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Monday, March 4, 1974
INTERESTING SUGGESTIONS FOR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS
By Secretary For The Environment
Two interesting suggestions for property developers to help
government solve its continuing shortage of accommodation for its own
employees were made by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr. James Robson,
today.
Mr. Robson was speaking at the annual dinner given by the Real
Estate Developers Association.
One of the suggestions is that land would be sold with a requirement
for the developer to produce under his scheme a certain number of flats
which government could use for housing its staff.
He said: "Such an agreement would meet both the developer's
current shortage of money, and the government's needs.
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Another suggestion. will enable private developers to carry out large dovolopment projects for government with payment boing made in land. "If the developer got at least a portion of his land early in the
schone he could put up housing for sale and thus generate his necessary
cash flow while helping the housing shortage," Mr. Robson said.
With all the expertise assembled there this evening, he said it should be possible to devise ways and means to maintain the momentum of the building industry and break away from the traditional stop-go pattern. Mr. Robson said he was not suggesting that all "our problems will
be easily resolved".
"We do have difficulties with labour and material cost, not to
mention the lack of supply.
"But they are not new problems and in my opinion given your
co-operation they are not insoluble," he added.
Turning to