FARM COTTAGES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 41, 16 August 1941, Page 6

FARM COTTAGES

BUILT AT PARAPARAUMU

COUNTY COUNCIL'S PROTEST,

TEMPORARY OR NOT? j; More was heard at the meeting of the Hutt County Council yesterday afternoon of the protest made a month ago against the erec- I tion at Paraparaumu by the Government of farm cottages, which j were stated by councillors to contravene the county's building bylaws as well as the sanitary and : plumbing regulations under the ; Health Act. A letter was received from the Under-Secretary and Engineer-in-1 Chief, Public Works Department, ex-j plaining that this type-of dwelling was: intended to meet temporarily the acute shortage of accommodation for farm' workers. As. the scheme was now, considered to have served its purpose, no further cottages would be supplied to farmers after the completion of the orders at present in hand. The county chairman, Mr. R. L. Button, said that at the Minister's request he went to see the cottages. He, with the Minister and departmental officers, inspected them inside and out and there was no doubt thai they were excellent cottages in every respect, although there was no doubt that they did not comply with the bylaws. Since his visit he had been informed that the plumbing" was being altered to conform with the bylaws. The attitude j of the Minister and of the Public ; Works Department was that the cot- j tages were designed to assist farmersto secure labour and thereby to increase production. They could rightly therefore,' be regarded as a war effort and as such he would strongly recommend the council to accept the posi tion. "There is one cottage at five shillings a week." declared Mr. Button, 'which is a king compared with some of the shacks erected in the county." v SOMETHING WRONG. Councillor ,S. Blackley questioned the cottages being temporary erections. There was something wrong; he thought, if the Government contravened the county's bylaws and its own health regulations. The county prided itself on its clean bill of health, which was largely due to its sanitary bylaws, and yet the Govrnment deliberately contravened these bylaws. Councillor J.-J. Maher protested ; against the Minister slating i the council when it was only carrying out its i duty in protesting against an infringement of the bylaws. The Government and its Ministers should help the couni cil to do its duty instead of hindering itThe chairman again emphasised that the cottages were only-temporary and were a war effort to assist the farmer. As such, he reiterated, they should be accepted. He would agree, he said in answer to a question, to a modification of the county bylaws for the duration of the war if.as a result the war effort was assisted. Councillor J. B. Yaldwyn questioned whether a six-roomed house could rightly be called a temporary cottage. It was permanentl;' fixed to the soil \ and could not be moved. The use of the word temporary, he said, was .an utter farce. In a few>years these so-1 called cottages would be in need ot repair. "LET THE COUNCIL DOWN." If these cottages were as good as i they were made out to be,' then many more should be built for office workers and others, suggested Councillor F. W. Vickerman. But he objected to the endorsement given to them by the chairman, who, he thought, had let his council and officers down by his remarks abqut the cottages. "The cottages are up and the matter, in my opinion, should be allowed to be dropped," said the chairman at the close of the discussion. He assured councillors that the promised alterations in the plumbing would be carried out as stated by the Public Works Department.