GREYMOUTH’S “SLUMS"

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 December 1945, Page 2

GREYMOUTH’S “SLUMS"

PLAN FOR RECONSTRUCTION' Condemnation of .the houses many people were being compelled to live in at the present time in Greymouth’s slum areas was voiced by Mr. T. Pi’att at a meeting of the Westland Progress League last evening, when he made a proposal that the Grey Borough Council be asked to obtain a loan and construct dwellings for .sale to the people compelled to live in' houses “not fit for fowls.” “There is an acute housing problem in Greymouth,” he said, “and there are a large number of slum-dw-ellings here that people are being forced to live in. This has been alleviated somewhat by the building of State houses, but they are not sufficient and the Borough Council should be approached and asked to eliminate these slum dwellings and adopt a housing scheme, such as is functioning in other Boroughs. There is money available for the Borough Council —a large sum at about 3 per cent, interest —and they could buy land, build and sell the houses to those who need them urgently. If it was based on the schemes in other areas, a deposit of £50 —well within the reach of most —would be asked and the houses paid off in instalments, preference being given to those at present living in slum dwellings.” “I have never seen anywhere else so many slum houses as I have seen in Greymouth,” continued Mr. Pratt. “We talk about the beauty of Westland, but a walk about the back streets of this town, the gateway to the province, would give any tourist a bad impression.” “And Some of the front streets too, commented Mr. T. Blackie. Continuing, Mr. Pratt stressed the UNHEALTHY ASPECT of some of the houses, especially for young children, and emphasised the fire danger in areas where the roofs of houses were touching as well as the unhygienic atmosphere. The Borough Council should proceed with the plan he proposed, and after transferring the tenants of the poorer dwellings to the new houses should proceed immediately with the demolition of the old premises. Some houses were anything to 100 years old and just about faffing down and it was in the interests of the people of the district that they be pulled down. He moved that the League ask the Council to carry out the plan suggested by him and Mr. Blackie seconded the motion. Mr. J. B. Bluett said that 14 carpenters were already working outside the district, mainly on State houses at Westport. The Chairman, Mr. J. M. Bunt, said that the difficulty in procuring materials should be borne in mind. The Government itself was meeting With difficulty and he was afraid the Borough Council also would. It was also problematical whether the scheme would support itself and he would not favour a scheme that would increase the rates. n 1 Mr. Pratt, said that an additional 1 per cent, charged upon the tenant would eliminate any risk of financial loss. x The chairman pointed out that when housing prices dropped these people who had bought their house at a peak would be willing to forfeit their £5O and build a cheaper house of their own. Mr. Pratt said that it had been stated in Parliament that it would not be possible to catch up with housing for another 12 years, and if a tenant forfeited his deposit, another tenant could be found to keep up the payments. The Secretary, Mr. J. Saunders, also sounded a cautious note, emphasising the already large loan indebtedness of the Borough Council and stated that the amount that was likely to be required on the proposed rebuilding of the Grey Hospital might be such as to tax Greymouth off the map. He referred to the difficult conditions that had ruled when many of the houses in the business area had been built, and pointed but that Nelson also had a considerable slum area. He would be pleased to see the slums removed but did not know how far the League could go. Mr. E. F. Chivers said that the scheme provided for the replacement of existing houses and did nothing to alleviate the present shortage. . The Secretary said that if the houses were so bad the Health Department would have taken action. Mr. Pratt said'that the Department would like to condemn dozens of houses, but could not as the occupants had no place to go. There would be no increase in rates necessary, he assured the League, adding that no Borough Council could stay idly by while hundreds were living in houses not fit for fowls. After some further debate on the subject, Mr. Pratt agreed to withdraw his" motion in favour of the matter being referred to the housing committee for investigation and consideration.