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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1978
SELF-CONTAINED HOUSING FOR ALL STRESSED
******
THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, THIS AFTERNOON STRESSED THE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS SELF-CONTAINED HOUSING FOR ALL.
THE CURRENT PROGRAMME, WHICH STARTED BETWEEN FIVE AND SIX YEARS AGO, WAS AT LAST REACHING FRUITION, AND COMPLETIONS WOULD RISE FROM 18,000 FLATS THIS YEAR TO 45,000 NEXT YEAR AND WOULD BE MAINTAINED BETWEEN THE 40,000 AND 45,000 LEVELS UNTIL 1985, HE SAID,
THIS MEANS THAT EACH YEAR A QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE WOULD BE HOUSED.
CONSTRUCTION WAS NOW PROCEEDING ON NO LESS THAN 57 PROJECTS WITH A CONTRACT VALUE OF OVER $2,200 MILLION.
+
*THESE FIGURES,+ SIR MURRAY SAID, INCLUDE THE FLATS FOR PURCHASE UNDER THE HOME OWNERSHIP SCHEME AT PRESENT PLANNED TO AVERAGE ABOUT 6,000 A YEAR AS FROM NEXT YEAR WHEN 8,500 WILL BE COMPLETED.
+ IN VIEW OF THE POPULARITY OF THE SCHEME, WE MUST BE ALIVE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF VARYING THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE PROGRAMMES FOR RENTING AND SALE IN THE LIGHT OF PUBLIC DEMAND, AND THE DESIGN OF NEW ESTATES PROVIDES FOR THIS DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY.
COINCIDING WITH THE APPROACH TO THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC HOUSING PRODUCTION WAS A SPURT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FLATS BY PRIVATE DEVELOPERS, MANY FOR THE MIDDLE AND LOWER-MIDDLE INCOME GROUPS.
SIR MURRAY SAID THAT +30,000 WILL BE COMPLETED THIS YEAR AND PROBABLY AS MANY NEXT. THIS IS A MOST WELCOME CONTRIBUTION. +
BUT, HE SAID, MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SHOULD
BE UNDER NO ILLUSION ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM.
+THIS YEAR WE RECKON THE SHORTFALL IN SELF-CONTAINED LIVING ACCOMMODATION TO BE OVER 200,000 UNITS. ALLOWING FOR ABOUT 300,000 MORE HOUSEHOLDS BY 1985, AND ASSUMING THAT THE PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAMME IS MAINTAINED AT THE LEVEL I HAVE INDICATED, AND THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR CONTINUES TO MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION, THE SHORTFALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED BY 1985 AND WELL BEFORE THAT THE PROBLEM AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT WILL HAVE BEEN VASTLY REDUCED.
+ HOWEVER THESE FIGURES MAKE THE TRADITIONAL ASSUMPTION THAT 60 PER CENT OF ALL ONE PERSON AND TWO PERSON HOUSEHOLDS WILL SHARE ACCOMMODATION WITH OTHERS.
+ IN VIEW OF THE TREND TOWARDS SMALLER HOUSEHOLDS AND THE RISING ASPIRATIONS OF OUR RAPIDLY EVOLVING SOCIETY I DOUBT IF THAT ASSUMPTION WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD TRUE MUCH LONGER,+ HE SAID.
AFTER 1985 THERE MIGHT THEREFORE BE A CASE FOR ROLLING FORWARD THE HOUSING PROGRAMME, ALEE IT AT A LESS DRAMATIC LEVEL.
SITES FOR SUCH A PROGRAMME SHOULD BE EARMARKED SOON, SIR MURRAY SAID.
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