HOUSING AND LAND
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time that the government has sold land for use as a comprehensive estate and the success of this pilot scheme will undoubtedly cause consideration to be given to similar developments in other parts of the territory.
The Tai Po town centre redevelopment continued with lots being sold by auction and Letters 'A' and 'B' tender exchange. It is expected that all 12 lots will have been disposed of by early 1983, with development involving a combination of commercial and residential blocks under way.
The government has entered into an arrangement with Mightycity Company Limited to develop Tin Shui Wai in Yuen Long over the next 12 years and to provide homes for 135 000 people. Comprising in total 488 hectares, 170 hectares will be utilised as a development zone for the community, with the balance to be formed by the developer and handed back to the government for future use. Public housing development will be expected to create accommodation for 67 500 people in the form of rental estates and under the Home Ownership Scheme and there will be provision for schools, clinics, open space and other community services. Tin Shui Wai has been identified in the North West New Territories Development Investigation as an area with good long-term development potential and comprises 25 per cent of all flat land in the New Territories. It is one of Hong Kong's largest remaining sources of land and the government is able to reserve its position for further development in the area by utilising the remaining 318 hectares as and when it becomes necessary.
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To the northeast, the planned development of a new town at Junk Bay has created much interest in the Sai Kung area. A study is underway to examine the general development of the hinterland of the new town and particular attention is being given to recreational facilities to cater for the large number of people anticipated to use this area.
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Land Office
The issue, renewal, variation and termination of Crown leases are dealt with by the Land Office, a division 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 urban areas of the New Territories are kept in the Land Office. Records relating to transactions affecting the remainder of the New Territories and a few exceptional New Kowloon lots are kept at district land offices, most of which are at present operated by the Lands Department. The intention is that the Registrar General's Department will assume responsibility for land registration throughout the New Territories under a phased pro- gramme. Under this arrangement, the district land offices at Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long were taken over during the year.
The Land Office has responsibility for the registration of all instruments affecting land; the drafting, completion and registration of conditions of sale, grant and exchange of Crown land; the granting of mining leases; the registration of owners' corporations; the apportionment of Crown rents and premia; the recovery of outstanding Crown rents; the enforcement of lease conditions (up to July 1, 1982, when this responsibility was assumed by the Lands Department); and the provision of conveyancing services for the Housing Authority in connection with the sale of flats built under the Home Ownership Scheme and for the Colonial Treasurer Incorporated in connection with regrants, interest- free loans to schools and the purchase of properties for government staff quarters. The Land Office gives legal and other advice to the government on matters relating to land and government land transactions.