LAND AND HOUSING
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Development and Welfare funds. Four private architects, working as a consortium under the chairmanship of Mr. Eric Cumine, have been appointed to design the estate, and sketch plans are now well advanced. The intention is to house over 34,000 persons in about 5,200 flats (the rents of which will be substantially lower than in other schemes) contained in blocks varying from twelve to sixteen storeys in height. Two 24-classroom schools and a community centre are also included within the estate, and the total capital cost of the scheme will be in the neighbourhood of $50,000,000. This 19-acre site slopes from north to south, and the blocks, most of which face south over the harbour, will mostly be on different levels, and so enjoy adequate light and-air. There will be plenty of covered play areas and open recreation space. The first section of the estate is likely to be completed by March 1959, and the remaining sections between September and December 1959.
Planning of a fourth estate, to be built on a 26-acre site to the north-east of Kai Tak Airport, is now in hand, and a topographical survey is being carried out. A fifth site, of about 10 acres, at Ma Tau Chung, Kowloon, has also been reserved for the Authority's use.
Concurrently with planning and building, work has pro- ceeded on the selection of tenants for the Authority's flats, on the basis of a points scheme in which the most important factor is the applicant's housing need. At present applica- tions are only considered from persons over 21 years of age who have lived in Hong Kong continuously since July 1948 and who have a total family income of between $300 and $900 a month. By the end of 1957 27,348 application forms had been issued, and 13,759 completed forms had been received from applicants who apparently satisfied the basic conditions. The rate at which completed forms were being returned fell somewhat during the year, but they are still being received at the rate of about 60 a week. A considerable volume of work is involved in visiting applicants in their
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