the building work by day labour instead of by contract; (2) erecting two of tho houses in concrete instead of in wood.- Tho work could be done for about 10 per cent, less by day labour than by contract, and there was an additional advantage: that , tho material could'be relied upon as being of better quality. ■In tho caso of concreto the cost (for four-roomed houses) was only £20 to £25 more than in the case of wood, notwithstanding that tho material for tho concrete' cost nearly double that similarly used at Petono at the present time. - He fully expected .to be able to report next year that concrete was as cheap a matorial. as wood, besides possessing -other advantages. Tho experiments being mado would; if the results as was expected were satisfactory, enable'tho Department to further rcducej tho cost of rent, and at the same , timo offer more valuable dwellings. ',' - . ■■' - ' RENTS.'' . The most useful and popular class of-house appeared ■to be an ordinary one-story fiveroomed detached house.. For such a house the rent would raiige from about lis. Gd. to 16s. fd. inclusivo of rates, insurance, etc.' This, of course, depended largely on tho cost of land. In Coroniandcl Street, Wellington, tho rent would be about £12 ss. per year, or nearly ss. per week for land alone. Thp most suitablo sizo of sections -was 40ft. by 120 ft., especially in Wellington., Larger sections than this generally gavo the occupants' more land than they could cultivate. By purchasing in fairly large areas it was thought possible to allot sections even in Wellington at from £100 to £140 each, which would cost tho tenants about £5 per year, or 2s. per week, less than was being paid in Coromandel Street. . .' A:return presented with.tho report shows tho 'marked differenco in tho values of and consequent costs of rents in Heretaunga Settlement: houses, Petono, and tlioso in Coromandel. Street (Wellington). Tho rents of the former, range from lis. 6d. to 12s. sd., 1 and of tho latter from: los. to 175.. In 1907-8 £1293 was expended in acquiring land for dwellings; £2450 was expended out of Land for Settlements .Fund in Greeting dwellings arid preparing land; £5797 was expended out of tho s'amo fund upon ordinary Crown lands,' making a total expenditure of £9540. Tho total number of dwellings erected was 94, and tho number leased to March 31 last was 84. Twenty-four houses are in the vicinity of Auckland, 25 at Petono, 12 at Coromandel Street,, Wellington, 13 at''Sydenham, Christcliurch, and 20 at Windle, Dunedin.