HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954
this instance, the lessee is required not to dispose of the property and if he ceases to use it for its authorized purpose, it reverts to the Crown.
It will be seen that the basic principle behind the disposal of Crown Land is that the maximum use shall be made of it either industrially, or for the provision of the greatest possible amount of living space compatible with planning requirements. Where it is not possible to dispose of land immediately, because public services are not yet available or where a site is reserved for some future purpose, which cannot be implemented until later, the land is not held out of use but is granted on a temporary annual licence. Some 5,728 such licences for land are in current issue and this policy particularly facilitates the development of small industries. An annual revenue exceeding $3,180,000 is obtained from these licences.
Government has recently approved the reclamation of some 78 acres at Kun Tong on the north-east side of the harbour for industrial development and it is hoped that the reclamation will be completed within 3 years. Considerable industrial development is taking place at Tsun Wan in the New Territories involving further reclamation, and plans are in hand for further industrial development in the Gin Drinker's Bay area.
New development programmes often involve the resumption of small agricultural lots and in general it is the policy of Government to pay cash compensation for such resumptions, although rarely in certain special circumstances other land is granted in exchange. In the remoter parts of the island and on the fringe of New Kowloon there are a number of agricultural lots
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