NO WAY TO TOWN PLANNING

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 14, 16 July 1936, Page 8

NO WAY TO TOWN PLANNING

From the point of view of town planning in Wellington considerable importance attaches to the refusal of Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in a reserved judgment yesterday, to grant an application by the Wellington City Corporation, under the Health Act, 1920, for the demolition of a small building on the Te Aro Flat. The Magistrate pointed out that the certificate of the medical officer of health to the Corporation, which was the foundation of the proceedings, was based solely on the ground that the building was not provided at its rear and. side with the open space prescribed by the Municipal Corporations' Act. "This," said the Magistrate, "raises an important question which, if decided in the Corporation's favour, will have far-reaching consequences. In short, the owner of every dwelling in a borough that does not comply with the open space provision of the Act may be faced with the necessity to pull it down whenever required to do so by the controlling authority, even though the building was erected at a time when no minimum open space had been prescribed by law." So far as Wellington is concerned, such a decision by a Magistrate, establishing a.precedent, would affect scores of buildings, which might be quite satisfactory in other respects. This would be not only unfair to owners and occupiers, but also of little value in the improvement of the city.

It is not on these lines that town planning can be conducted, as the Magistrate, in an admirable judgment, declared. Counsel for ihe Corporation pleaded the necessity of "eradicating slum conditions." 'Admitting that this, of course, was "highly desirable," Mr. Luxford added these words, which might well be a lesson to municipal bodies contemplating—at a distance—ideals of town planning:

The sooner the responsible authorities are able to formulate and carry out a concerted plan to achieve such an object [slum clearance], the better it will be for the whole community. But slums will never be eradicated by spasmodic applications for demolition orders. Nor were the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act relating to the open space ever intended for that purpose. The purport of the relevant section of the Act is to prevent the erection of slum areas—not to eradicate those existing when it first came into force.

This seems to,be an exact statement of the position. The Act has served its purpose well enough, but for the removal of slums a "concerted plan," as the Magistrate put it, is necessary. Has the Wellington City Council such a plan? So far as the general public is aware, no such plan—if it exists—has ever been made available, although there is legislation designed to give, sufficient powers. The consequence, in the absence of a plan, is the chaotic transition of Te Aro Flat from a residential to an industrial area, which quite possibly, as the Magistrate suggests, may have been responsible for the conditions which prompted the application in the present instance for a demolition order. The state of parts of Te Aro Flat and one or two smaller areas elsewhere in the city, is no credit to the civic administration. Years ago the late Sir John Luke, when he was Mayor, sketched out progressive ideas for the development of Te Aro Flat on town-planning lines, but little was done. It is time the present council took the matter in hand.