TARANAKI STREET

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 145, 16 December 1927, Page 10

TARANAKI STREET

•POSITION SATISFACTORY'

PLAN FOR WIDENING

THE.COST TO DATE

Tor many .mouths now people have, been-wondering— and some of them circulating wild rumours— ■what the council proposed to do in the matter of the widening of LowerTaranaki street, but the council said nothing, in accordance with local body practice of saying nothing where land purchases are concerned.- Last night the Mayor (Mr. G. A. Tfoup), in a statement lo councillors, subsequently handed to the Press, outlined the result of the negotiations to date. The position, said Mr. Troup to a' "Post" reporter to-day, must be regarded as most, satisfactory! and with that view, every member of the council agreed. There had been very 1 great difficulties to overcome, but the settlements made were distinctly satisfactory. There still; remained certain transactions to be finalised, so that £34,308 would not be the final cost to the city, but, as showing that the-council had bargained keenly, the total cost would bo well under half of a single one of tho original claims made; that deal had been settled far below the figure first mentioned by the owners concerned. The report to councillors was as follows:-— i

In March, 1927, the City Council proposed to widen Lower Taranaki street between Manners street and Wakefield street from a width of 66ft to a width of 100 ft, and a permit was granted to the Wakefield Buildings Co./ Ltd., for a new building to be erected at the corner of' Wakefield street and Taranaki street, which fixed the width of Taranaki street at' this .end at 100 ft. The sections of land which then had to be acquired were, enumerating from Wakefield Buildings, the end of the street: Lot 6, owned by W. D. and H. O. Wills, Ltd.'; part sections 6, 9 and 43, Te Aro Pa, owned by W. D. and H. O. Wills, Ltd.; part sections 5 . and 9, Te Aro Pa, owned by James Speight and Co,; and, lying immediately behind the last-mentioned land. Then came Luke's lane, and on the other side of the lane were section 34 Te Aro Pa, held by E. M. Brown and P. J. Courtney; sections 27 and 32, Te Aro Pa, held by trustees of the A. Levy Estate. ■ . * There was a building- about to be erected on the land held by W. D. and H. O. Wills and a steel building was partly erected on the land held by the A. Levy Estate, although building operations had been, stopped for some months prior to March of this year, through circumstances quite apart from the City Council's actions.

WAITINff FOR A PROCLAMATION.

, Surveys were made of all the above properties and plans were prepared and forwarded to the. Government in May by the City Council asking for a proclamation taking the land. The usual lengthy period required by the Public Works Act before the proclamation ! would be gazetted eventually expired and the land was vested in the council o« 7th October, 1927. No action could be taken by the council prior to this j date, but negotations were opened im- '■ mediately, thereafter and have proceeded continuously with all the parties concerned .unty .'it is now. possible to state that all- "complications, have been removed and a complete settlement with all parties is in sight. TWO WIDTHS. By far the greatest obstacle was that presented by the property lying between Manners street and Luke's lane. To persist in widening Taranaki street to 100 feet at this locality meant taking 34 feet off the depth of these sections and leaving them so shallow that no large buildings could be built thereon,- therefore a- strenuous attempt was made to purchase, land at the rear to make' the Taranaki street sections deeper, but all attempts to acquire the iand at a price which the council could sfford were fruitless.

It was then obvious that instead of effecting an improvement to the street, the widening to the full 100 feet wqpld have a detrimental effect insomuch as only ..paltry buildings could be erected on this area. What rendered, the position rndre; serious was that a very; 1 thorough examination of the. financial position by the' newly-appointed City Valuer showed that to take this la*d to widen to 100 feet would cost the council and the -ratepayers a tremendous sum which could not be justified even apart from the above consideration.

The widening at this portion of the ■treet was .thereforo fixed at 84 feet, which will allow ample room for traffic, viz., two twelve-foot footpaths, two luxes of trams, and four rows of vehicular traffic. Parking will have to be prohibited between Manners street and Luke's lane in later years when this amount of traffic has developed, but provision, for a mojor park- has been made between Luks's lane and "Wakefield street, where the extra sixteen feet of width will just accommodate cars packed on to the kerb without allowing the parked cars to interfere with traffic. •■■••■

# This arrangement allows for a full•iz& building being erected on the site under discussion, and if at any time in the distant future other land is amalgamated with that held by the A Levy Estate and further widening becomes imperative, or should rebuilding take place, the widening can be carried out to 100 feet without losing betterment and without destroying a business as at present. It must be borne in mind also that every &1 saved now will become £7 in forty years at 5-per cent. All,the parties concerned in this portion of the street have accepted the arrangement of street as proposed without demur.

THE SETTLEMENTS AND COST. The trustees of. the A. Levy Estate came to a final settlement with the council on Ist December, and have already made progress with, the plans for their new large building, the construction of which they hope to commence early in. the New Year. Settlements have now been -made with the following:—W. D. ana H. 0. Wills, Limited, trustees of A. Levy Estate, Kansford and Mills, |Limited (steel contractors), Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, Limited, Mr. L. Williams (architect), Mr. A. Kenrier (contractor). Settlements have not yet been completed with the following: James Speight and Co., T. A. Wells (tenant of Brown and Courtney), W. A. Arnold (sub-tenant .of Wells). Certain others have either made claims *or may do so, but their claims are not admitted by the council, and endeavours are being made to accommodate these people so that their claims may be withdrawn; some, however, may haveto/be fought.

The amounts of settlements made to date have cost tho council £34,308, and to this must be added the cost of demolishing the steelwork and buildings in order to clear the laud and make the street, but "there will be credits to" come from the sale of materials and plant which have come into the council's possession, which should cover this expenditure.

It would be unwise to state what, the steel, etc, is expected to realise, and also to state -what the unsettled claims