MANY REQUESTS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1927, Page 6

MANY REQUESTS

BROOKLYN AND VOGELTOWN

DEPUTATION TO CITY COUNCIL

RATES COLLECTED, MONEY

SPENT

A very large deputation of residents of Brooklyn, Vogeltown, and Mornington waited upon.' the City Council last evening .with a complaint '■ that though a very large amount was annually collected from the districts in rates, very little was spent by tho council in return.. The Mayor, in reply, said that, upon a percentage basis, there was little difference in the amount collected and the amount spent.

Councillor Semplo, -who introduced the deputation, said that from fifteen years' .residence in Brooklyn, he was quite satisfied that the requests to be made were thoroughly reasonable, for many works in the two districts were sadly overdue.

Mr. F..D. O'Halloran, speaking for tha Brooklyn. residents, said that," at ■the date of the last Census, the population of the district was 5199, or 5.2 per cent, of the total population of ■ Wellington,. and the progress of the district had been such as to render obsolete the makeshift and stop-gap methods which had been resorted to by previous councils. , ';■ During the five years, 1922-27,' the revenue derived from the Brooklyn area in rates amounted to £30,727, while the total sum spent on public works, presumably exclusive of outlay on tramway requirements, -was only £12,516. Though it was a commonly accepted fact that the Brooklyn tram line was one of-the most profitable of the whole system, expenditure upon the line had been kept at a minimum until quite recently. EVEN WORSE POSITION. In the Vogeltown-Mornington district the position was even worse, for there the rating revenue during' the period 1922-27 was £9473, while the expenditure was amere£4o3 13s 4d. In other worda, the average annual income was £1895, while the average annual outlay was £80. It would from that be seen that in both districts only £12,920 out of a total revenue of £40,200 had been expended. In the opinion of the residents such a course was wholly unjustifiable, and the percentage of expenditure to income should be heavily increased immediately. :.

In the Vogeltown-Mornington" district the position was so bad that many of the ordinary comforts and even the decencies of urban life were still lacking, notably a sewerage system at the Mornington School and through a large part of that district. CLEAR PEOFIT.

During the-last two years no fewer than 100 building permits had been issued for the district, yet the City Council saw fit to derive a clear profit of no less than £9070 from a total of £9473 collected within its boundaries, while on every hand urgent and extensive public works called for immediate attention. Practically the only footpaths in the Mornington district were compulsorily constructed many years ago by the South Wellington Land Company, and these had been allowed to revert virtually to their ori-

giaal state, a huge and avoidable waste of private capital devoted to municipal purposes.

TOWN PLANNING.

"During recent months," continued Mr. O'Hallorau, "much has been said and written throughout the Dominion on the burning question of town planning. The necessity for foresight in that regard has been so fully realised that the Legislature has seen fit to adopt tha principle of compulsion with a view to securing early and efficient action in connection with so vital a matter.

"It is submitted that our district is in a stage of development which in a peculiar degree calls for the thorough application of this principle, if its many and growing problems are to be satisfactorily solved.. Its extreme boundaries lie within a radius of-four miles from the very heart of the city, and in Mornington there is an area of approximately 195 acres of suitable land awaiting subdivision into building sections. It may be said with justice that in every large city much arbitrary action and legal expense could be avoided if the municipal authorities were prepared to grapple with obviously pressing reforms at a sufficiently early date."

URGENT BROOKLYN WORKS.

Among the works described by Mr. O'Halloran as urgent were:—Dangerous corners intersection of Ohiro road and Cleveland street, and intersection of Carmang terrace, "Washington avenue, and Mills road; Taft street, danger of cars running down bank from New road completion; cutting off corners, widening and tar sealing road Happy Valley road from Brooklyn to Island Bay; danger to cars at the dead end of "Washington avenue; disgraceful condition of Brooklyn road, requiring tar sealing, and tram line levelled, footpath to be formed; widening footpath "Washington avenue; Brooklyn road, near park gates; public conveniences; footpaths and roads generally.

HOME-SEEKERS 00 ELSEWHERE,

Mr. G. Eead, speaking on behalf of the Brooklyn Association, supported Mr. O'Halloran's contentions. His association was Tather afraid.that the requirements of outlying districts had been rather overshadowed by the demands of, other, .parts. As a. result of that neglect, the tendency had .been for home-build-ers to move away "to other parts," with the result that the city lost rates. Vogeltown's roads, lie mentioned, appeared .upon ■ an old city, map, dated 1877, but that was as far as they had ever got. The unfinished state of the New road, various dangerous road corrierSj. the lack of footpaths in many parts of the Brooklyn-Vogeltown district, and the need of water and drainage in certain high levels weTe also referred to. . NOT SO SADLY TKEATED. The Mayor (Mr ; C. B. Norwood) said that the list of works which had been handed to the' council "by th.c deputation would receive the earnest consideration of the council. The growth of Wellington had been, so great in all directions that the council had not been able to do all that was needed. It was not always possible or even advisable to spend the rates raised, in the particular district from which they were received. As a matter of fact, the rates collected from the district amounted to .2.4 per cent, of the total received for: the city, and the am\-nt expended in the distract was 2.36 of the total, so that the district had not fared so badly. He assured the deputation that their representations would receive very earnest consideration.