THE H.B. TRIBUNE MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1928 TO HASTEN THE WORK

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 199, 6 August 1928, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1928 TO HASTEN THE WORK

the meeting of the Hawke's Bay A. and P. Society last week a letter from the Minister of Railways was read in which it was stated that the erection of a new railway station for Hastings might, according to the programme laid out in 1924, be expected to be undertaken in 1931 or 1932. Presumably the framing of this programme was largely dictated by considerations of finance, the funds prospectively available being spread out over the years. In view of this, and with the thought of expediting the provision of something like adequate station accommodation for this rapidly growing town, it seems well worth while just now to revive a suggestion that was first made in this column some eight or nine years ago. This was at the time when we were agitating for a more secure tenure for the tenants of the valuable Railway Reserve fronting Heretaunga and Russell streets—an agitation, by the way, which, on the eve of apparent success, was to a great extent stultified by the tenants themselves jumping eagerly at the first concession offered them by the Department. The proposal that was then mooted here, and was adopted by the Borough Council, was that the Department should realise upon this reserve and put the money into the building of the new station, which was even then spoken of as in early contempla-

tion. Arguments then advanced apply with equal force at the present time, in fact, with the rapid progress of the town, have become more forcible.

Summarising them, it has to be said in the first place, that this reserve, which originally included the Post Office site, stands in a unique position. According to the information afforded us at the time mentioned, it was originally given by the owner, the original subdivider of that part of the township, to the Government for the express purpose of providing an ample site for a railway station. The Department, however, early made up its mind 1 that it would not use it for this purpose and, opening up a new street (now Russell street), cut it up for leasing and practically converted it into a revenuo-producing endowment for the railways. This was a course the donor most certainly never had in thought, but the Government, having once adopted it, has ever, since persisted in it, at the same time also failing to give its tenants leases that, from a building standpoint, could be regarded as satisfactory. As everybody with a knowledge of the town for the last twenty years or more must know, this fact has stood, and still stands, badly in the way of the advancement of that particular quarter of it. Despite the unsatisfactory tenure conferred, decided improvements have certainly been carried out along the Russell street frontage. But t,he corner and the Heretaunga street frontage are still occupied by wooden buildings now a good deal more than thirty years old that are anything but an ornament to the busiest part of the town and are also a continual menace from the danger of fire. As each year of the ter.-n now assured to the tenants expires the security value of the leases of these lots and the inducements to rebuilding on them are diminishing, and the question of tenure becomes the more important.

The proposal we should like to see vigorously resuscitated is that the Government should be urged to sell the freehold of this reserve —having full regard, of course, to the rights and interest* of the present tenants — and put the money forthwith into the erection of the new station. This would be in entire consonance with the intentions of the donor. But, apart altogether from the land having been given for a specific object, is seems to be the wholly proper policy for the Department to adopt. It is certainly not one of the functions of a State Railway Department to assume the role of perpetual landlord of valuable town properties that will never be wanted for railway purposes. More especially is this the case with a Department which is admittedly delaying urgent works on the plea of difficulty in providing the necessary funds. Then, the shifting of the station to the new site—which has already been acquired and is producing a quite inadequate return—would release at the present site further eligible building sites that would also be easily realisable, and so provide still further funds for carrying out necessary works. These are only some of the contentions that may be advanced in favour of the proposal here again outlined, but we fancy they are quite sufficient to make it worth while reviving it in the hope of some concerted move being made to have it carried into effect. If memory serves aright, it was submitted ,by a Borough Council deputation to the then Minister of Railways, the late Mr. Massey, and was promised consideiation. But, owing to circumstances that arose, ths matter was not pressed to any definite conclusion, and, with the tenants’ hasty acceptance of the terms offered them, it was allowed to lapse altogether. The preseilt appears to be an altogether opportune time for again bringing it under ministerial notice.