CO129-576-1 Proposed schemes for improvements in housing conditions 13-10-1938 - 13-4-1939 — Page 13

4.

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7.

The kind of proposal I have in mind is that

an initial sum of, say, $5,000,000 should be transferred from the Exchange Fund to a new Improvement Fund and

that that Fund should receive annually one half of the

If net addition to the surplus of the Exchange Fund. necessary the Improvement Fund might have power to borrow further sums, the charges on such loans being met

by the annual payments from the Exchange Fund, but probably such borrowing would not be necessary as developments are unlikely to proceed so rapidly as to require large scale financing in a short period of years. The Fund could be treated as a revolving fund, receiving the proceeds of land sales from schemes undertaken from it, so that in time additional payments into the Fund

might become unnecessary.

8.

Such an Improvement Fund would be regarded as available for substantial schemes of re-planning,

reclamation, etc. Those which I have referred to would come within its purview but it would not, of course, be confined to them. I should not rule out from consideration the undertaking from the Fund directly of large scale re-housing schemes. I should not, however, contemplate its use for ordinary governmental construction schemes, e.g. the building of hospitals.

9.

This is at present only a preliminary suggestion. The details of any such plan would require a great deal of further discussion both locally and with you. Since, however, the whole financial basis of the plan rests on the utilization of the Exchange Fund money I have thought it essential to refer the principle of such utilization to you before making any suggestion for the creation of such a fund locally, and I have not yet consulted my Executive Council on the subject. I should