PROPOSED NEW BOROUGH

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 128, 27 November 1923, Page 6

PROPOSED NEW BOROUGH

COMMISSION AT UPPER HUTT

A Commission, composed of Messrs. E. Page, S.M. (president), Finlay and Martin (Valuation Department), and T. B. Brook (Commissioner of Crown Lands), sat at Upper Hntt yesterday to hear objections to a petition made to the Governor, which seeks power to create a, new borough, to be called Rongomai, , which, it is proposed, ehall comprise the"' area at present under the government of the Upper Hutt Town Board and the districts of Trentham, Heretaunga, andSilverstream. _Mr. A. J. M'Cnfty and air. x. v. Jamieson represented the petitioners; Mr. J. Hislop, the fintfc County Council; Mr. M Lnckie Mr' Dunn; Mr. D. M. FinALaj, certain Heretaunga residents; and Mr. W F Ward, tho Wellington Golf Club Mr. M'Curdy said it was desirable that one body should control the whole district in order to save disputes such as had occurred between Petone and Lower JAutt. The area of the present town district was 1320 acres, and the area.of the balance of the proposed borough 15^7 acres. The town district had 329. dwellings and a population of 1754, and the rest of the district 285 dwellings and » population rf U24. The population density was 647 per square mile as' against 18.064 for the whole of the Wellington Province. The population of Up.' per Hutt had increased from 766 in 1908 to 1764 in 1923, and a similar rate 6t progress should be maintained by the proposed new borough. The unimproved j£>va?ue of the town strict was £122,328, improvements £140,158. and capital value £262,486, and"the respective figures for the rest of the proposed l°£?s a Were, £90 '792' £136,626, and i.227,418, making a grand total for the whole of £213,120, £276,784, and £489 - 904 respectively. If the borough was formed water and drainage facilities could more effectively and efficiently be given to the whole district, and figures were quoted to show that rating should not be^higher than at present. — Mr L. Grimstone, clerk to the Town Board, stated that his board was unanimously m favour of the proposal; and "Wtof" Commission recommendthat the Town Board district be made one of two wardß of the proposed bor-

Mr. T. E. Jamieson, secretary of the" kilverstream, Heretatinga, and Trentham Hatepayera' Association, said his executive, composed of five members from each of these districts, was unanimously m favour of the proposal. The association had a membership of 110 ouf~ ot about 160 resident ratepayers. Bnildings were increasing as rapidly in Silveretream as in Trentham. He was of opinion the Golf Club would benefit br entry into the borough by a probable remission of rates ana by being given an ■ efficient water supply. Mr. Hislop said it was worthy of note Dy the Commission that though over ECO persons had signed the petition only some <iS of those were from outside the present town district. The whole of the necessary requirements of the district were already being supplied by the Hutt County-Council, or. at any rate, were being arranged for. If drainage and -waterschemes were introduced by the new borough it would be found that the ontside area would be the milch cow for the present Town Board.districl: If the'district were taken out of the county it would still have to bear its proportion of the cost of the main Hutt' road. If ratine on» unimproved values was instituted it would ruin the farmers, and Wellington s milk supply would suffer Ml. D. M. Findlay said the topography of the area did not lend itself to formation into a borough. It was a long narrow strip without community of interests. The Heretaunga residents did not desire a borough, as they had bought the land with a desire to "escape town conditions. It might be wise to include Irentham, but net other distncts.

Sir Joseph Ward stated ho wm not in' favour of a borough at the present time, and there were parts which cOTtainlv ought not to be included. It was V great mistake to say Heretaunga. residents were favourable to the proposal. -Uieir interests were not common with the Upper Hutt district M v uV- F- Ward sai* the GoH Club would havo a heavy burden thrown upon it by being rated on the unimproved value. . r .

iir. J A. Strang said be could not see any advantage to the Golf Club -from borough control. The golf links could not b 6 conveniently cut up into small sections.

Mr. M. Luckie raised objection to an area owned by Mr. Dunn of some 23 acres being included in the propojed borough, on the ground that its topography made it impossible to cut it up into small sections, and also because it lay at the extreme end of the district. Mr. J. R. Jamieson said the district was suitable for municipal control because it comprised the whole area of the Upper Hutt Valley, being bounded on the one side by hills and on the other by the river, with the gorge to the south ■ It was a level area, land-locked, having no difficulties in the way of drainage and water supply, and it had a natural fall to the river. The roads to the river (as a source Of a metal supply) should b» controlled by the proposed borough. The district outside the town district wa«» already so highly rated that further improvementa made-by the county meant a setback, and the only salvation was rating on the unimproved value. The president thanked the witnesses for their assistance, and intimated the Commission's intention of visiting the whole district, and later reporting to the Government. ,

TO IH* EDItOX. Sir, —At the sitting of the Commission yesterday at Upper Hutt one Of the counsel for the objectors stated only 23 rate-' payers of the Trenthanv Heretaunga, Silverstream. area had signed the petition. I have since examined the list of signatories aiid find tjiat at least 47 ratepayers of that area have signed, the total number of resident ratepayers being between 120 and 150.—1 am, etc., k ANGUS J. M'CURDY. 27th November 1.