Critical Stage Of Counties In N.Z.

Northern Advocate, 14 June 1949, Page 5

Critical Stage Of Counties In N.Z.

DUNEDIN, Tue. (PA.).— Many cities and towns throughout New Zealand bore witness of inadequate planning in the past, said Mr Neil G. Hansen, of Tauranga, in a paper presented to the conference of the Institute of County Engineers in Dunedin. The tendency had been for towns to develop into scattered, disorderly semi-urbanised areas, costly to supply with roading, water, electric power and sewerage, with little or no provision of reserves for recreation and in many cases unpleasant places in which to live, he said. There was art increasing awareness of the faults of disorderly growth and there Was a realisation by county councils that something should bfe done to encourage the orderly growth of their developing areas. Mr Hansen said it was the duty of county engineers, therefore, to supply commonsense advice in the form of simple, flexible planning schemes for areas under the control of their councils. MAY BE ABSORBED The counties of New Zealand were in a critical stage of their development and the success or failure of the county system of local government depended to a large extent on the counties themselves. In the changing order of political thought which was evolving, counties must accept and exercise hll local government powers conferred on them by statute, or else the county system might gradually be absorbed into a vast decentralised system of government. It was -obvious that all local problems could be best administered by a system of local control and one of these problems was administration of small areas of urban or semi-urban development, such as small townships and environs of cities or boroughs. Counties would be responsible for the orderly development of urban areas within their boundaries, and toencourage orderly growth plans would be needed. • ,