|
Profile (by Ren Azuma): A large site of
7.12 hectares operated by a land owners'
association which obtained the site on a 20 year
lease from the 34 farmers who own the land. Plots
are let on an annual basis renewable for up to five
years. The usage fee is 115,000 yen (675 pounds)
per annum for plots equipped with one of the simple
chalets, each of which cost 2 million yen (arounf
12,000 pounds) to build, less for plots without.
The total cost of construction (1,000 million yen,
or 5.9 million pounds) was 3% subsidised by the
central government (mainly through Ministry of
Agriculture programmes) and prefectural government,
26% paid for by the local authority, and the
remaining 71% financed by municipal bonds. The
project has proved expensive for the local
authority, since as a city its bonds are not
underwritten by central government (as is the case
for remote villages) and it therefore has to repay
them from its own resources. The land is zoned for
agricultural use within an Urbanisation Control
Area. There are five different types of plot:
- 91 plots of 150 square meters with chalet
- 357 plots of 50 square meters without chalet
- 20 plots of 100 square meters without chalet
- 19 plots of 500 square meters available for
user groups
- 5 plots (beds) of 4 square meters for
disabled users
Top Left: Map of the site, showing plots with
chalets in light blue, small plots without chalets
in dark blue, large plots without chalets in
purple, beds for disabled users in red, plaza in
light green and car park (for 350 vehicles) in
green. Top Right: Plots with chalets stand out on
the former rice paddy terraces. Bottom Left: A
close up of the terrace walls, showing the original
foopath between the terraces still in use. Bottom
Right: Inside one of the chalets. Each has a floor
area of 10 square meters, with kitchen and water
but no electricity. (Photos by Ren Azuma)
|
