HOUSING ACTIVITY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20863, 20 October 1937, Page 8

HOUSING ACTIVITY

OUTLINE FOR DIRECTOR By Telegraph Preus Association WELLINGTON, October 19. “The present housing policy in New Zealand is an almost milk and water policy compared with the generous assistance granted in other countries,” said Mr A. Tyndall, director of housing and construction, in an address on the work of his Department to the Rotary Club. Outlining some of the activities of his Department which, although it was spread all over the country, was not a very big one because he had tried to utilise private enterprise to the full. Mr Tyndall said there were now about 1000 different designs for houses. The Government had said that every house had to be different, and in that it was requiring something that had been done in no other housing scheme in the world. The variety of design entailed a tremendous amount of work. Recently ft”- instance, the Public Works Department had submitted a Bill for 34,972 blueprints, and in all about 50,000 blueprints had been made. Land for housfng schemes had been purchased in 52 towns, and buildings contracts had been let in 30 towns. Houses begun up to this week numbered more than 700, and the Department was advertising contracts for houses at the rate of 55 houses a week. The houses were not "workers homes,” said Mr Tyndall, but homes for the people of New Zealand, as there would be no Income limitation.