RAILWAY DWELLINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17429, 26 March 1920, Page 4

RAILWAY DWELLINGS.

COMPREHENSIVE SCHEME.

STANDARDISED HOUSES.

TOWN-PLANNING . PRINCIPLES [BY TBMGBAPH. —FBESS ASSOaATHJN.] WELLINGTON. Thursday.

The Railway Department has inaugurated and is engaged on a house building scheme on a large scale. The present programme involves the erection of 400 houses as a commencement. The scheme includes the establishment qf a factory equipped with modern machinery for cutting timber into standard lengths. This wQI enable rapid progress to be made with the

construction of houses 'and at the same time materially reduce their cost. The houses will all be built to a standard type and will be provided with, modern conveniences.

A commencement has already been made with the erection of a number of bouses at Kaiwarra to relieve the pressure in Wellington, where the housing problem is at present "most acute. Twenty chains of road have been formed, fifteen sites excavated, and the erection of ten houses ia in hand, some of them being well forward. The standard type being belli at pre» sent contains a kitchen sittingroom, three bedrooms, bathroom, scullery, and washhouse, -with copper and tabs set in. Ia addition an outhouse is provided far wood and coal. A hot and cold water service will be installed in each house. Electric light will be provided wherever it is available, and each house will have in addition to lighting, a connection for an electricl iron.

While the plans •will for the present be of a standard type, the outside elevations will be varied in design, to relieve any monotony. The houses will front on to 66ft roads in all cases where they front new roads laid out by the Department. The sections generally" will have a frontage of 50ft, with a depth of 100 ft. In no case will a frontage be less than 40ft. Already considerable areas, of land have been • acquired at several centres, and plans for tiie laying ont of these, are being prepared. The Department intends to work on sound fcewn-planning lines. Where practicable each settlement will have its reserves for recreation. Tree planting will be carried out by experts on a well-thought-out ulan. Natural features of the Ismdscdfgß will be taken advantage of, and the general conven-ences required in each a settlement will be provided.