BUILDING FIGURES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18366, 7 April 1934, Page 4

BUILDING FIGURES

SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE • EFFECT OF NO. TO SCHEME SUBSIDY PERMITS RUNNING OUT Soiih! idea of the effect exercised by the No. 10 building subsidy scheme, adopted early last year by the Unemployment Board, upon the building trade may be gathered from a perusal of the figures relating to new work carried out under permit from the Gisborne Borough Council. A total of £05,548 was involved in construction projects subject to permit by the council during the past, year, and the majority of these carried subsidy in one form or another from the Unemployment Board's funds. It ,is noteworthy that the list of subsidised jobs is now practically exhausted, and there will be no surprise felt by municipal officials if the figures for the next year show a slight decline on those of the financial year just completed. Many people who had buildings in mind for future attention were persuaded by the offer of subsidies to proceed with the works during the past year, and in this way the immediate future of the building trade must have been mortgaged to some extent. Quite possibly the recovery of markets overseas, and the consequent increase in the amount of money in circulation in the community, will help to wipe out the mortgage, but the trade is facing rather a lean time now that the subsidised work has been almost completed. Among the building schemes undertaken in Gisborne during the period covered by this review, earthquake damage reinstatement was a substantial feature, and last month the permits issued included one for reinstatement work at the Cook Hospital, this being one of the last jobs of this nature to be undertaken in the borough. A great deal of potentially valuable work has been done by private firms and individuals in redlining earthquake risks for the future, and in this connection the offer of the building subsidy was a strong inducement to get on with the jobs. A comparison of the borough building figures for the two past financial years will be found in the following tabulation, the number of permits issued in each month, and the amounts represented bv building work being given in each case

Totals 225 £65,548 240 £50,907 It will he noted that in the i above table, the number of permits was smaller in 1933-54 than in the,previous year, but that the total value of work undertaken was substantially greater. As indicating the progress of domestic' settlement in 'the suburbs of Gisborne, the increase in the number of new dwellings is of particular interest. In tho year 1933-34 there were 32 permits issued for new dwellings, as against 24 for the previous year, and the average value of the new dwellings was slightly greater. Details of (be permits and values of dwellings, in the two past financial years, are given below:— 1933-34 1932-33

April 10 1933-34 £ 3,237 IS 1932-33 £ 3,383 May IT 4,315 24 3,439 Juno 24 1,195 23 2,0 HI July 25 3,105 17 3,139 August .. 22 14,855 7 1,818 September 19 8,271 20 941 October .. 15 8,735 30 9,570 November 20 8,890 30 0,759 December . S 2,590 20 8,370 January . 14 1,451 15 5,320 February 20 8,04.8 20 1,724 March .. 19 3,790 19 3'822

April 1 £ 700 1 £ 100 May 1 (580 1 075 Juno 1 42 3 1,300 July 4 2,220 O 1,057 August . . ;t 2,020 O 1,320 September - — 1 211 Oetoflior . . 3,7(52 - — November 8 4,700 3 1,505 Derail ber 1 i,47r> o 700 January . ;{ 1,20a 3 2,047 February 0 3,072 1 730 March 1 000 4 1,007 Totals . 32 £10,244 24 £12,047