KARAPIRO RESERVE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 75, Issue 6408, 15 August 1947, Page 4

KARAPIRO RESERVE

PLANS FOR DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBILITY OF ADJACENT AREAS A letter received by Te Awamutu Borough Council from the Local Government Commission, relating to a proposal for development of Karapiro Lake Reserve, was recently forwarded by the town clerk (Mr T. H. Millar) to the' Chamber of Commerce for the latter’s discussion and comment.

The proposal, which will form the subject of a meeting between local body representatives and the Local Government Commission in Hamilton late in August, claims that the development of the locality for such purposes should be the responsibility of the local authorities whose citizens benefit from the area.

It is hoped to determine the nature of the body which should control the area, to 'appoint members, and to arrange means of financing the scheme. An area of land in the vicinity of the lake has been purchased by the Government for the purpose of providing general recreational areas, a village site, and, a motor camp. The letter to the Borough Council asked if the council proposed to be represented at the above meeting. The ehairman of the chamber remarked that the matter was worthy of consideration. It had also been referred to the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Dr J. B. W. Roberton considered it was difficult to decide anything on the matter without greater knowledge of the area and the proposal for its development. Mr W. J. Craik thought Te Awamutu should be represented at the meeting to find out the financial commitments proposed for each local body area. Mr A. G. Warburton believed the main business of the meeting would be the apportioning of costs to various areas. All local bodies adjoining Karapiro were interested in the scheme. That the scheme should concern Te Awamutu in view of it being the second largest borough adjacent to the proposed reserve, was an opinion expressed by Mr A. C. Boyt. Finally, Mr L. G. Armstrong moved that the chamber make a recommendation that the borough should be represented at the meeting, and in doing so express the chamber’s interest in the project, of which they would like to know more details.