泰制事務司
布政司署
香港上范萑垂直
CONFIDENTIAL
Secretary for Constitutionyi Alfaus
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT.
Registry please come to Miss brooks fi
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сори
LOWER ALBERT ROAD. HONG KONG.
Mi Bertam ti
By Fax
(48
RECT
10
12 OCT 1993
Mr. P.F. Ricketts,
Hong Kong Department, FCO
Dear Petter,
British Consulate General:
Private Treaty Grant
7 October 1993
Mrs BJ
اس
7/10
2.
Thank you for your letter of 27.9.1993.
We
have given véry careful thought to your suggestion that approval be given by the Director of Lands under Special Condition 13 to permit accommodation of the British Chamber of Commerce in the BCG building. Unfortunately, as your Legal Advisers have pointed out (and our lawyers agree), it would be exceedingly difficult to argue that such a course of action would be consistent with Special Condition 72% That being the case, the Director would be acting ultra vires if he were to proceed it would not be these circumstances, as suggested. right for Us to give you the
the acknowledgement, which Legal Advisers have suggested, that in granting
your Such
3.
but
a licence to the BCC there would be no breach of SC 7.
For these reasons I am afraid there is no option to resort to a formal lease modification if it is still your firm wish to accommodate the BCC in the BCG building. I am assured by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands that there should be no major
major difficulty with this approach, provided that no additional Gross Floor Area is envisaged.
4.
is clearly
Whichever route. wa: follow, there a China dimension. It would be impossible to keep this confidential, since at
stage the fact that the BCC will be accommodated in the BCG building will become public knowledge. [And if the lease modification route is used, modification document will ormally be recorded in the Land Registry and thus become public document.] Whenever they find out, the Chinese could (if they so wish) accuse faith, in that throughout the negotiation with Hedhë site we have never told them
us them
of
bad
over
the
Colvin
1
CONFIDENTIAL