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also the location of individual departmental premises in relation to the plans of the various local bodies concerned. Similarly, the Division is required to investigate and report upon the location and layout of community centres which are being prepared for subsidy as war memorials throughout the country. Specific problems of development have been referred from other Departments, including major forestry proposals and the replanning of an existing Maori village to serve as a model for the redevelopment of other settlements. The Division has been at a disadvantage in its day-to-day work owing to the absence of up-to-date standards for town-planning practice in New Zealand. Until recently no research has been done on the problems of planning arising in New Zealand, and as conditions here are in very many respects so different from those in other countries it has been necessary to conduct original researches. It is expected that bulletins will be ready for publication on subdivisional practice and on roading standards .at an early date. Bulletins on other aspects of planning are in course of preparation. These bulletins will be a reflection of the continuous research on outstanding planning problems, and their publication will illustrate the social and economic implications of the problems in a practical way for those engaged in the technical and administrative fields. In view of the fact that there is no University School of Planning in New Zealand, opportunities for experience in the planning field are provided, as far as possible, for students and graduates in allied professions. Several servicemen who were granted bursaries to study in England have joined the staff, but continuity of accessions to the staff in the future is not assured unless suitable people are encouraged to interest themselves in planning-work with the view to their taking in New Zealand the necessary English examinations to qualify in the profession. As has been stated, even now there are not sufficient qualified people available in New Zealand to meet the urgent demands for planning assistance. Until there is a Dominion-wide coverage of outline plans, development work cannot proceed with any assurance, and the progressive extension and reasonable limitation of urban development is purely a matter of guess-work. The lack of plans particularly affects the administration of boroughs and counties, and there is clear evidence of uneconomic scattered development and ribboning along main roads, which is already a serious problem. The Local Government Commission, whose responsibility is the review of local-body administration, has commented upon their inability to give rational decisions without the assistance of planning information. In Britain and other countries these problems are now being attacked with vigour, and with the increasing demand for their services more and more people are becoming qualified in the profession. Our problems in New Zealand, though similar in principle, differ in kind. The policy of encouraging students and graduates in allied professions to gain experience in the planning field with a view to qualification will be continued. WORKS PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING Following the completion of the announcement of the ten-year schedules of works covering the whole Dominion, the next step has been commenced. This, as previously stated, takes the form of a clearer definition of the works brought together for the first time in the schedules so as to be able, with confidence, to refer these to local authorities as a basis of regional development plans. You will appreciate that this involves a considerable effort in investigation and survey before tangible results are produced, for very few of the proposals contained in the schedules had been subjected to critical analysis. In view of the urgency of the major works in the vicinity of the main centres, this procedure has naturally progressed more rapidly in such areas. The setting-up of Interdepartmental Committees (under the Chairmanship of District Engineers of the Public Works Department) has proved of considerable value in resolving the sometimes conflicting interests of Government Departments at district level. Regular meetings of

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