HUTT VALLEY PORT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 82, 4 October 1944, Page 3

HUTT VALLEY PORT

INQUIRY CONCLUDES

FINAL SUBMISSIONS

Taking of evidence and ! the final submissions of interested parties before the'^Hutt." Harbour Commission concluded yesterday afternoon. The chairman, Sir . Francis Frazer, announced, that the commission would present its findings as soon as possible. «.- before the commission ™c final submissions on behalf of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I feel that I should comment upon one aspect of the evidence which has been adduced.in the course of this inquiry," said Mr. E. F. Rothwell for the Hutt A Valley Chamber of Commerce. "The evidence submitted by the chamber consists largely of actual facts and statistics of past development, and for the rest a forecast of future development based upon the experience of the past and a known programme of expansion already in hand and in the progress of tion. Most of the other evidence has been ■ conjectural and hypothetical, and in some instances has been tinged with sectional and local' considerations'. The Wellington Harbour Board appears to be unsympathetic to new construction in the Hutt area, and the Wairarapa interests suggest that if a harbour is to be constructed in the Hutt area the residents of that area should pay for it. "Let me stress again the question of public interest, in making its report upon this inquiry, the commisi sion should take the broad view and the long view.. It should not consider only the interests of the Wellington Harbour Board or of the residents of the Wairarapa district, or, indeed, of the constituent industrial and commercial members of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It should consider the suggested development from a national point of view—improvement of transport facilities for industries ♦ serving a Dominion-wide market. "The long yiew is also important. A mass 'of information has been placed before the commission, and if in its wisdom it decides that harbour facilities in the Hutt area are not yet necessary but will be . required at some time in the future,' such a report should be brought down that; development in the meantime will not be of such a nature as ,to jbe an obstacle when harbour construction. is ultimately'undertaken.. If such a result emerges; the time expended ■ by the commission will have been by no means'wasted. THREE POINTS. The following points were submitted by the chamber for the consideration of the commission:— "1. That should it be established that port facilities in the- Hutt Valley area of Wellington harbour are not feasible or desirable in the immediate a future, then steps should; be taken to ensure that no development should be allowed which would make it impossible to provide such an installation at some future date. "2. That no extensions to the Lambton harbour facilities involving major capital expenditure should be authorised without giving full consideration to the Strong possibility of a Hutt Valley port being necessary at some future date. "3. That in order to ensure the unimpeded flow of goods traffic between the Hutt Valley and Wellington during the next few years, the construction of an overhead road bridge in the present railway crossing area at Petone, linking the Hutt Road with the road system on the eastern side of the rail, be effected immediately after the war, and : that an elevated ramp be constructed at the junction'-of the Ngahauranga Gorge Road with the Hutt Road to enable the traffic to be conveniently and rapidly separated at this point." "GREAT FALLACY." Mr. J. W. Mawson, the Town Planner, in his concluding remarks, pointed out that sound foundations were needed for planning and gauging future trends. There was definite need for a co-ordinated plan for the development not of the Hutt Valley, or of the metropolitan area* but of the region of which they formed part, and transport needs depended on trends and potentialities in regard to industries and populations. "The Wellington City Council apparently believes that the Hutt Valley can only grow at the expense of the city," he said. "There was, never a greater fallacy. •,«"£. ha, s not been suggested that the Wellington harbour could not cope with all the traffic offering from the southern part of the North Island. The point is whether transport facilities between Wellington and that area are capable of handling extra traffic at a cost comparable with that for the provision of adequate harbour facilities at the Hutt."

In conclusion the chairman gave an assurance that the commission was not likely,to take a parochial view of the issue, and that it would present its findings as soon as possible.