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HOUSING AND LAND
New Territories. The Hong Lok Yuen Garden Estate, a private development located three kilometres north of Tai Po, is to provide accommodation in a rural garden setting for about 6,000 people. This project involves more than 51 hectares of former agricultural land. The Discovery Bay Resort Project will provide holiday flats, garden houses, a hotel, a commercial area and resort facilities including a cable car, golf courses, sports and swimming areas.
Two sites in the New Territories, one in Lai King and one in Sha Tin, were granted to the Housing Authority for the Home Ownership Scheme. The Lai King site has an area of 1.75 hectares and will provide 700 flats. The Sha Tin site is larger, being in excess of 7.6 hectares, and has the potential for 3,500 flats. A lot of 1.61 hectares was offered by tender in Tuen Mun to a private developer to build flats for the Home Ownership Scheme.
Revenue
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During 1978, revenue received by the government from land transactions in the urban area totalled $881.8 million, compared with $628.6 million in 1977. In the same period, revenue from land sales in the New Territories was $137 million. (Revenue includes premiums and instalments paid - not the total sale price achieved.)
The demand for temporary occupation of Crown land continues and, where possible, such land is made available under the terms of a short-term tenancy. However during the year, a new system was introduced in the urban areas whereby sites for open storage or parking of vehicles were offered on a competitive basis by open tender. For the year, revenue from the letting of tenancies amounted to $26.3 million in the urban areas and $17.2 million in the New Territories.
A further $7.6 million in revenue came from letting buildings owned wholly or partly by the government.
Control
The government is continuing its policy of fencing vacant cleared sites and installing security guards. This has reduced problems of site clearance and interference with the regular Crown land sales programme. The Director of Public Works and the Secretary for the New Territories also have powers to combat unlawful occupation of Crown land and to enable clearances to be effected more quickly, usually without litigation.
Land Office
The issue, renewal, variation and termination of Crown leases are dealt with by the Land Office, a branch of the Registrar General's Department. Records of transactions relating to land on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon, New Kowloon (with a few exceptions) and some of the more urban parts of the New Territories are kept in the Land Office. Records relating to transactions affecting other parts of the New Territories and the few exceptional New Kowloon cases are kept at District Land Offices, operated by the New Territories Administration.
The Land Office has responsibility for the registration of all instruments affecting land; the settling and registration of conditions of sale, grant and exchange of Crown land; and the granting of mining leases. It gives legal and other advice to the government generally on matters relating to land.
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