OPATITO BLOCK

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 60, Issue 4348, 27 October 1950, Page 5

OPATITO BLOCK

STATE HOUSE PROJECT NOT TO BE DROPPED STATE OFFICERS’ ASSURANCE The delay in building and the reading of the Opatito State housing block was referred to by Mr C. E. Thomas, engineer of the Department of Housing “Construction, Hamilton, at an emergency meeting of the Paeroa Borough Council held recently, other Government officials present being Mr F. A. Jones, of the Department of Housing Construction, Wellington, and Mr A. R. Gillespie, town planning officer of the same department, Auckland. In replying to a question Mr Thomas said that the position with regard to State housing construction was not quite clear but any question of the dropping of the building scheme upon the Opatito block had never been discussed or considered by the department. The scheme upon the block would ibe proceeded with, said Mr Jones in confirmation of the assurance.

Reference to the proposed construction of oil storage tanks by three oil companies at Paeroa made it obvious that Paeroa would become a very important -distributing cehtre, said Mr Edwin Edwards, mayor, who referred to the fact that one company alone was building two 50,000 gallon, two or three 320,000 gallon, one or two 500,000 gallon and one 1,000,000 gallon tanks and two other companies had also acquired areas for tanks.

That work, continued Mr Edwards, with the building of a pipe line from the river to the tanks would, with all the work entailed, create a great demand for houses in Paeroa and he hoped that the departmental officers would keep those facts in mind so as to appreciate the urgent need for the construction of houses in Paeroa.

Mr Thomas suggested that the Housing Construction Department should certainly be advised, of the faicts given by Mr Edwards.

Mr Jones also stressed the need of advising ithe department Ctf iwhait was happening in Paeroa for that knowledge became important in the consideration as to how quickly building should be proceeded with again.