Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will cause further consideration to be immediately given to the municipal area of Jaffa with a view to bringing into Tel Aviv those Jewish districts adjoining Tel Aviv but detached from quarters in Jaffa?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreI append, for the hon. Member's information, an extract from a recent despatch from the High Commissioner for Palestine, in which he furnished a report on two proposals which have recently been under consideration for extending the municipal boundaries of Tel Aviv. It will be seen that it was not possible, for the reasons given in the despatch, to pursue either proposal, and in present circumstances I should not feel justified in asking the High Commissioner to take any further steps in the matter.
EXTRACT from a despatch from the Officer Administering the Government of Palestine to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Dated 3rd April, 1937.I should explain that there have in fact been two proposals for the extension of the area subject to the jurisdiction of the Tel Aviv Municipal Council. These proposals are explained in the following paragraphs of this despatch.1284WThe first proposal arose from the fact that, following the enactment of the new Town Planning Ordinance on the 8th August, 1936, under which the Municipal Council is ex officio the Local Town Planning Commission, it became necessary to reconsider the area which would be subject to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council of Tel Aviv for town planning purposes.The Local Town Planning Commission of Tel Aviv thereupon submitted to the District Town Planning Commission a proposal that the Town Planning Area should include lands to the north east of Tel Aviv, with the avowed intention of extending town planning control over a large area to the north.This proposal at once evoked a strong opposition and protests to Government on the part of Arab landowners north of the Auja River.The matter was carefully considered by the District Town Planning Commission, which finally decided that the new town planning boundaries of Tel Aviv should not embrace the land referred to in the preceding paragraph, but should follow the former town planning boundaries subject to the exclusion of the lands of the German Colony at Sarona.All lands north of the Auja River have been expressly excluded from the area of the town planning jurisdiction of Tel Aviv, and it follows that no lands have been removed from the Ramleh Administrative Area; nor have they been placed under the jurisdiction of Tel Aviv for any purpose.The second proposal arose from the fact that in May, 1935, the Mayor and Municipal Council of Tel Aviv submitted representations that the area of jurisdiction of the Tel Aviv Municipal Council should be enlarged, and a Committee was appointed to examine and report on their submissions.At an early stage in the proceedings of the Committee, it became necessary to obtain detailed information in regard to the eastern area, and to impress upon the Mayors of Jaffa and Tel Aviv the need of reaching an agreement in regard to the adjustment of the boundary between Jaffa and Tel Aviv. The Mayors were unable to arrive at an agreement and as a result no further progress has yet been made in that portion of the boundary.The proposal to alter the less contentious eastern boundary is, however, still under consideration and it is only to this extent that the extension of the municipal boundary of Tel Aviv has been under consideration; no decision has as yet been reached, nor is it probable that in present circumstances an early solution of the problem will be found.