HOUSING AND CIVIC EXPANSION

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 306, 25 September 1945, Page 6

HOUSING AND CIVIC EXPANSION

Few cities in New Zealand have such difficulties in the way of expansion as has Wellington, and there' is every possibility that the present slipshod system of expanding merely by incorporating outlying sites for residential or industrial purposes will lead in time to a chaotic situation. The position calls for a fully representative organization to discuss every aspect of Wellington’s future development, to consider what potentialities there are for residential and industrial expansion on the outskirts of the city, and to draw up a long-term plan whereby the resources of the district may be used for the development of a modern and progressive city. There has been a tendency in recent years to solve the. space problem by using the comparatively flat areas in the Hutt Valley at the expense of market gardening, but even here saturation point is being reached. Similar difficulties have been met in progressive overseas cities by the installation of suitable transport systems. A situation has now been reached where the existing transport services between Wellington City and the outlying residential and industrial areas are hopelessly inadequate. If, as the Prime Minister proposes, 1800 State houses are to be erected at Trentham, a complete overhaul of the transport system in that vicinity will be necessary. Mr. rraser has hinted at this need, but so far there is lacking a definite plan tor overcoming even the present congested transport system. While the Hutt Valley presents its own transport problems, there are other areas in and around Wellington which could be opened up if there were proper means of communication. In the Makara district for example, there is ample room for residential extension, but the long circuitous routes to the city are a serious drawback. Hie judicious cutting of tunnels through intervening hills, and the use of several alternative routes with faster means of conveyance would make available a large area of potential residential land. The Prime Minister, in announcing the decision to put State houses on the Trentham Camp site, mentioned that the camp was no longer suitable for military purposes, and many people must be asking if the same could not be said of those parts of the Miramar Peninsula at present reserved for defence and prison purposes. Those areas, it made available for civilian use, would be a valuable adjunct to the city. The expansion of a city with the geographical and topographical features of Wellington is admittedly a difficulty, but it is by no means an insuperable one. The key to the situation appears to lie m suitable transport. Instead of being content with the addition here and there of new sites, adapted to existing facilities, Wellington should now be turning to advantage the present phase of expansion by acting on a clear-cut and far-reaching plan.