public bath-houses are now in course of erection. Additional public water standpipes were installed in most areas, and street lighting was provided in the Lai Chi Kok Resettlement Area.
106. The Resettlement Areas Select Committee of the Urban Council meets from time to time to consider problems connected with cottage areas. As these areas have been longer established than the multi-storey estates new problems are less common and new matters of policy do not often arise. The most troublesome are those which have resulted from the activities of building contractors in the cottage areas before the department came into being and investigations into the question of the ownership of cottages built by these contractors are still taking up a good deal of the time of senior staff.
107. Some evictions were necessary, the total number for the year being 17, of which 9 were for non-payment of hire- purchase instalments to the Settlers Housing Corporation, 4 for non-payment of permit fees, and 3 for dealing in dangerous drugs.
108. The cottage areas are more fortunate than the multi- storey estates in that it is possible to offer permits for sites in these areas to voluntary agencies for the erection of schools, clinics and community centres and other forms of welfare work. During the year several new buildings for schools and welfare work were completed and work was started on others. A very fine twelve classroom school was built in the Chuk Yuen area by the Catholic Mission and opened in November by the Colonial Secretary. Other new buildings were the welfare centre and clinics established in Homantin by the Maryknoll Mission, while several existing welfare buildings were extended. The number of voluntary agencies now functioning in the cottage areas is now quite considerable and a full list will be found at table C of Appendix I. The nine primary schools provide a total of 3,667 school places for which preference is given to children living in the resettlement area in which the school is built. The department is greatly indebted to these voluntary agencies for the very valuable work they are doing for the settlers. It is indeed work of the first importance not only to the cottage resettlement areas but to the colony as a whole.
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