A MISTAKEN MOVE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 109, 21 April 1936, Page 6

A MISTAKEN MOVE.

Probably very few of the ratepayers of the Napier Harbour District have taken much note of a resolution that was passed at yesterday’s meeting of the Board. It was then decided, with but one dissenting vote, that legislative authority should be sought for selling the freehold of certain of the residential sites within the area of the Board’s endowment now to be known as “Marewa.” This is the area that by agreement with the Napier Borough Council was handed over to that body for “development” as part of the borough upon very peculiar terms that were fully discussed in this column at the time. There was then no talk of parting with the freehold of any of this the most valuable portion of the Board’s extensive endowment, the authority given the Council being to deal with the subdivisions in terms of renewable leases only. It would now seem that, in order to provide funds for the Council to pursue its scheme, it is proposed to offer a certain proportion of the sections for absolute sale. This is certainly a suggestion that merits a good deal more of consideration than has been given to it, and it is gratifying to note that there was even one country member, Mr R. McLean, who stood staunchly for this view.

The argument used was that by granting freehold titles some better class of tenants would be attracted for the leaseholds, and there may possibly be something in it. But when this means parting with what would probably be some of the best revenue-produc-ing sections in the subdivision the sacrifice has every appearance of being much too great for all the advantage likely to be gained. Most certainly, in any event, this is no time to contemplate the sale of freeholds, for it is quite obvious that at present no prices could be got that would be in any way commensurate with prospective values. We arc now only at the beginning of better times. Napier, too, has only commenced recovery from the calamitous disaster that befel the town five years ago and much more rapid progress may well be hoped for in the next few. years. The census returns just published do not indicate that there is likely for some little time to be any very great competitive demand for new building sites, whether freehold or leasehold, and to sacrifice freeholds just now would be a grave injustice to the harbour ratepayers. Mr McLean is therefore to be commended for entering his protest, solitary and all as it was, against any present movement in this direction. He was quite right in emphasising the need, in the interests of both the ratepayers and the port, for conserving the Board’s revenue-producing endowment.