LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
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office building. Commercial development completed during the year also included the Exchange Square Site B and the twin-tower Bond Centre. Approval was given to the Chartered Bank to be redeveloped on its original site adjacent to the new Hong Kong Bank building.
In addition to administering the Buildings Ordinance and Regulations, the Buildings Ordinance Office performed a number of other related functions, such as assessing the suitability of licensed premises. For this, 763 places of entertainment and 25 storage installation were examined.
With regard to the maintenance of dilapidated private buildings, the Building Authority closed 66 dangerous buildings and served 791 orders requiring the demolition or repair of dangerous buildings.
In view of an increasing awareness among members of the public of the problems associated with illegal structures and unauthorised building works, large scale enforcement operations were launched during the year which included one in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island where five service lanes were identified as causing risks to life because of squatter structures obstructing the inspection and maintenance of gas mains in the lanes. With the assistance of the Eastern District Board, Eastern District Office, Housing Department, and the Police Force, a joint operation to remove these unauthorised structures commenced in October 1986 and was completed in October 1987.
As a continuation of the effort to lessen the pollution of Hong Kong's watercourse by industrial effluents and waste, a specialised team, the Drainage Unit, in the Buildings Ordinance Office exercises control over illegal, defective and unsanitary drains and sewers in private buildings. A package of proposals drawn up by a government committee involving changes in legislation, policy and procedures for the control of unauthorised building works was agreed by the Land and Building Advisory Committee. The proposals were also generally welcomed by district boards and will be put to the Executive Council for consideration.
Survey and Mapping
The Survey and Mapping Office of the Buildings and Lands Department is mainly engaged in establishing and maintaining survey control throughout the territory, as a basis for land and engineering surveys, and the production and revision of all mapping at various scales. Some of the other services provided include large-scale basic mapping, production of special use maps, aerial photography and photogrammetric and reprographic services.
Horizontal and vertical control networks covering the whole territory, known as geodetic control systems, have been established and maintained to a high order of accuracy. These networks provide the necessary origin and control points for the production of cadastral (or property boundary) surveys, mapping surveys at various scales, engineering surveys and all other land survey related activities.
Cadastral surveys in the urban areas are a constant and ongoing requirement. The majority of the work is in the definition of leasehold property boundaries, and the demarcation of land required for government purposes. In the New Territories the emphasis has shifted from new towns to village house lots where an increasing number of boundary surveys are being carried out. Other tasks include the re-establishment of old lot boundaries for redevelopment purposes, and the maintenance of the cadastral records that define land allocation and occupation for every region of Hong Kong.
Comprehensive map coverage of the territory is provided, ranging from the 3 000-sheet large scale basic mapping series at 1:1 000, through 1:5 000, 1:20 000 and 1:50 000 series