HOUSING SURVEY

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 December 1936, Page 12

HOUSING SURVEY

MR. SAVAGE’S STATEMENT, [PEB PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, December 20. In referring to the housing survey, the Prime Minister (Mr. Savage) said to-day that a good deal of misapprehension seemed to exist about the matter. Up to a point he agreed with the Wel- ' lington City Council when it declared that the need for housing was so obvious that a housing survey w x as scarcely necessary. The Government had been well aware of the shortage of housing, but a clamour had gone up from the press of New Zealand, and from the local bodies, stressing the necessity of securing a survey as a preliminary to construction. “While the Government had not retarded the preparation of its schemes in any way, it had been considered desirable to give the local bodies the machinery and the power to undertake a survey at the earliest possible moment,” he said. It had never been intended that the complete area of every city should be surveyed, and the Ministry for Housing would readily agree tq substantial exemptions. Jlie housing shortage throughout New Zealand was not only apparent, but Jrad become acute in al-, most every town, but a housing survey, taken in areas where notoriously bad housing conditions existed, would ascertain the number of houses it was necessary to replace in addition to the new construction required. There were- certain areas •in all the large towns that should be surveyed, but anyone could readily see that there was no advantage to be gained by counting the number of rooms in houses where excess accommodation was not available. The real purpose of the details required in the housing survey was to ascertain whether there was overcrowding caused by a shortage of housing, or overcrowding caused by other factors. In the past governments had done little more than provide for new construction, but it was the purpose of the present Govern, ment not only to provide the new construction, but to plan remedial measures in regard to deteriorated areas. A survey of these areas would produce invaluable material, and if the survey were limited to these areas the cost to the local authority would not be excessive. That did not mean that there was any necessity to wait for a survey before engaging in a programme of construction on the part of any local body. A steady stream of preliminary enquiries was coming in from local* bodies from all over New Zealand, ami it seemed likely that very early in the New Year a large number of small schemes would be undertaken. Two local bodies, one at Green Island and i one at Alexandra, had already carried ; resolutions under the Housing Act. and others were preparing to carry resolu- ! tions.

Many enquiries were coming in from dairy factories about the offer of 3 per cent, money for the housing of their employees, and one loan had already been granted..