TO END SLUMS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 99, 23 October 1924, Page 6

TO END SLUMS

TAKING OVER PRIVATE

WAYS

AIMS OF COUNCIL'S

LEGISLATION

STATEMENT BY COUNCILLOR

LUCKIE,

The main points of the City Council's policy in endeavouring to secure legislation for the taking over of a number of private streets and ways in the city' were outlined by the chairman of the Bylaws Committee of the council, Councillor M. F. Luckie, in an interview with a "Post" representative to-day. The primary aim of the proposed legislation, Councillor Luckie made clear, is to'bring about a condition of things which will enable tenants in the congested areas to become owners, for, he argued, no more certain way out of slum creation existed than for the tenant to become the owner, that it might become his personal business to see that his property was kept in repair and was improved. "Some members of the Legislative Council," said Councillor Luckie, referring to statements made during the debate last night on the Wellington City Streets Bill, "are evidently not fully acquainted with the conditions of things that have existed in Wellington for a great number of years and have adversely criticised the policy of the City Council and the steps which it is taking to - improve conditions in congested parts of the. city. "I would like, as chairman of the Bylaws Committee of the council, to give for 4he information of the public the view's which, generally speaking, animated the council in endeavouring to secure legislation to convert into public streets a large number of private ways and lanes that have for a great many years past existed in the city. ■ THE ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLE.. "The whole trouble originated in the lay-out of the city by the New Zealand Land Company in London, over 80 years ago, for which neither this council nor its predecessors has in any way:; been responsible. It was directly due to the fact, as an examination of the plans of the city will show, that,the original city area' was divided up into 1100' sections of one acre each, the majority of those sections being of two chains frontage and five chains depth, each backing on to another section of the same measurement, thus leaving streets parallel to each other at a distance of ten chains. As ■&■ natural consequence, houses were built along the. street frontages, leaving an enormous area of unbuilt land behind them. ■ A strip of land of perhaps seven or eight chains in width thus became entirely unusable. Later, with the population steadily growing, the only way in which this land could be made available for building purposes was by constructing private lanes and rights-bf-way to give access to houses' built at the back of those fronting the streets. "Take as an example the whole of the area between Woolcombe street and Cambridge terrace and from Manners, street and Couttenay place to Buckle street, which is seamed with these private ' ways ' an'H covered densely with the houses tlmt have been erected along them.- These places necessarily became occupied by people in very humble circumstances, and' by reason of the fact that the lanes.and ways were originally private ways, they were practically deprived of a large-number of the advantages of public services which the council is entitled to give to people residing on public streets, though they were being charged through tho rates for them. TENANTS COULD NOT BUY. "Moinly as a result of the -Public Works Act of 1900, it became impos-. sible for many of the houses built upon these private lanes and streets to be acquired by the occupiers, and consequently they remained tenement premises, the occupiers being compelled to pay rent, with no possibility of purchasing. This followed as a result of section 116 of the 1900 Act, which makes express provision that no portion of a holding may bo sold unless a frontage could be given to a public street. It is abundantly clear from this that the tenant was thus deprived of any hope of purchase, and the block was therefore unsaleable, except, perhaps, to a. speculator, and. otherwise must remain under a landlord who rented^the buildings to tenants. "As a natural enough consequence, complicated further in recent years by the, operation of tho Rent Restriction Act, it became nobody's business to keep the properties in proper repair. Lertainly it was not in the tenants' interest to spend money upon repairs, and as the buildings grew older the conditions became worse! "THE ONE METHOD TO .END "Tho council appreciates," continued Councillor Ltickio, "that tho one method, particularly 'in such areas i>s those in question, to insure.the city against this undesirable state of- things is to enablo tho occupier to bocomo tho owner of tho property in which he Jives, and so resolved to endeavour, as lar as possible, to facilitate' tho acquisition of his own home by thp occupier. I hut was tho chief reason which actuated the commitleo and the council in promoting (ho present legislation. Uiut this means is the one cure for those undesirable ..conditions was appr mated by the City Council as lonfago is 1905, when ,t secured the passage through Parliament of the Wellington Oity streets Act of that year. A largo number of private streeta ,md ways wfs then lukeii over as public streets, and a vastly ,mp rove d stil t o of thing f™ owed in those streets. The leaLu lion at present sought will again bW^ feo^ lerimp~°"^-^tne'