HOUSING SCHEME

Southland Times, Issue 23026, 21 October 1936, Page 11

HOUSING SCHEME

COUNCIL’S REQUEST TO DEPARTMENT.

A request to be informed if the Government’s housing scheme will include Invercargill within its scope will be sent forward to the department concerned by the Invercargill City Council. A suggestion to this effect was made at last night’s meeting by Cr G E. T. Dorman. He said that there had been no word yet of the benefits of the scheme, to provide a good type of dwelling at a low interest rate —3 per cent. —being applied to Invercargill, and he thought the city should be included. The Mayor (Mr John Miller) said that the scheme would be all right so long as the council were not asked to become the landlord and collect the rents. Cr Dorman said he thought that the Government would use the State Advances Corporation as its collecting agent. Moreover, the Government was going ahead with the scheme in cities where the council had refused to take any active part in administering the scheme—in Christchurch, for example. Permit To Build Shop Refused.

A recommendation that a permit to build a butcher’s shop in a residential area be refused was made by the Works Committee to the City Council last night. The committee reported having received a letter from Mrs Fenn, asking permission to build a butcher’s shop next to her confectionery shop at 137 O’Hara street. Failing permission to build the shop, she asked permission to erect a dwelling on top of the present shop. The city engineer reported that this locality was a residential area; a new shop could not be built nor the old one extended, but a dwelling could be added to the shop. The committee recommended that Mrs Fenn be informed in terms of the city engineer’s report, and advised that the plans and specifications for any proposed building must first be approved by the city engineer. The recommendation was adopted.