improvements include the allocation of private lavatories shared between two or three families, in lieu of the previous communal latrines and bath-rooms, and the installation of power and light points in domestic rooms, hitherto a matter for the tenants to settle individually with a contractor. These innovations mean a considerable increase in comfort and living standards for new tenants. Construction of some Mark IV blocks, which because of their height will have staged lifts, also began in the period under review.
51. The new estates will usually include mixed Mark III and Mark IV type accommodation. As in the old blocks, ground floor rooms can be used for shops and workshops, the only difference being that the new 'large' shops measuring 160 square feet will be smaller than the full-bay shops of 240 square feet previously available in the older estates, though the smaller shop units will be slightly larger than before (129 square feet instead of 120). These shops can be let in combination to provide larger premises. Like the domestic rooms on the upper floors, shops can also be entered from the central corridor. Another departure is the provision of larger and specially designed premises for restaurants. This will enable their operators to conform more closely with the requirements of the licensing authority which is averse to the one and two-bay restaurants which form the bulk of such businesses in the other estates. A flue will relieve tenants of domestic rooms above restaurant premises from overheating, which is a frequent cause of complaint at present.
52. The new estates are noteworthy not only for these improvements, but also for their size. The largest estate at present managed by the department is Wong Tai Sin with a population of over 80,000. Three of the five estates now under construction will greatly exceed this figure. The largest, at Tsz Wan Shan in north central Kowloon, will accommodate around 180,000 persons when it is completed in three years' time. Similarly, two of the three new estates now under construction in the Kwun Tong area of Kowloon will have populations of 150,000 and 110,000 respec- tively.
53. Information about rents is given in Chapter X and Appendix VII. 54. How are the estates managed? As mentioned in Chapter II, the Resettlement Department manages resettlement estates under the authority of the Urban Council. There is an Assistant Resettlement Officer in charge of each estate, assisted by a staff of Area Officers. Three Resettlement Officers, the highest grade of departmental officer, supervise groups of estates and are responsible to an Administrative Officer who is in overall charge of the Estates and Cottage Areas Division.
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