LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
The Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands is chairman of a committe, which is responsible for monitoring the general progress of the physical development of Hong Kong, as well as considering and endorsing detailed planning briefs, layouts and development plans. He is also chairman of the Town Planning Board, and has policy responsibility for conservation.
In addition to his policy functions, the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands oversees the operation of the Buildings Department, Drainage Services Department (jointly with the Secretary for Works), -Environmental Protection. Department, Lands Department and Planning Department, as well as the Land Registry, which is operated on a trading fund basis. He also oversees part of the work of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, Civil Engineering Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Marine Department, Territory Development Department and the Government Laboratory.
The Secretary for Works is responsible for the formulation of policies on slope safety and water supply. He oversees, and has policy responsibility for, the activities of the Architectural Services Department, Civil Engineering Department, Drainage Services Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Highways Department, Territory Development Department and Water Supplies Department. He also oversees the operation of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund in the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, as well as the New Airport Project Co-ordination Office set up in 1991 to co-ordinate the overall implementation of the ACP.
Planning
Town planning is carried out by the Planning Department under policy directives from the Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau and the Housing Bureau. During the year, the department was involved in revising the proposals of the Town Planning White Bill; reviewing the Territorial Development Strategy and the Metroplan; updating the Development Strategies for the North-West and the South-West New Territories; and reviewing the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines. It also identified housing sites, assessed housing demand and forecast of land supply for housing and other major land uses; and continued the work on the Port and Airport Development Strategy and the Rural Planning and Improvement Strategy.
The department was also engaged in other forward planning activities including efforts to co-ordinate the formulation of the urban renewal strategy and programme; in development control for the districts and conducting site search exercises for major uses/developments; and in undertaking enforcement action against unauthorised developments in designated rural areas.
Review of the Town Planning Ordinance
The Town Planning Ordinance was first enacted in 1939 and has remained largely in its original form. In view of the increasing complexity of the social, economic and political environment in Hong Kong, the Administration found it necessary to review the requirements of the community and to introduce the required changes to the Ordinance to meet contemporary and anticipated future needs.
In 1991, a consultative document on comprehensive review of the Town Planning Ordinance was published for public comment. A special committee was also set up
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