DEPUTATION TO THE MAYOR

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 76, 27 September 1916, Page 8

DEPUTATION TO THE MAYOR

GOES AWAY CONVINCED.

A deputation from among residents of Oriental Bay waited on the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) to-day in regard ito matters dealt with in the, above letter.

The chairman of the Reserves Committee (Mr. Geo. Frost), in introducing the deputation, said he was not in sympathy with the request to be made, and thought that when they had had the position explained to them they would bo satisfied.

Mr. T. W. Ward said it appeared to him that the straight wall would not add to the beauty of the work. A curve would improve the appearance, and enable them to save a paiit of the beach, even though they had to reduce the width of the esplanade.

Mr. P. N. Denton advanced views similar to those expressed in his letter. He contended that three feet of the beach was all "that it was necessary to take to have a sufficient width of promenade. He was convinced that if the May br would have the work stopped till the matter could be thoroughly threshed out they would alter the line. He drew on-tho plan the line that he proposed.

"** Tho Mayor said he could, never support a depression such as Mr. Denton proposed. It would spoil the whole aspect of a public work which was for the benefit of the city as a whole.

Mr. Denton replied that he did not look at tho matter as a resident of Oriental Bay, but as a Wellington citizen who wished to save the beach for the children.

Mr. W. S. La Trobe recognised that the width of the road must be maintained all the way round, and the alternative proposed by Mr. Denton could not be adopted. .He suggested that they might save some portion of the beach and improve tho alignment of tlie work by widening the road and the other side, taking a little private land between the rotunda and Grass-street.

The Mayor : We have not the money, even if wo wished to do that.

The - Mayor went on to say that the council had to look at the work from the point of view of the city as a whole, regarding both beauty and public utility. Tlie engineer had already saved 20ft of beach, by amending the original proposal (under an Orde-r-in-Council) reducing the width of the road and doing away with the sloping wall. Instead of representing a local view of the case, the deputation should thank the engineer for his excellent work. The matter had been an exceedingly difficult one to deal with, but they were, now iiroceediru. with

the work out of revenue (though other necessary works claimed their attention) because they wished to improve' the locality and provide an attractive place in the city. Mr. Denton: What I am concerned about is the bench. I regard the loss of it as a sacrilege. The Mayor: It is no more sacrilege to you than to me. Tho Mayor added that in the work which had already been done the beach had "made" very quickly, and the same could happen here.

Ex-Councillor John Smith, who was present, said he did not care to differ from the opinion of the City Engineer, which had resulted in successful work. He would prophesy that after a year the beach would be renewed, as silting was usual in this locality..

The City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) said they had already saved 20 feet of the beach. He would not recommend any further alteration, for he was positive that the beach would "make" very quickly. As to reducing the width of the road, he pointed out that the tramline in this locality would have to be duplicated in time. In regard to Mr. La Trobe's suggestion, the Mayor pointed out, and Mr. La Trobe agreed, that to take private land on the other side of the road would mean destroying the gardens and setting the houses back. This could not be done.

Tlie Mayor said he could not agree to hold up the work. Mr. Ward stated that, after hearing the explanation, he agreed with the City Engineer. They did not wish to have the work held up, and they were much indebted to the City Council for having it carried out. Considering the interests of the whole city, he thought the plans made were the best.