224 | Infrastructure Development and Heritage Conservation
A total of $2 billion was allotted by the Government and the two organisations to the drive to help repair and maintain about 2 000 buildings and create more than 20 000 job opportunities in the construction, repair and maintenance industries.
Owners of buildings that qualify for financial support under the scheme may receive up to 80 per cent of the cost of repairs which must not exceed $16,000. Owner-occupiers aged 60 or above may receive grants to cover the full cost of repairs, provided the cost does not exceed $40,000.
The Hong Kong Housing Society assisted the Government in administering the $1 billion Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Elderly Owners. Recipients may also use the money they receive from the scheme to repair their premises or repay their outstanding loans with the Buildings Department, the Urban Renewal Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society which was spent on building maintenance. The scheme was launched in May 2008. From that date until December 2009, a total of 4 920 applications, amounting to $175 million have been approved.
The bureau is preparing for the launch of the mandatory building inspection and mandatory window inspection schemes to address the problem of building neglect. Legislation for the two schemes is being formulated.
The Buildings Department continues to serve statutory orders on owners and occupiers of dilapidated buildings requiring them to repair defects in their buildings. In 2009, some 1 143 such statutory orders were served and repairs to 1082 buildings were carried out. The department continued removing unauthorised building works (UBWs) during the year using different measures to eliminate them. These included serving statutory notices and statutory removal orders on the owners and occupiers of such structures, preventing the erection of new UBWs and educating the public on the dangers and nuisances caused by such illegal structures.
Major Actions Against UBWS
During the year, 25 866 cases of UBWs were dealt with; 31 453 statutory orders requiring their removal were served and 42 425 UBWs were removed. Some 2 930 cases were adjudicated, resulting in 2 207 convictions and fines totalling $7.14 million. A total of 3 063 offenders were prosecuted for failing to comply with the statutory removal orders.
The Buildings Department continued clearing UBWs in 2009. It also removed unauthorised large signboards and cantilevered slab balconies from some 1 162 buildings in 2009. A one-year special operation was launched in March 2009 to remove 5 000 abandoned signboards across the territory to improve the cityscape as well as create new jobs. Over 6 470 such signboards were removed or repaired in 2009.
Urban Renewal
The aim of urban renewal is to improve living conditions in old urban areas, and to preserve their local character and social network at the same time.