activities then spread eastward from there. At the Oudeschans rampart, a high bridge was built to the island of Uilenburg. This island became part of a second expansion that was intended to accommodate the now flourishing and rapidly expanding shipbuilding industry. This expansion was intended to allow the shipyards and mast makers to be relocated, enabling other parts of Lastage to be reorganized. In January 1595, blacksmiths were banned from Lastage due to the fire hazard and the smell and noise they produced, and they relocated to the northern part of the island of Uilenburg. Crisis and controversy Due to a severe economic crisis, plot sales came to a complete standstill in around 1596, as is apparent from the city's register of lots offered for sale at public auctions. New disputes arose when the city surveyor Adriaen Ockersz. proposed a new cost-distribution plan, called Repartition. The renewal of the Waal, which was the city's harbour at that time, and the straightening of the banks had already been completed by then. Many owners objected to the valuations calculated, including Cleyn Ceesje, a mast maker on the Kromme Waal, who appealed against a calculation error. The surveyor, a former locksmith, was alleged to have a poor head for figures and had also made serious errors when calculating the size of the body of water between Uilenburg and Marken. To the dismay of landowners, eight years of accumulated interest had to be paid. The owners were particularly irritated by charges for the cost of the timberwork and paving, as residents living within the old city walls did not have to pay separate taxes for those items. The mayors responded by trying to convince the landowners that paving was extremely important to prevent fires: Delft, Haarlem and Leiden were given as examples. Concerns about fire were much in people's minds that year, because 26 houses had burned down in Warmoesstraat and 33 in Sint Antoniesbreestraat, while several warehouses full of valuable Muscovy goods. had also been lost on Geldersekade. Moving ahead In February 1598, after the bankruptcy of the Doesburg brothers, and court proceedings that lasted up to the Court of Holland, the last two ropeworks were demolished. Work then began on Jonkerstraat and Bantammerstraat. By this time, rents in the old city had already increased at an alarming rate, to almost double the amount. Subsequently, construction activity also spread out north and west.