QUAINT DEAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 639, 16 April 1929, Page 9

QUAINT DEAL

Five Inches of Hobson Street “THIS ROAD TO BE CLOSED” A strip of Hobson Street, barely five inches wide at one end, and tapering to less at the othei that is the essence of a bargain struck between the Auckland City Council and the Manchester Unity. The formal negotiations in this deal have occupied years. They are now approaching their close. When the Manchester Unity bought the site on which it has since erected the fine block which dominates the junction of Hobson and Victoria Streets, it acquired title to an area which, had the wrong boundaries. This was no fault of either buyers or vendors. The boundaries had been fixed by survey many years ago. and they

were not found to be wrong until tho later standard survey established tha t on the Victoria Street frontage tho section projected on the street, while on the Hobson Street side the street projected on to the section.

MATTER OF INCHES The error, a mere matter of inches each way, was not brought to the attention of the owners until plans fox the new building had been drawn. On the basis of a bargain with the City Council, the plans were slightly alered to permit the erection of the building with in the proper boundary lines. Had the owners cared to “stand pat” on their certificate of title they could have done so, and no power short of an Act of Parliament could have shifted them. However, they took the reasonable view, and agreed to trade their strip of Victoria Street for the City Council’s strip in Hobson Street. It was quite simple for the owners to give the City Council the land on the Victoria Street side, but not so simple for the council to give up part of the. street. The council has to observe the formality of closing that portion of the street that it is handing over. As the picture shows, this strip is now built upon, so it is effectively closed in any case. The notice reads: “Public notice is hereby given that the Auckland City Council, proposes to stop in the manner prescribed under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, this portion of the street.” OBJECTION UNLIKELY If any outraged citizens care to make objection to the proceeding, the City Council would be compelled to call a meeting of ratepayers, and a majority at that meeting could block the transaction. Such a contingency is unlikely, but, though such deals as these are not common, there was an interesting case quite recently, in which itn exchange was effected at the blind end of Mills’ Lane. Objection was made to this, but when the objectors appeared at the meeting-place they found a strong assemblage of ratepayers. Their efforts to have the transaction invalidated therefore met with littie success.