TOWN-PLANNING BILL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19388, 24 July 1926, Page 12

TOWN-PLANNING BILL.

OPINION r.IN i .AUCKLAND.

DISTINCT- STEP FORWARD.-'; PERSONNEL OF ; THE BOARD. General Satisfaction, at the introduction* in Parliament of tlie Town-plannirig ■ Bill: was expressed in 'Auckland yesterday. The fact Rjafc such a measure has been brought before members'of the House was regarded as a distinct step forward in'awakening the conscience of New -Zealand to the necessity for planning the urban areas with some regard for the aesthetic side of life apart from" thG utilitarian point ofvi&w.' Criticism o"f the bill is guarded at the moment pending receipt of fuller details. There were several'points, however, in the details already published which did not commend themselves to those who have taken a keen interest in town planning in general, and in the promotion of a bill in New Zealand, in particular. The chief of these points was with reference to the composition of the board which is to set up under the Act to control town planning in New Zealand Mr. F. L. Moodie, chairman of the Auckland branch of the Institute of Architects, said that, while he was ploased that at last a definite move had been made by the Government in respect of town planning, he took exception to the reported statement of the Prime Minister that Mr. R B. Hammond had brought the original committee together with the able assistance of Mr. Newton, . .of - the Internal Affairs Department, "This may apply ..to the committee set up by,the Government during the past six months," Mr. Moodie continued, "but I am sure that Mr'.:Hammond will bear me out when I say that before his return to New Zealand, the matter had already takern form in that representatives of the -institute',' in conjunction with . the surveyors and engineers held meetings throughout the country and drafted a town-planning bill which was forwarded to the Government. Too Much "Government." It was suggested in quarters that with the appointment of the SurveyorGeneral, the engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, and the Government architect, there was a little too much "Government" about the board. It was considered unlikely that these officers, with their multifarious duties, would'personally sit on the board, and that their places would be taken by juniors in the respective departments. Another point raised was as to the time limit of three years which 'will be given to local bodies to prepare town-planning schemes,: It was questioned whether this period was'long enough. The preparation of a full scheme for any large urban area' necessitated the collection of a tremendous amount of data which was not at!.present on record. Information was required as to the nature-and extent of the industries affected, the habits of the people, traffic, levels, etc., and none of this, it was stated,, could be gathered-hurriedly. An . architect, who has made. a -special study--of town planning, went so far as to state that, with a full staff working long hours, it might'be possible to devise a scjUjhe for Auckland 'in' two years, but it 'would not be the best, scheme. ■ v Settlements Outside City, ; ' From-the municipal point-Of view, the' Mayor, Miy G,'Baildon, 'satjd he* welcomed the bill. He "had"'always been all advocate of town planning. He thought a mistake was being made in exempting from the provisions of the bill local bodies controlling areas with a population of under 1000. In his opinion, all local bodies within a certain radius of a city should be brought under the Act. Mr. Baildon drew attention to tho number of local areas round Auckland which were being opened up for settlement and which ultimately Would amalgamate with the city. All subdivisions in these areas, he thought, should be carried out with some regard to a definite scheme of town planning devised for Greater Auckland, thus avoiding any possibility of work,done, at the present time being required to be undone in the future. He was pleased to note the provision for co-ordination between the city and suburbs in devising a scheme'of town planning. Commenting on the composition of the board, the Mayor said he thought the local bodies should have more than two representatives. With only two members on a board of twelve, the local bodies, who were vitally interested and who would have to carry out the various schemes decided.on, would be hopelessly outnumbered. He would certainly urge that the representation should be increased. Selection of Director.

Another "comment made by the Mayor was with reference to the appointment of a director of town planning. "It is news to me that Mr. Hammond is the 'king.p.in' of the town-planning movement," he said in referring to the statement of the Prime Minister to that effect' when the bill was before the House. "The appointment of a director requires very careiul consideration for he will be holding a very re-, sponsible position.' We must make sure that we get a man of wide experience." Mr. Baildon was not alone in ! ,thjs ,'copriment and it was even'stated that, to < get the best man for the position it Would: be necessary to go abroad. . . C An omission occurred in the telegraphed summary of the bill published yesterday. There is provision in the bill for a representative of tho Institute of Architects sitting on the Town Planning Board in addition to the other representatives mentioned yesterday.