NEW HUTT BRIDGE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 125, 31 May 1927, Page 8

NEW HUTT BRIDGE

CONTRIBUTIONS ARRANGED

A HARMONIOUS CONFEKENCE

A second conference of local bodies interested in the financing of the proposed new bridge over the Hutt Biver was held at Lower Hutt last evening. There were present Mr. G. Troup _ (Mayor of Wellington), and Councillors H. D. Bennett and M. Luckie (Wellington); Mr. W. T. Strand (Mayor of Lower Hutt and chairman of the conference), and Councillors A. P. Boberte, A. M'Bain,-and A. J. Hobbs (Lower Hutt); Councillors D. B. Boggard and W. V. Dyer (Hutt County Council), and Mr. P. Bobertson (Mayor of Upper Hutt), and Councillors J. R. Duff, W. Greig, and'T. B. Jameson (Upper Hutt). Messrs. Sladden (designer of - the bridge), Knox (Town Clerk), Bush (Lower Hutt Borough Engineer), and E. P. Bunny (Lower Hutt Borough Solicitor) were also present. ..

Mr. Strand .explained that owing to a council meeting Petone was not represented, but "from a conversation held with the Mayor or Petone he considered that it would be safe to say that the fact of no Petone delegate being present might be taken as implying, that the Petone Borough Council would raise no objection to the levy it had already been suggested should be made on that body. Later in the evening Mr. Strand further stated that what he had said had been confirmed by a telephone message from Petone.

Certain information, which cannot at the present time be made public, was given to the meeting by Mr. Strand, and assisted the meeting to come to a decision on the point at issue, which was the proportion to be contributed by each local authority to the cost of the bridge. The whole question was keenly, debated, and after some adjustments had been made the conference unanimously decided on the amount each body should be, asked to contribute and the delegates present pledged themselves to recommend their various councils to contribute these amounts. It was decided that until each local authority had discussed the natter the figures arrived at should not be made public.

The chairman thanked the members of the conference for *he spirit of harmony displayed, and stated that it was a great achievement to have carried through the'fixing of the amounts without recourse to the setting up' of a Commission.'