TRADE COUNCIL AND “LUXURY” BUILDING CAMPAIGN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 90, Issue 167, 20 July 1946, Page 4

TRADE COUNCIL AND “LUXURY” BUILDING CAMPAIGN

“There is no question that abuses of material are taking place in Wanganui. There are also quite a number of jobs that have been done without the coverage of the necessary permits,” stated a member of the special investigation committee set up by the Wf-inganui Traces Council in a campaign against alleged “luxury ouilcting” in the city and district. The first investigations were made on Wednesday. Further citations of claimed abuses of materials in short supply have been made to the committee and will be investigated later by the committee. The findings will be reported to the Trades Council, who will decide what action should be taken in each case. An earlier declalation of policy was that, in extreme cases when non-essential building is absorbing large quantities of materials in short supply, they would be declared "black’’ and the workmen would be withdrawn. This is the pro cedure followed in other centres. A four-hour tour of construction works was made by the committee on Thursday. First call of the committee was to a small factory where production has almost ceased since cement became short. In this factory an exserviceman, with rehabilitation aid, produces cement tiles for houses in Wanganui. "We have orders for more than 40,000 tiles for both State and private housing," he told the committee. "We can’t supply the tiles because we have no cement.” The committee then moved to an area of land where kerbing and channelling has been laid in a subdivision. Here approximately 18 chains of concrete work is in place. Investigating another report, the committee viewed a glasshouse In the course of construction. The walls were of nine-inch thick concrete, and according to one committee member, construction began four to six weeks ago. He estimated that apptoximately six tons of cement was being used and t hat in addition joinery timber and 16inch panes of glass were incorporated in the superstructure. The next report took the committee out past Kai Iwi, where use of almost unpiocurable heart timber had been reported in the construction of fences. Here the farmer was frank and cooperative and the committee found that while a very small quantity of this timber had been used it had been supplied direct from the mill and used for essential "capping” only. It had been supplied on a seven-year-old order and none had been received this year.

Next the committee viewecj a wool store where the concrete exterior is being coated with cement plaster. The committee members allege that this plaster finish, mixed of a two-to-one mixture of sand and cement and covering an exterior of over 8000 square feet, could well be delayed until the cement shortage eases. Final call in the investigation was to kerbing reconstruction being done by the City Council along a suburban street. Here the concrete kerb has been moved back toward the pavement. on either side and replaced on top of a new concrete waterway that is 15 inches wide, three inches deep and approximately 22 chains long. Representations have already been made by the Trades Council to the City Council about this job and the reply received was that the work will save considerable maintenance in the future and that only second-grade cement was being used.